Dunedin: it's all right here, writes visitor Geoff Simmons.
I had the good fortune to be invited down to take part in the recent Wild Dunedin Festival.
I was welcomed with warm Southern hospitality, and spent an action-packed long weekend experiencing much of what Dunedin has to offer - both the city and wildlife. I was left buzzing and wondering - why hadn't I recently heard much of what Dunedin has to offer?
The Wild Dunedin Festival is aptly named. I hail from Wellington, a city that considers itself the ``Natural Capital'', yet Dunedin can deliver more wildlife than any other city destination in the country.
Within a day, you can see yellow-eyed and little blue penguins, sea lions, seals and the world's largest albatross.
Wellington has Zealandia, which has populated the city with tui, kaka and kereru. However, once Orokonui is fully established, Dunedin will be able to compete there as well.
The vistas from Otago Peninsula are incredible for being just a few minutes' drive from the city, and of course Central Otago and the Catlins are not far away.
Dunedin city also now has plenty to offer with museums, refurbished buildings and a good selection of shopping, cafes and craft beer breweries to keep one fed and watered.
I understand the Dunedin City Council has been focused on attracting people to move here rather than tourism. But as a Kiwi with very little understanding of or affinity for the city, I am unlikely to consider such a move lightly. Tourism is the gateway drug that could put Dunedin on the map.
There are more reasons to back tourism. It seems that in Dunedin and surrounds, tourism is doing more for our wildlife than our Department of Conservation.
To be fair to Doc, they barely have enough funding to manage their own estate, which is some one-third of the country. Outside their land, they have little capacity for saving our native species.
I discovered on my visit that the yellow-eyed penguin is down to an estimated 200 breeding pairs on the mainland. This is a parlous state, and if the trend continues, the species could be shunted down to its last outposts in the subantarctic.
Not only would this be a shame for the species, it would make it a lot harder for those who wish to see them.
One major issue for the yellow-eyed penguin is they are shy. They dislike seeing people so much, it can put them off feeding their kids. And uncontrolled tourists can access their habitat and interrupt their breeding and feeding.
Doc seems unable to help with the problem; in fact, it seems no-one is really responsible for stopping a species going extinct. Yet you can be sure that if the yellow-eyed penguin population gets down below 100, and enough public fuss is made, gargantuan efforts will be made to save them. Why park the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff?
The only bright point in the future of the yellow-eyed penguins seems to be the local tourist operators. They guide the tourists to ensure they behave appropriately, construct huts and ditches that allow them to observe the penguins without knocking them off their game.
Most importantly, they fund the restoration of their habitat.
The yellow-eyed penguin is the most pressing issue, but the conservation work happening on the peninsula is much broader. Tourist operators, farmers and the local community are replanting Otago Peninsula and working to make it possum-free.
These are massive, landscape-scale undertakings which are leading the way in community conservation nationwide.
All the more reason to shout about Dunedin's tourism offerings from the rooftops. Come, enjoy the scenery and wildlife, and do some good at the same time. Yet it seems Dunedin remains the best-kept secret in the country.
As a city, you have plenty to be proud of and plenty to show off to a new wave of cashed-up, wildlife savvy tourists (both national and international). But in tourism terms you seem to be a shrinking violet, hiding away from the rest of the country.
The last we heard about you guys was the new stadium. Apparently the ball flies funny or something? Hard to know for sure because rugby is no longer the national sport - walking and tramping has taken the top spot.
You have plenty to be proud of. Time to start boasting.
Geoff Simmons is an economist and general manager of the Morgan Foundation, one of the partners of Predator Free New Zealand.
