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Here we were in Dunedin, New Zealand and I wanted to see fur seals, penguins and albatross? This didn't sound cool to the group of up to the minute teenagers who were with us, but thankfully the adults prevailed.

A little while later and what a difference a cute furry face made!

This was the Southlight Wildlife Sanctuary on the Otago Peninsula and some of the young fur seals were putting on an exhibition for our now eager group.

A substantial colony of southern fur seals make their home on these rocky shores and can be seen at several conservation areas on the peninsula.

Following the track over the hill past the sheep and lambs (yes this area is a working farm as well) brings you to a vantage point from which to view the cliff face up close.

Here the spotted shags or cormorants were nesting, preening each other undisturbed as long as you stayed concealed behind the wooden barrier.

This sanctuary is also home to two varieties of penguins but these are better observed at the nearby Yellow Eyed Penguin Conservation Reserve, which has a system of tunnels and hides that enables you to have close up encounters with that rare penguin.

The most famous breeding colony here lies at the point of Taiaroa Head. The Royal Albatross Colony, where the female lays her single egg in November and the chicks hatch in late January to early February.

Taiaroa Head is unique, being the only mainland albatross colony in the world, and also within reach of a city.

The center has closed circuit television, especially important when the nesting area is closed from September 17 to November 23.

These seabirds with the immense wing span regularly circumnavigate the globe. We saw several of them gliding effortlessly on the wind.

On the way back to Dunedin we visited Larnach Castle, built from 1871 to 1887 in the Gothic revival style popular at the time.

Its owner William Larnach was a prominent New Zealand banker and cabinet minister who suffered a domestic scandal in 1898, as a result of which, seated alone in a committee room in parliament, he killed himself with a single pistol shot to the head.

There was a spectacular view of the sheltered Otago Harbor from the castle's battlements, well worth climbing the narrow stairs.

Back in town we took a walk and discovered some of the history of this city which was settled by mainly Scottish immigrants in 1848, and is often referred to as the "Edinburgh of the South".

The discovery of gold in Central Otago in the 1860's saw Dunedin prosper and grow to become the country's leading commercial and industrial center some decades later.

The city is famous for its well preserved architecture. Highlights include the Gothic styled First Presbyterian Church opened in 1873, and St Paul's Anglican Cathedral in the center of town, facing the Octagon. Next to the cathedral is the Italianate structure of the Municipal Chambers completed in 1880.

But I thought the most impressive was the Railway Station built in 1904-07 in the Flemish Renaissance style.

As a university city it's probably not surprising that Dunedin has a thriving nightlife and cafe culture.

The students are friendly too. "We really need a tripod to take a night photo of the Municipal Chambers," my friend said, and who should happen by but a student with a tripod taking photos of neon signs. "Yes of course you can borrow it," was the cheery reply.

As we leave Dunedin you're naturally wondering what happened to our group of teenagers?

Well they were walking up Baldwin Street, authenticated in the Guinness Book of Records as the steepest street in the world with a gradient of 1 in 1.266, whatever that means.

In the shop around the corner, you could even buy a certificate to say you walked it.

But take my word for it, steep it was. Only I was crazy enough to run out of film and walk up it a second time!

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