Marc & Nora ROUND THE WORLD 2005/2006 - Join us!

Travel time: September 2005 - July 2006  |  by marc and nora L.

The South Island: Dunedin and The Catlins

Staying true to it's Scottish roots it was pissing down when we arrived in Dunedin so the thought of exploring this place didn't seem too appealing. But despite the shocking weather Dunedin is actually quite a nice looking town. With a lot of money coming into the city from the gold mines (In 1870 Dunedin was actually unchallenged as New Zealand's largest and richest city) it has lots of impressive and 'big' looking buildings which you would expect. After more rain and another rainy night we set of in the rain and headed south towards the rainy Catlins region.

As we headed away from the City we actually spotted blue sky! We both believed at first that it must simply be some kind of hallcination due to the tremendous amount of rain which our bodies had absorbed over the past week but as we drove on the clouds parted and out came the sun! HALLELUJAH!!!!.... HALLELUJAH!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!

The catlins is an area along the southern-most coast of South Island, New Zealand which is famous for its rugged coastline and forests.

the yellow-eyed penguin as well as the hector dolphin can be found here.

We were very lucky to see them both. The yellow-eyed penguin can be seen just after dusk or at dawn. We didnt plan to stay for either of the two so we didnt account to see one. however, there was one little penguin that must have lost its sense of time as it swam to the shore and hopped up the hill to its nest...

The Hector's dolphin is the rarest dolphin in the world - it is also the smallest species of dolphin!

It was named after Sir James Hector who was the most influential New Zealand scientist of his time (he lived from 1834 to 1907)

there are about 3000 south island hector´s dolphins and at one particular bay in the catlins there are about 20 resident ones which swim just a few meters away from the beach - and we spotted them!

Kaka Point was our direction!

Kaka Point was our direction!

Bay at the Catlins

Bay at the Catlins

Bay where we saw Hector dolphins

Bay where we saw Hector dolphins

beautiful isnt it

beautiful isnt it

a small but beautiful waterfall along the catlins

a small but beautiful waterfall along the catlins

Further down the coast we also visited the Moeraki boulders that lie on a short stretch of the beach.

moeraki boulders

moeraki boulders

moeraki boulders

moeraki boulders

© marc and nora L., 2005
You are here : Overview Australia & Pacific New Zealand Dunedin and The Catlins
The trip
 
Description:
Hello - 5 more days!!! On the 12th of September we are setting off! Our plan is to travel round the world for a period of 10 months. 1st stop: Thailand (1 month) and cambodia 2nd stop: Via Singapore (overland) to Australia where we plan to stay for approximately 4-5 months. 3rd stop: New Zealand (2 months) (north and south island) 4th stop: South America (approx. 3 months) (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and if time and money allows we might visit costa rica)
Details:
Start of journey: Sep 12, 2005
Duration: 11 months
End of journey: Jul 31, 2006
Travelled countries: world-wide
United Kingdom
Thailand
Malaysia
Cambodia
Singapore
Australia
Australia & Pacific
New Zealand
South America
Chile
Argentina
Bolivia
Peru
Ecuador
Canada
The Author
 
marc and nora L. is an active author on break-fresh-ground. since 19 years.
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