New Zealand: Dunedin

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It was raining on the afternoon we arrived so we were reluctant do very much, especially since our accommodation was so nice. We were staying in the Euro Motel at our parents expense. It was more of an apartment than a motel. We went out for a Thai meal and that was about it.

The next day Lynne and I tried to sort out our walking plans. The DOC office was closed but we worked out more or less what we want to do and when. I then met up with Yuko who I had worked with in Blenheim. We had some dinner and then met up with the family to celebrate Hogmanay.

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At the centre of Dunedin there is an area called the Octagon. The outer edges are ringed with a few bars and restaurants and were fenced-of from the inner area where there was a stage with bands performing. You couldn't drink around the stage but you could still sit or stand outside the pubs and listen to the music. It was fairly chilly so we ended up heading into one of the pubs where we couldn't believe how quickly we could get a seat. It's not a very big town, only 110,000 people so it was all a lot quieter than Edinburgh. As the bells approached we all moved outside. We soon realised that we hadn't picked a very good spot to watch the fire works from as everything was obscured by a large tree. we listened to the band for a while and then headed home for a fairly quite New Year.

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Not being too hung over the next day we took a drive out to the Otago peninsula. It is a very nice drive along the coast and at the end of the headland you can see albatross and other sea bird colonies. On route we stopped at the Larnach Castle for lunch. To get into the castle costs $25 and the gardens $10. I thought that this was very steep so we didn't pay to see the castle. The gardens turned out to be very nice though and were probably worth the charge. It is more of a stately house than a castle but it reminded me of a castle at Kinlochewe.