Les, Geoff's father greeted us at the door and preceded to tell us we would be eating lunch shortly. Geoff smiled and said, "After lunch we will give you a tour of the Peninsula."
Geoff was so happy to show us around and point out the wildlife that inhabited the Peninsula. One of our first stops was on a beach full of seals. We could not believe how well the seals blended in with the surroundings. You really could not see them until you were almost stepping on them.
We then went out to the end of the peninsula. This location is famous for its bird inhabitants. There we saw penguins and albatrosse.
A view from the end of the peninsula.
The bird in this picture is a Royal Albatrosse. There is a large colony that nests at the end of the Peninsula. They were absolutely amazing. If you see pictures of them you might think oh they are just like sea gulls but when you actually see them they are like Pterodactyl. The Royal Albatross weighs almost twenty pounds and its wing span is close to four feet. Incredible!
This is the beach were we got to see the Hoiho, yellow-eyed penguin. Geoff was quite excited that just as we got down the trail there was a couple peeking over the grass. The motioned for us to come and have a look. We crept slowly over to join them and peering through the grass we saw a mother Hoiho feeding her chic. There was really nothing that could describe this powerful image. After waiting for a bit more time there we saw more hoiho returning to their nests hidden in the grass. Geoff just could not stop beaming as he explained this is a rare most people do not get to see this. We felt honored.
Our tour of the Peninsula was amazing but we had to get back for dinner we were sure Les would be waiting. Of course Christmas was only a few days prior so Les had heaps of food in his fridge and he did not like wasting things. Luck of us dinner was not as big as lunch (we were still digesting). The meal time was so fun for Glenn and I because during the meals there was quite a bit of bantering between Les and Geoff or whomever would put up a fight. So by the end of the meal we left the table buzzing from all the good food and laughter.
Les's house was on a hill side. He had built most of the area around his house himself, putting in rock walls to support the earth and a laying bricks for the driveway. It was a beautiful place with an awesome view of the harbor. Les was a keen gardener, his yard was mostly garden and he also had a greenhouse. When he found out we did not have a garden he was disappointed. Time to start my garden. Below is a picture of the greenhouse guard.
The next day Glenn and I decided to take a walk up the hill Les's house was on. At the top Geoff told us you could see the whole town and the water surrounding. Geoff and Les came outside to see us off telling us to just follow the line of trees and we should be right. We had to cross quite a few paddock with sheep and cow and watch out...No sudden movements...There is a big bull! Thank goodness we were not wearing red. We made it pass the bull and we can see the war memorial which had a nice viewing stage from which we could see all directions. A view of Dunedin from above, it was a little windy up there.
We noticed by direction the trees grew that the Dunedin must experiences a fair amount of wind.
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