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In the tropical forest
butterfly exhibit |
Today we decided to explore Dunedin and its surrounds. Firstly we visited the Otago Museum, a mixture of natural and cultural history.
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| Butterflies emerging from pupae |
A feature of the museum is its live butterfly exhibition which was pretty impressive. in the centre of the building is a tropical environment with a 3-level waterfall filled with butterflies. A little incongruous for the location so close to the Antarctic. The butterflies are shipped in from the Philippines and Costs Rica as pupae which emerge in cabinets, and are released daily at 10:30am. If they miss the release, as a few did, they are trapped in the cabinet until the next day, not all surviving. They live for about 6 weeks and then end their performance. I'm not sure what to make of this process and exhibit - good to experience, but seems a little weird.
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| Foyer of the Otago Museum |
There were comprehensive exhibitions of Maori and other Pacific Island cultures which were very informative. The very strong connection with Maori and other Polynesian cultures is evident here in a more inclusive way than its done in Australia. There is less sense of 'other' with the indigenous culture. Hard to explain, but probably a result of the different contact histories between the two countries.
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| The computer display |
Next we went to the
Toitu (Otago Settlers Museum) which has displays about the history of Dunedin. It is housed in the old railway station and has many displays of technology as well as cultural material.
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| Buick with caravan |
Essentially European settlement followed Maori settlement about 1,000 years earlier. The European economy was initially based on whaling, then gold, and then farming and industry. Today its main source of income is education. This is reflected in displays of an early punch-card computer and the early desktop computers. We quite liked the displays, such as the ticketing area of the early NZ Railways and a 50s Buick with a beautiful timber caravan.
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| The village of Portobello |
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| Meat pie with penguin decoration |
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| Seafood hot pot |
We planned to go to the end of the peninsula to an albatross sanctuary, but hunger got the better of us so we stopped at the Penguin Cafe in Portobello little cafe for lunch.
Nothing out of the ordinary, but they made their own pies with little penguin motifs, which were very good, and a creamy seafood hotpot which Frances had. The road to the peninsula was a little scary. A narrow road snaking around the coastline, with no safety fences and the waves lapping only a metre from the side of the road.
It took all of my concentration to drive and no chance really to take in the scenery. The peninsula provides for a very sheltered harbour which was very important in the early years of settlement. It is also why penguins use the inner part of the headland to come ashore to roost in winter.
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View of the Royal Albatros Centre and
location from the albatross viewing area |
So, after lunch, and another 30 mins of torturous driving we finally arrived at the Royal Albatross Centre. The entry ticket, although a little expensive, provided for a presentation, video and a tour of the rookery. What we didn't realise, was that access to the rookery was only visual, from inside a windowed building so as not to disturb the breeding Albatrosses.
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| Adult albatross landing |
They have only been roosting here since early this century and is one of the few places in the world where breeding pairs are increasing. Anyway, all that we could see initially, was a couple of white heads of chicks resting on the grassy hillock. The guide was quite surprised when two adults soared into view and started circling. As the chicks were almost ready to fledge, the parents were putting them on a diet and making them walk to give them some exercise.
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Teen albatross encouraging the parent
to regurgitate food |
The 'teenage' chicks are actually heavier than the adults and have to lose weight and exercise their wings before they can fly. Eventually, after putting on quite a flying demonstration, one adult landed and after prompting form the chick, began to regurgitate the delicious mix of half-digested squid and other seafood. It was definitely a great experience to see them so close and the ease with which they just glided over the headland.
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| The fruit crumble dessert |
It took most of the rest of the afternoon to drive back to Outram and we arrived just in time for animal feeding before we had to prepare for dinner. It was a fund-raising dinner was to be held at a local Rotarian's house and Kate was bringing two of her ducks which she had cooked a l'orange.
There was 10 people for dinner, all local Rotarians, and the house was situated high on a hill overlooking the valley with the lights of Mosqueil in the distance. The company, atmosphere and food was very pleasant, and Kate's ducks were a hit as was the dessert, which was like a fruit crumble with a combination of berries and apples topped with glazed corn flakes - no photo unfortunately.
We must thank Kate and Arthur for their hospitality, not only providing accommodation, but taking time to show us around the Dunedin area.
