doing the tourist thing - Dunedin

Dunedin station

Another great weekend.

Starting in Dunedin.

Not my favourite place so far. i have become accustomed to country ways and empty streets after just 2 weeks in Gore.

Dunedin has traffic lights, traffic and a lot of tourists……..

It felt like Scotland, both architecturally and florally.

There was a piper in the city centre where the cruise ship shuttle buses offload . He was young, and very good on the bagpipes, but wearing football strip, which didn't really work for me.

I like my pipers to wear a kilt.

The floral displays were not to my taste.

I realise that I probably shouldn't say this…..but I really don't like marigolds and salvias.

Call me a snob if you wish.

marigolds

salvias

Even the buildings come in vibrant colours.

red block

Dunedin architecture

park

And even worse than that, it has a Cadbury's World.

Cadbury's World, Dunedin

I popped into the tourist office to ask about hiking ( known as 'tramping' in NZ) trails nearby. Suffice it to say that the map that they found me was insufficient. The tourists here want city tours and boat trips or Cadbury's World. I wanted none of these so took off in my car onto the Otago Peninsula to see what I could find.


I found Sandfly Bay.

Luckily the sandflies were asleep. As were the enormous sea lions. The penguins were out fishing again.

Sandfly Bay. A steep climb down and an even steeper climb up.

The sand dunes were stunning, and due to the wildlife that made the dunes a protected area were untouched by human footprint.

dunes

a happy place to spend an hour or two

Onwards around the coast.

The sea mist came in.

I had a few minutes of bliss watching the mist rolling around.

Sea mist on the Otago peninsula 

Before returning back to the city for food and water.


Saturday.

Farmers market. Checking out the locals.

The market is beside the station. Where better to have breakfast?

breakfast

Tasty treats.

I would like to show you a picture of the man who sold me some sausages…….

But I didn't take one.

He was quite nice……..

The sausages weren't.

For locals, shopping at the farmers market, having coffee and meeting friends was the order of the morning. A relaxed and convivial atmosphere.

Next stop Port Chalmers, to inspect the cruise ships.

Port Chalmers

The cruise ships were BIG.

I got told off for taking photos at the port, so I went up the hill.

Off to another beach, this time north of the city.

Long Bay Beach.

Not a tourist in site. Not a cafe or even an ice cream van.


Bright sun and white sand. Harsh light .

Not conducive to landscape photography. Time for some more long exposures and multiple exposures with my ND10 filter.

Lastly, Hoopers Inlet, which took my breath away.

Reminiscent of Luskentyre in the Hebrides with its shallow waters and total patterns. The only problem was the lush vegetation obscuring the view.

The bright yellows are cockle shells on the exposed estuary bed.

Dunedin turned out to be worth the visit after all.

You just have to get a little way out of town.

Away from the tourists.