United States media network CNN International has just named the Otago Peninsula one of the 10 most romantic places in the world to propose marriage.
"If your beseeching eyes can't soften her heart, the mating rituals of South Island's unusual coastal wildlife may do it," says the CNN website "10 best places for a fairytale proposal this Valentine's Day".
"Wildlife reserves near the town of Dunedin are home to colonies of hoiho [yellow-eyed penguins] and blue penguins. The Otago Peninsula also has breeding colonies of New Zealand fur seals and royal albatross."
The other most romantic venues included the Hotel Excelsior, in Croatia, where Richard Burton wooed Elizabeth Taylor; North Lees Hall, in England, which was the inspiration for Thornfield Hall in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre; and the Great Wall of China.
Ian and Sarah MacKenzie (both 29) returned to Dunedin from their home in Switzerland to get married on Wednesday.
"It's so beautiful here and the scenery is very dramatic," Mr MacKenzie, who is originally from Inverness, Scotland, said.
The secret to the perfect proposal place was isolation and natural beauty, he said.
"I proposed in Venice, which you'd think was a very romantic city. But I couldn't find a private spot. Throngs of people kept walking past and I was thinking the moment had passed," he said.
"Here, it's so beautiful and peaceful and isolated. You have to propose near water, too ... There's something very tranquil and romantic about the ocean."
TOP SPOTS
The 10 most romantic places in the world to propose are. -
1. North Lees Hall, England.
2. The Great Wall of China.
3. Jaipur, India.
4. Lismore Castle, Ireland.
5. 360 Leti Hotel, India.
6. Maldives.
7. Shiraz, Iraq.
8. Hotel Excelsior, Dubrovnik.
9. Otago Peninsula, Dunedin.
10. Petra, Jordan.
