Road Trip through New Zealand: Otago Peninsula, Dunedin & Moeraki Boulders to Christchurch

     The nice couple who had kindly offered us their home, had mentioned that we check out Dunedin and especially the Otago Peninsula nearby. We thought we would be able to fully explore the city and the peninsula in one day, but we were wrong. We started out with the peninsula and we drove in on Highcliff Road until the end/tip of the peninsula where we did a quick outdoor tour of the Royal Albatross Centre (there is an entrance fee).

The views everywhere in NZ are breathtaking.

     From there we backtracked and drove along Harrington Point Road/Portobello Road until a turnoff for Larnach Castle. There are separate fees to enter the castle so we did a tour of the castle grounds only for $12.50 (Amanda has no interest in castles/architecture). The grounds were very pretty, even in the dead of winter with snow, but I am sure the gardens are much more lively in spring or summer. Also, Larnach Castle is the only castle in all of New Zealand, so if you’re in the area you may want to check it out.

Lanarch Castle

         





           After the castle we headed into town wanting to explore the city of Dunedin, unfortunately the brightness of day wasn’t on our side and the lack of sunlight made it hard to take pictures. So, we bought a bottle of wine and headed back to Stephanie and Neil’s (the lovely couple whom invited us to stay with them) place for the evening. 

     The next morning we left to truly explore the city; we did a little walking tour starting from the Dunedin Railway Station; it was built in 1904 and is the city’s most photographed building.

Dunedin Railway Station

Next was the Law Courts (1899), then up to the Octagon. From the center of the Octagon you can see a statue of Robert Burns, the Municipal Chambers (1880), and St Paul’s Cathedral (1919). From there we passed the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and decided to check it out (after all, it’s free!) – there was a Lego exhibition and who doesn’t like legos? After that we continued our walking tour to First Church (1873), which was built by the first settlers from the Free Church of Scotland.  

First Church

Not far from the church is the Commerce Building, Imperial Building (1906), Garrison Hall (1877), and Milford House (1883) which was once the New Zealand Clothing Factory. About a block away, you can find the National Bank of New Zealand (rebuilt in 1912), the old headquarters of the Bank of New Zealand (1883), the Cargill Monument (1863) which is dedicated to Dunedin’s founder, Captain William Cargill, and across the street from there, the Grand Hotel (1883).

Cargill Monument and the Bank of New Zealand

Grand Hotel

     Walking back towards our car, we passed Consultancy House (1908), the old Police Station (1896) and finally His Majesty’s Prison (1896) before crossing the street to our parked car where we went searching for Baldwin Street. Baldwin Street is the steepest street in the world as according to the Guinness Book of Records; we of course, had to walk to the top of the street – it didn’t take as long as you would think. Baldwin Street has a gradient of 1 in 2.86 feet (or 19 degrees), or that for every 2.86 feet traveled horizontally, it goes up 1 foot. Just look at the angle of these houses and driveways. Would you like to live on this street? I kept picturing cars rolling backwards down the street in winter.

Looking from bottom to top.

Looking at the bottom from the very top.

Angle of this house on the lower part of Baldwin Street

             

     We left Dunedin for Christchurch (338km) and on our route we stopped at Oamaru to see the Moeraki Boulders. They are rather strange but interesting geological occurrences. The boulders are rock formations that are in the shape of spheres up to 10ft (3m) across. They are all along the beach, some partly buried in the sand and others that look like they are coming out of the face of the nearby cliff.

       According to Maori tradition, the boulders are food baskets that were washed ashore from the ancestral canoe. Geologically, they are the product of the crystallizing process of mud-stone; forming before the sedimentary rock which makes them harder and less subject to wear. 

Me next to a Moeraki Boulder. I'm 5'4" (163cm) tall.

     We arrived in Christchurch after nightfall and the city was dead. It was still very early so we went to catch a movie with a friend of Amanda’s, Robert, he had just moved to Christchurch. After the movie we dropped him off at his hostel and headed to a campground where we spent the night in our car.