Otago University Graduation Ceremony
by TomorrowsAngel
Otago University holds 6 graduation ceremonies per year.
The graduates participate in a parade to the Town Hall, where the ceremony takes place.
The Chancellor of the University presides, 'capping' the graduates, the graduate then puts on their mortarboard, then the head of the relevant Department then hands the graduate their Degree certificate.
Invited guests, academics and graduates then gather for an afternoon tea in a large marquee beside the Town Hall.
Botanic Gardens
by 80-bettyboo
Dunedin's Botanic Gardens is New Zealand's oldest botanic garden, opened in 1869. It remains one of the country's finest with an extensive rose garden, Japanese garden, bird aviary and the famous rhododendron dell.
The Lower Garden is traditional displays of herbaceous borders and annual bedding plants with rose and knot garden.
The upper Garden has extensive Australian Plant Collection also The Geographic Collection has plants from Himalayas, South and North America
It also has a nice cafe where you enjoy your drink.
Location : Corner of Great King Street
Opoho Road,Lovelock Avenue North Dunedin
Open every day of the year. Gates open approximately 0700 to dusk
Yellow-Eyed Penguins at Penguin Place
by seattle1299
Over on the Otago Peninsula is a nesting area of the yellow-eyed penguin, one of the rarest penguins in the world.
Land owners have set up a system of camouflaged trenches so people can get close to the penguins without disturbing them.
Dunedin Railway Station
by sunnywong
Dunedin Railway Station was opened in 1906. It is built of Kokonga basalt with Oamaru limestone facings and incorporates a variety of shapes, textures and materials. The building went through a major restoration in 1999 to bring it back to its former glory.
Yellow Eyed Penguins
by Kate-Me
The Yellow Eyed penguin is the rarest penguin in the world, found only in the south of the south island of NZ & on some sub-antarctic islands.
To see them, we had to visit the Reid family farm (and not-for-profit, non govt funded eco tourism attraction) called Nature's Wonders, just a few mins past the Albatross centre. Besides running the farm, they are very committed and organised with conservation and protecting the wildlife on their property - the beach is closed to all but the penguins. They are active also with the elimination of predators, such as stoats, weasels & feral cats.
On the property, there are the Little Blue Penguins (very similar genetically to the Australian Fairy Penguin), NZ seals, and the Yellow Eyed penguin - plus a lot of rabbits, some of which you can even see on the beach, as we did (seemed quite funny - but at least they aren't predators).
To visit the wildlife in the area, several of the tours go by boat, then bus, then on foot, but our tour we selected because, unlike the other tours, it didn't have 1 1/2 hours of walking involved....we'd be taken down to the animals in still, aboard 6 wheeled all terrain vehicles called Argos (imported at a cost of about $140,000 ea from USA)
This was important as my mother is almost 65 and didn't want to walk (generally older age group on our tour) and also the day would have been too dismal and windy for being outside for too long, with rain always threatening. Each Argo held 3 people in the front, and about 4 in the back. There were about 4 Argos in our convoy which travelled the narrow gravelled, pot holed tracks on the farm at the top of the peninsula, and they rode much more comfortably than they looked. It didn't feel too touristy for us, and the service was very personalised from the guide driving each Argo. They (the family) were very passionate about what they did, and it shone through.
We were protected from the wind a bit by long waterproof coats which we were given to wear on our expedition.
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