When I started out for the day, it wasn’t my plan to visit the Lan Yuan Chinese Garden in the center of Dunedin, however I was rather glad I did. Earlier in the day, I had spent a few hours in a local art gallery staring at paintings and pretending I knew what the meaning in them was. Once I’d made my way around the gallery, I left and followed a street art trail that took me through the city streets and ended near the Lan Yuan Gardens. Noticing the gardens were open, and with no other plans, I decided to go in for a look.
Having spent the last hour walking along the beach, with a bit of a scramble I made my way up through the sand dunes. The day had been warm and now, as the sun was starting to drop below the horizon, a light breeze started to blow.
One of the terrific things about walking on the Otago Peninsula is finding unexpected things. What’s even more terrific is rediscovering things you remember you forgot. These historic stone walls that separate farm fields definitely fit that criteria.
Fog is such a wonderful element in photographs, it adds a very mystic feeling that leaves questions unanswered. While I was driving on the high road on the Otago Peninsula, I came across a fast moving cloud of fog that was hiding and revealing the surrounding countryside. Including this fenceline.
One morning I was out walking near Dowling Street in Dunedin as the sun was rising in the distance. It was creating all sorts of shadows and silhouettes with the architecture on the nearby buildings. As I moved along and down the street, I started to follow the position and angle that the sun appeared between buildings.
I was out among the hills around Dunedin, exploring the remains of some buildings that weren’t really standing yet hadn’t completely collapsed. After a bit, I came along a disused path which ran up along a fenceline that eventually opened out to overlook a small valley. It was while taking in the view, that I completely forgot I was standing right next to a paddock of horses. That was, until one came up behind me, nudged me in the back and scared me half to death!
My destination was Lovers Leap and the Chasm. Both places I hadn’t been to in some years. I was looking forward to a nice walk with my reward being a pleasant peninsula view at the end of it. At one point I did notice that the track signs seemed to have changed, however, confident I knew where I was going I ignored these and set off under the watchful eye of the local sheep population.
Several Spotify songs later, I arrived at the spot where the viewing platform should be, only to find it wasn’t there. Replaced, with an unstable land warning. Confused, I backtracked and headed to the other viewing platform, which I quickly learnt had also disappeared.
Deciding it would now be prudent to follow the signs, I discovered a new track and viewing platform had been built and placed looking northeast over Allans Beach, Hoopers Inlet, Mt Charles and inland to Harbour Cone. Offloading my pack, I had to admit that this was probably a better view. I also realised that I was being watched by a very smug group of sheep that seemed to be saying “told ya so!”.
Epilogue
In 2019 The Department of Conservation removed the viewing platforms overlooking Lover’s Leap and the Chasm due to concerns over unstable land.
Spend some time thinking about the Albatross for a moment. These wonderful creatures have a lifespan of at least 50 years, spend up to 85% of it at sea and can go up to six years without touching land. They live off a diet of fish, squids, and crustaceans and once they find a mate they pair-up for life, producing one egg every two years. One fully grown, they weigh around 12 kilograms, have a wingspan of 3.5 meters, can fly up to 40km per hour and can travel up to 15,000 kilometers. In fact, the Northern Royal Albatross has been known to fly 190,000 kilometers a year.
If that’s not enough, there is only one place in the world where the Northern Royal Albatross breeds on the mainland and that is Taiaroa Head, on the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin. A place that is home to more than 250 albatrosses. Isn’t that remarkable and just a little bit special.
It was one of those lovely autumn evenings where the weather was kind and the warmth of the day lingered into the evening. Deciding to enjoy the twilight, I ventured up to the Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial on the Otago Peninsula. Once there, I was able to watch the sunset while enjoying an almost 360 degree view of Dunedin.
If there’s one thing I like about golf, it’s seeing someone play who is worse than me. Which, to be fair, isn’t many people. Thus the reason I don’t spend much time playing the game however, golf courses are a great place to walk. As long as you can avoid flying golf balls and grumpy 70+ year old men in tweed trousers who resent the fact you’re walking on their course! The other great thing about golf courses is that they are often located in very picturesque locations and give you wonderful views.
Let’s think about the St Clair Esplanade and Sea Wall for a moment. It was first built in the 1860’s, redesigned twice in the 1880’s, then again in 2004 and once more in 2021. It’s had multiple beach access points added to it and changed over the years. There have been ramps, stairs and pathways built into it. Nearby, there’s a surf club, a surf lifesaving club, cafe’s, bars, restaurants, hotels, a surf shop, a salt water pool, hair and beauty salons and parks. Along the Esplanade there have been grand hotels, corner shops and a public pavilion that was replaced by a band rotunda. It’s been hit by storms, suffered from erosion and even had sinkholes in it. Yet, despite all this, consistently every twelve hours the tide changes from low to high then back again.
We’d been following the Taieri River, which really is a remarkable waterway. It starts from seemingly nowhere in the Lammerlaw Range and flows north, then east, then south-east on its 288 kilometre journey to the sea. It passes through at least six towns, two gorges, it links with two lakes, the fish are plentiful, there are some lovely picnic spots along its banks and it is part of the fabric of the farming community. After we passed over the towns of Outram, Allanton and Momona we flew over Henley before turning, and beginning to retrace our steps. It was then that I realised that there’s just nothing like the patchwork quilt of green that stretches out over the Taieri plains.
I had a look around the Esplanade and soon realised that apart from a lone delivery truck, I had the place to myself. In the distance, the sun was rising as the beach sat at low tide and somewhere down the street, the smell of fresh coffee started to fill the air.
I found my way up a side street that led to a parking lot that has one of my favorite views of Dunedin. Looking out over streets, buildings and car parks it’s not the most stunning of views, yet there’s something rather wonderful about it.
I spent a good part of the day aimlessly wandering around Dunedin’s city streets in the area of Moray Place, the Octagon and a number of alleyways. I wasn’t looking for anything specific, simply interesting vantage points that I hadn’t seen before, or views I had forgotten about.
While walking the city in search of interesting vantage points, I found my way into a car parking building. The good thing about parking buildings is that they usually have roof access, and roofs are a wonderful position to photograph from. I’d photograph from my roofs if I could, however annoyingly we have trespassing laws in New Zealand, which means that you either need to find a different view, or take a photo worth the $1,000 fine/three months in prison.
When I started, I planned to stroll through the city and see what I could find. There’s something very delightful about wandering with no set purpose. In the end, I ended up completing a large 5 kilometer loop of the city. I walked up hills, sheltered from rain, found vantage points of the city that I’d forgotten about, and eventually found my car where I had left it. Which is always a bonus.
Having parked not more than a minute or two’s walk from the square, I enjoyed the stroll along the street, watching sunlight find its way into the shadowy corners in between buildings. It seemed busier than usual for this early time of day. A motley mix of people hurried their way into the various buildings that surrounded the square, clearly there were more pressing matters to attend to than watching sunlight reflect off windows.
Having been walking for some time, I reached a point where the track split in two. The first path looked to be a gentle stroll along a well worn track that led off through a field before looping back to the carpark. The second path, which wasn’t really a path at all, headed up the hill through long grass and ended at a stone wall that sat cresting the hill. Curious to see the stone wall and the view from the top of the hill, I pushed off through the long grass.
I found my way through the streets of Dunedin to the Railway Station which is located at the end of Lower Street, only two blocks from the central Octagon. The Railway Station really is a magnificent building and is one that has been looked after most wonderfully.
The day had been all together pleasant and I was finishing it with a walk along the beach. Having parked my car outside a collection of restaurants and bars on the St Clair Esplanade, I had set off along the beach. Now having reached its terminus, I enjoyed the sunset before starting the walk back. A distance of around 3.5 kilometers in the fading light.
After I got home, I conducted a little research. I had driven past the tiny Island hundreds of times, yet not once given it a second thought. So, I decided to change all that. With the aid of my computer and the trusty search engine called Google, it took me all of 30 seconds to discover the tiny island is called Pudding Island or Titeremoana. I also discovered that back around 1900 it was a popular place for day picnics. Until, some careless visitors started a fire which destroyed much of the vegetation. In response, the government protected the island under the Scenery Preservation Act and replanted over a 1000 plants. Which is what gives us the wonderful little island we have today.
As I wander thro’ each charter’d street, near where the Toitu quietly does flow. And mark the clock with seven chimes, The day-light peeks, the day-light grows. (Words adapted from William Blake’s poem London)
As it turns out, it’s possible to hurt yourself while walking, which is a rather silly thing to do, given all my walking experience! Having been exploring some bush tracks, I was about to finish my downhill descent, when I decided that it would be a good idea to step on a smallish rock that as it turns out wasn’t altogether stable. This resulted in my left leg moving involuntarily forward, my right leg stayed where it was while my right knee traveled in a completely different direction. Spending the next week complaining about the pain coming from my knee, I had the good sense to listen to my wife (and for her sanity) and seek treatment.
After a short walk I stopped and looked. A small army of tourists seemed to be gathering in front of the Dunedin Railway Station. As far as the eye could see, the party of several hundred had broken up into groups of twos and threes and were carefully studying maps of their planned invasion of the city. This is what I love about seeing cruise ship passengers around New Zealand cities once again, they organise their time with military precision.
It took me a week to get this photo. Originally, I was going to take it last Thursday or Friday however, low, misty clouds rolled in and with it all the lovely blue sky disappeared. Unfortunately it then hung around for a week and as I wanted the image to be bright, full of colour with a wonderful blue sky I decided to wait. I was about to give up on the whole idea as it was beginning to feel like the dull, overcast sky would never leave when suddenly yesterday morning the clouds broke and the world was filled with colour once again! In the end, I’m happy I waited as the final image is really pleasing, however, it did test my patience.
Back in January, I set myself the goal of publishing a different photo everyday on my photoblog until the 23rd December. At the time, I didn’t have any idea how I would do it and even if I could be consistent or dedicated enough to keep it up for that length of time. It definitely felt like I had bitten off more than I could chew. However, 340 days later I’m really chuffed to be able to say ….. mission accomplished! In fact, I can say that I’ve really enjoyed myself, it’s been my little bit of escapism everyday as I photograph and write about the places I’ve been both in my own backyard and beyond it.
The only problem is, I’ve got lots of images I still haven’t shared on my photoblog so I’ve decided to keep it running. While I take a break over summer, I’ve got a load of content set to go that’s going to be posted everyday at 6am until mid January when I get back online.
So, thank you to everyone who takes a second in their day to check out my blog and the social media streams. Thank you for the lovely messages and comments that are left, they really do help, support and inspire.
Have a great Christmas and New Years,
John
PS. If you want to see all the images posted this year (excluding the one above) checkout the video below.
I emerged from the Cathedral and looked out at what once must have been a commanding view of the harbour and distant peninsula. As I was standing on the Cathedral steps, the neighbouring Art Gallery caught my eye. I strolled over and went from gallery to gallery enjoying all the exhibitions on display. It included two, large scale site-specific exhibits by Australia artist Rebecca Baumann called Light Interference (Refracted Field). I stood in the atrium and looked out across the gallery, happy to be in a world of colour.
Leaving the mall, I made my way down George Street to St Paul’s Cathedral. Having been recently redeveloped due to a fire in the Cathedral’s roof, I recalled reading that the scaffolding had been taken down and the Cathedral was fully open once more. With a bit of time to spare, I thought I’d take a look.
Not being brave enough to venture into any of the shops on my own, I settled for enjoying the colours that were streaming through one of the nearby exits.
… from a Small City. My daily musings from Ōtepoti to get you inspired. Read the blog, view the photos, embrace the creativity.
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Lan Yuan Chinese Garden – Buy 
Light on Dowling Street 
