Steampunk, penguins, seals and picturesque coasts

01/22/17 - 01/23/17

Oamaru

We spend most of the day driving down the east coast in rainy weather. When we arrive in Oamaru, it briefly stops raining and we take a short walk through the city and the beautifully landscaped botanical garden. A staff member even opens the greenhouse for us after closing time. The Kiwis are just too nice :)

We spend the night at a Christian campground. We are the only guests, and because it is very windy, we are allowed to sleep in our car in the converted barn. The campground was a bit old and the strong wind with its strange noises made us feel almost like in a horror movie. All that was missing was for the lights to start flickering and the door to open by itself :D

But we survive the night with all limbs intact and treat ourselves to a wonderfully warm shower. After that, we head back to the city for the Steampunk Museum, where you can admire bizarre figures and machines.

Southeast Coast

After the museum, our journey continues south towards Dunedin. We make stops at various places along the way.

First stop is the Moeraki Boulders. A very well-known attraction in New Zealand. These are spherical 1m large limestone rocks that create a very beautiful scenery with the beach.

With the good view and the nice weather, we continue to Katiki Point. There we can see rabbits, lots of seals, and yellow-eyed penguins, one of the rarest penguin species in the world.

The next stop is Shag Point, where we can observe countless seals dozing :) At low tide, you can see limestone eggs/formations on the beach (similar to the Moeraki Boulders). You have a good overview of the formation process because there are formations in every stage.

We continue until we reach the gates of Dunedin, where there is a free campground right by the sea :) We spent a total of three nights there because we liked it so much.