Half a day's drive from Christchurch and we land on the Otago Peninsular just outside of Dunedin. They call Dunedin a city, but it's more of a market town UK stylee. Driving is a breeze, simple two lane roads, no hold ups and the occasional overtaking lane. Greg explains this is down to the much lower population density.
There's something about the light here. I'm not sure if it's to do with the extra UV (40% extra I'm told). The sky seems huge and quite dominating, the light is really bright and the edges of shadows are sharp and well defined. It reminds us of places such as St Ives or Pembroke, so maybe it's something to do with reflected (or refracted) light from the sea - an abundance of a certain wavelength or something. Anyhow, speculate as you do, it's quite amazing, and I do actually think some of the photos have captured this to some extent.
Otago is brimming with wildlife. In our three days we saw albatross, blue eyed penguin (smallest species) and NZ fur seal. We actually nearly tripped over the seal who was just plonked on the beach next to where we were sitting. We were there for about 20 minutes before Greg saw it about three metres away!
The weather was great and then bad, then great again. This seems to be a pattern here. Sure, we've had some really wet days, but they only seem to last for a short period before the sun comes out again and you can dry your tent and washing. Not quite as depressing as those gray overcast weeks on end we are used to at home.
Greg's ear still causing problems and we both feel like a bit of a rest from more adventurous activities. We are both enjoying our food really eating for England to make up for the past 6 months. So, we decide to head on south with our new tent and spend a few days in the Catlins.
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