Fourth Stop - Dunedin

Today we headed farther south to Dunedin. On the way we stopped at the Moeraki boulders. I’ve seen pictures everywhere of these perfectly round rocks half submerged in the sand. It looked just like that, minus the sunset glow or any Instagram filter. I couldn’t find any signage on the beach explaining what these were exactly or why they were there. There was, however, a sign that said if you removed a boulder you would be sentenced to three years in jail… 

We refrained from stealing, but Tom pulled up some info about the boulders on his phone, had everyone sit on a boulder, and he read aloud about them. School, check.

Then we drove to Tunnel Beach. This is home to some wind and sea-sculpted cliffs that you accessed through a tunnel. Alas, after navigating an unnervingly steep and serpentine road, we found that the tunnel was closed due to “slips.” I’m not sure what slips are, but I guess a rockslide or something like that. 

We drove on through Dunedin, which had some fun architecture, quirky signs and ranch-style Victorian cottages. 

Next up, we headed to our holiday park on the end of town, checked-in and then went searching for the beach access. We found a path that ended at a large sports field with a sign that said “aim for the blue building.” We did and then found another path up a steep sandy embankment covered in towering coastal grasses and huge wildflowers. It led to a street. We crossed the street and could feel the sea breezes and so started to run down another path that went descended to the sea only to stop abruptly because the entire way was blocked by a sea lion! 

We found another path and enjoyed the afternoon with a huge wide beach all to ourselves.