OTAGO PENINSULAR
The Otago Peninsular offers a wide
range level of activities and is visit location in its own right. This
is a very different experience to a visit to Dunedin. For starters the
Peninsular has its own micro climate.
The township of Portobello is the
‘capital’ of the peninsular and is the launch point for the visit to
point to observe the Albatross. The viewing
centre for the albatross colony is one of the peninsula's main
ecotourism attractions, along with other wildlife such as seals and
Yellow-eye Penguins.
Many species of seabirds and waders in particular may
be found around the tidal inlets, including spoonbills, plovers, and
herons.
Portobello has a hotel, shops and
cafes and is deemed a great day trip for people from Dunedin.
Portobello also has a museum
that opens weekends and on the rise near the cemetery lays a
Presbyterian Church.
Not far from Portobello is the famous
Larnark Castle that is a favorite for tourists, but now comes at a
cost. This shot of the flowers is as close as you get for free. On our
day the castle was shrouded in cloud and mist and was given a miss.
It was during the
Otago Gold Rush in the 1860s pleasure gardens were established at
Vauxhall; George Grey Russell built his house at Glenfalloch and
William Larnach acquired the land for his big house now known Larnach
Castle.
Also, quite near to Portobello is
another historic church that was re-located to the current site over
50 years ago. 
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