January 23, 2013

The weather was gloomy at the beginning of the morning with heavily overcast skies and cool weather in the 60s. However, as the day progressed, the cloud cover lifted to reveal blue, partly cloudy skies, and the temperatures rose to a more moderate mid-70s. However, later in the day, the cloud cover returned, along with a light, intermittent drizzle.

Today was an "at your leisure" day: one could either do nothing and lounge around the hotel, read a book, or shop locally, or one could choose from a variety of optional activities. I chose a land-based excursion to the nearby Otago Peninsula to see local wildlife. The start of the tour was delayed by an hour and a half because most of the participants in the tour -- actually all of the participants other than myself -- were coming from a passenger cruise ship, the very one we had seen in Milford Sound the day before yesterday. The ship had been delayed in reaching the harbor and docking due to adverse weather conditions. Nothing was excluded from the tour because of the delay; I was just glad to be part of a tour in a van with only ten others rather than a bus full of 40 people.

We headed first for a facility called Natures Wonders Naturally (there's that unnecessary hyperbole again). We were divided into smaller groups of five and travelled via four-wheel drive all-terrain vehicles to view the wildlife. We first went to see a large rocky outcropping virtually covered with fur seals. The males, having impregnated the females, already had departed for their own colony. The females sunned themselves on the rocks, while the young pups played with each other in the shallow waters or on the rocks. The scene was full of activity.

We then went to an area known to be a nesting area for the yellow-eyed penguin, the rarest of the penguin species. Only about 4,000 are known to be alive still, and all are limited to the southwestern area of New Zealand. Natures Wonders focused on conservation rather than captivity. In fact, the yellow-eyed penguin was so sensitive, it could not survive captivity. Therefore, Natures Wonders sought to build a habitat suitable for the yellow-eyed penguin, that is, a gentle slope covered with low bushes near a beach. A wooden shelter was used so that humans could see the penguins without the penguins being disturbed by the presence of humans. Our guide told us the yellow-eyed penguin was the fourth largest species of penguins, reaching almost to the knees of humans. We waited for nearly 45 minutes, but no penguins displayed themselves.

Then our little group left Natures Wonders and proceeded to the immediately adjacent facility: the Royal Albatross Conservation Centre. Obviously, this operation was devoted to the albatross, more specifically the species known as the Royal Albatross. The Royal Albatross has a wingspan of three meters, considerably wider than most people are tall. The Royal Albatross became an endangered species only after arrival of the Europeans who brought with them rats, cats, weasels, stoats, and other predators that led to the endangerment of the Royal Albatross (along with numerous other species on the islands of New Zealand that previously had not known any predators). A concerted effort was being undertaken throughout New Zealand to bring the predator population under control so that the native species could survive. Interestingly, at the time of my visit, a member of the New Zealand parliament had put forth a proposal to eliminate all cats -- domestic and feral -- from the country for the protection of the native species. As you might imagine, this proposal was met with some degree of outrage.

As we had with the penguins, we observed the albatrosses from within a discreetly placed wooden shelter. Our guide pointed out one male albatross protecting a chick that had hatched just days before. The male and female albatross share equally the responsibilities for keeping the egg warm as it matures, and then protecting the chick once the egg hatches. The guide told us the female might be away for as long as a few days searching for food before it returned. The most the male might do would be to stand up briefly. We watched hoping the male would do so in order that we might be able to catch a glimpse of the chick; however, the male albatross remained firmly seated protectively upon the chick. I think humans could learn a lesson or two about sharing responsibility for raising children from the albatross.

Our day of touring wildlife on the Otago Peninsula was concluded, but our guide was willing to take the group into the city center of Dunedin for further sightseeing. One of the passengers from the cruise ship requested that he take the "highway" back into town, but I did not realize she mean the "high way" in the sense that it was a higher road than the more direct route, a route which would give us a better view of Dunedin. I'm glad our driver agreed to take the highway rather than my way because the views truly were impressive. Unfortunately, I was not carrying my iPad with me, so I will not have any photographs to share until I return home.

We reached the city center, and the cruise ship passengers wanted to go shopping. The guide agreed to give them an hour to do so. I had no interest in shopping, or, rather, I had a singular, specific interest in shopping. I asked the driver if Dunedin had a Harley-Davidson shop. He said he know of a motorcycle shop, and he thought they carried Harley-Davidson motorcycles. He agreed to take me there while the others continued shopping downtown. Indeed the shop did carry Harley-Davidson motorcycles and paraphernalia, so I was able to acquire yet another unique t-shirt for my collection, bringing the number of New Zealand Harley-Davidson t-shirts to three. I anticipate collecting one more when I reach Christchurch.

After we retrieved the cruise ship passengers from their shopping trip, they wanted to see Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world. Our own driver had mentioned Baldwin Street and plans to make a visit there before leaving Dunedin. On a previous trip some travelers had challenged the claim that Baldwin Street was the world's steepest street, asserting that Lombard Street in San Francisco held that distinction. They researched the matter on the Internet that evening, and they learned that Baldwin Street is indeed the world's steepest street.

Baldwin Street is located in a residential neighborhood of Dunedin, and is not particularly remarkable other than it is very steep. I have seen streets in San Francisco that very nearly matched the steepness of Baldwin Street. Nevertheless, throngs of tourists were on Baldwin Street taking photographs, walking up the street and otherwise taking in the experience of Baldwin Street. Our guide drove the van up to the top of Baldwin Street, and we surveyed the view, which really consisted of little more than the nearby residential neighborhood and the tourists getting overly excited about seeing the banal World's Steepest Street. It really amazes me sometimes what generates enthusiasm among tourists.

We made one final stop at the university in Dunedin that has some interesting Victorian architecture on its campus. I personally didn't find it particularly interesting, so I did not take any photographs. We dropped the cruise ship passengers off at the docks where their ship was berthed, and then our guide returned me to my hotel. He apologized for our lack of success in finding any yellow-eyed penguins, or in seeing albatrosses that demonstrated more activity. I told him apologies were unnecessary because these were matters beyond his control. He said he appreciated my attitude, noting that it was unlike that of most Americans with whom he had worked. Some even had threatened to file lawsuits when penguins failed to appear on demand. Once again I felt embarrassed that my fellow countrymen were doing so much to perpetuate the "ugly American" stereotype. Unfortunately the stereotype is all too true; I am both mortified and ashamed when I see or hear about Americans behaving in this manner.

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Last revised: August 27, 2015.