The Otago peninsula is located just a few kilometers from Dunedin, the fourth largest city in New Zealand. Still, it is far from a recreation area.
What seemed like a rock on a deserted beach from a distance begins to move sluggishly. Suddenly, walkers find themselves face to face with a sea lion colossus: a huge animal sits magnificently on a throne in the sand. Unusual meetings like these are what makes a visit to the Otago Peninsula the highlight of every trip to New Zealand. The small peninsula in the south of the South Island is considered a unique paradise for wild animals.
Natural landscapes and views of the ocean
The Otago peninsula is located just a few kilometers from Dunedin, the fourth largest city in New Zealand. Still, it is far from a recreational area: undulating pastures inland and wildly steep cliffs resemble Scotland, and Highcliff Road in the middle of the country’s belt reveals spectacular views of the Pacific in both directions.
Narrow paths through yellow blooming bushes lead to bays where Hooker’s sea lions, rare penguins, seals and cormorants live. ‘I could never live in the city,’ says the owner of the boarding house and sheep breeder, John, as he enjoys the view of the port of Otago from his terrace.
Royal albatrosses and rare penguins
Most day trippers from Dunedin book guided tours to the safest wildlife observation posts. In the very north of the peninsula is one of the most attractive places: a bird haven on Taiaroa Head, home of the only land colony of the royal albatrosses. These giants can boast of a wingspan of up to three meters and can easily be observed from the visitor center. But as magnificently as the birds glide through the air, their landings are clumsy – they often involve braking.
Sandy coves in the northwest are also home to a colony of yellow-eyed penguins, which is a really rare sight: only 1,000 individuals of this critically endangered species live in the world. From their hiding places, tourists can watch penguins with a bright yellow stripe on their heads as they fly out of the waves at high speed at dusk and waddle across the beach to the dunes, where hungry young people are already waiting for them.
Moerakia Penguin Hospital
Rosalie Goldsworthy is dedicated to these little creatures in a tuxedo. In the small town of Moeraki, known primarily for its heavy stone balls on a fine sandy beach, he volunteers to run the only penguin hospital in the country. It is located right next to the lighthouse. Whether it’s barracuda bites, parasitic infestations or malnutrition, the 58-year-old New Zealander has learned herself over the years how to help animals.
The tragic story of Larnach Castle
Visitors can enjoy probably the most beautiful panoramic view of the Otago from the tower of Larnach Castle, located on a hill on the peninsula. The extravagant castle was built in 1871 for the banker and politician William Larnach and was New Zealand’s most expensive construction project. But a luxury home in this natural paradise did not bring happiness to its owner: Larnach’s first wife died of a heart attack and the second from blood poisoning.
Larnach’s third wife, only 16 years old, had an affair with his son from his first marriage. One of Banker’s daughters, for whom he had a ballroom built, died of typhus soon after. Financial disasters were added to his personal tragedies. In 1898, Larnach shot himself in the Parliament building in Wellington.
Cover photo: Ulrich Lange, Dunedin, New Zealand, CC BY-SA 3.0, Via Wikimedia Commons
