Tourist First: New Zealand: Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula

Thursday, March 30, 2023

New Zealand: Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula

A northern royal albatross soars above a sightseeing boat below the Royal
Albatross Centre on the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin. Albatrosses can weigh
as much as a swan and have a wingspread up to 11 feet (3.3 meters).

After visiting the albatross center, we went out on that
boat and saw many albatrosses sitting on the water.

There are perhaps as many as 22 varieties or species of albatross, depending on who is counting, and Jane and I have now seen three of them up close. We saw the waved albatross in 2001 in the Galapagos Islands. And now, in 2023, we have seen the northern royal albatross and the white-capped albatross at the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin. Whether the northern royal albatross is significantly different from the southern royal albatross is one of the reasons for uncertainty about the number of species.

A visit to the Royal Albatross Centre was a highlight of our time in Dunedin, a bustling university town with photogenic beaches and a lot of youthful energy. Doctors Point (named for physicians who owned homes nearby, bought beach property and opened it to the public) has sea caves that are dry at low tide. Tunnel Beach is reached by a challengingly steep trail and rewards hardy visitors with views of nature-sculpted rocks in the sea. Downtown Dunedin radiates off an octagonal green space bordered by restaurants and civic buildings. Little alleys nearby sometimes lead to hidden cocktail bars like Pequeno or the Indigo Room. A statue of Robert Burns is testimony to the Scottish roots of the town's pioneeers.

Dunedin is where we tried Bluff oysters for the first time, during a lunch at Bacchus Wine Bar. We had them again a couple of days later when we returned for dinner. Bluff oysters come from cold and deep waters between Bluff, a town on the southern coast of the South Island, and Stewart Island and are available only from March to August. They're firm, meaty and more flavorful than regular Pacific oysters, which I prefer to most oysters on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts.

Here are some photos:

That bit of green in the upper left is part of the park
at the Octogon at the center of Dunedin. This was
taken from our table at Bacchus Wine Bar.

There were still some Bluff oysters to be eaten at Bacchus Wine Bar
when I paused to take this photo.

Sidewalk dining on the Octogon.

The iconic Scottish poet Robert Burns presides
over the Octogon in Dunedin.

Three levels of guest rooms wrap around
the atrium of the Ebb-Dunedin hotel. At
the bottom, slicing right through the hotel,
is the driveway to the parking area.

Signs throughout New Zealand use Maori place names and phrases, in this
case at Doctors Point north of Dunedin.

We saw no little blue penguins at Doctors Point,
but we did see several black oystercatchers.

A sea cave at Doctors Point.

The path to Tunnel Beach starts with a long and steep descent.

The path then turns and continues its steep descent.

This eroded rock, with a sea-carved natural arch,
is the end of the trail.

One of several albatross chicks we saw from the
viewing station at the Royal Albatross Centre.

A spoonbill crane, seen from a boat tour
off the Otago Peninsula.

A very rare yellow-eyed penguin, one of about 40 being nursed back to health
at Penguin Place, a rescue and rehabilitation center at Otago.

A pair of yellow-eyed penguins at Penguin Place. It's estimated that there may be
as few as a thousand of these birds left on the planet.

Penguin Place also works with other types of penguin.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.