A lone sea lion

Is it a log or a sea lion? As we came out onto Allan's Beach in the Otago Peninsula we could see something on the sand, but could not make out what it was. We discovered it was a sea lion, but was it alive? Sharon and Aphrodite strode closer to it as it appeared this creature was not breathing or moving...... they were going to give it a prod (brave souls), but then the sea lion's stomach took a deep breath, opened its eyes and yawned! Humpf tourists, it probably thought, then snuggled back into the sand and went back to sleep.

Queenstown

Above and below: Queenstown, on the northern shore of Lake Wakatipu, after a ride in the Skyline Gondola to the top of a hill overlooking the town. A chairlift takes you further up to the luge (our first "extreme" activity in NZ) and walking tracks.

Above: The view from Skippers Canyone Road, on the way to our second "extreme" sport of jet boating (below).


Below: New Zealand's first bungy jump location....it is no longer used for this sport as it is now considered not high enough! Why on earth would anyone want to throw themselves off a bridge...?? This was one extreme sport neither of us was tempted to attempt.

Dunedin

Baldwin St is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s steepest streets, with a gradient of 1 in 1.266. An annual Gutbuster race is held in February, with the winner running up and back in about 2 minutes. The view from the top after walking (and puffing) up the incline in well over two minutes.... We then drove up in the car and Sharon gave us a joy ride back down!

Spiritual waka

Above: This spiritual waka (boat) sits at the base of a pond in the grounds of Lanarch Castle (below) in the Otago Peninsula, near Dunedin.

Lanarch Castle was built in 1871 at a cost of 125,000 pounds ($2.5 million by today’s standards). It is set on 14 ha and has been restored and developed to feature gardens with native flora and lawns, overlooking Otago Peninsula (below).