Dunedin

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The map doesn't understand about sea travel, so just shows a direct line between stops.

Day 8:

We landed in New Zealand for the first time. New Zealand customs & immigration officials had come abaord in Tasmania, and they had checked us all through immigration while still sailing to New Zealand. This made it very easy getting off he ship as we just had to show that we were not trying to take any food or plants with us.

We sailed into Dunedin early in the morning and after breakfast, we headed for the shore. We had moored at Port Chalmers which is about 15 km from Dunedin town. There were shuttle buses to take us in to town. It was raining and cold when we left the ship, but the port officials let us wait for the buses in a large timber warehouse. The dock sported what seems to be the usual enormous pile of wood chips as well as an impressive amount of timber.

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Dunedin is supposedly the most Scottish town outside Scotland and is famous for the University of Otago. Apparently 10% of the population is university students. The scenery is similar to the west of Ireland with lots of rhododendrons and foxgloves.

The centre of town is an octagon with a statue of Robert Burns in the middle. We went to the Otago museum (Otago is the general area), which had some very interesting stuff about the extinct animals and birds of the region as well as the Maori and European settlers.

Then we went to the Cadbury factory and had a tour. We all had to wear hairnets and leave behind and cameras, wallets, phones, watches etc. However we got to eat some cocoa beans as well as learning a lot about the manufacture of chocolate. We got some free samples as well as buying some big blocks of chocolate for very good prices in the shop.

On the way back to the bus, we passed a shop called Slightly Twisted, which sold things made from possum fur. The possums were for some insane reason and are pests, but it is good to see them being used instead of just killed uselessly. Sarah got a gorgeous jersey made from a mixture of merino wool, possum fur & silk.

After that we went back to the ship in time for Happy Hour. We have been experimenting our way through the cocktail menu and tonight, against the advice of a friendly bartender, we tried one called Negroni Nuevo, which is gin, vermouth, Campari and orange. It was really good. David & Peter had mocktails which they enjoyed. Jack was off in the Loft with his friends.

After that, we went on deck and watched while we set sail for the next port. The channel was very narrow and winding, but we made it through to the headland, where we passed very close to a Royal albatross colony. There were about 20 of these massive birds circling the area, but down the sides of the hill leading into the sea, there were areas that looked carpetted with nests and nesting birds. There is supposedly a penguin colony nearby, but we didn't see any of them.

The ship has several dining options. At one of the swimming pools, there is a snack bar which is open most of the day and which serves pizza, tacos, nachos and burgers. Next up is the Lido buffet. This is where we have breakfast every morning and lunch if we feel like it. It's also open for dinner. The more formal restaurant is called the Rotterdam and that is where we have been dining except on formal dress nights.

There is also a more up-market place called the Pinnacle Grill. For a small extra charge, you can have lunch or dinner there. We decided that tonight we would dress up and give it a go. Amusingly, it is staffed by Europeans, where the other restaurants are all staffed by Indonesians. Our waiter was wheeling round a trolley which looked like a cheese trolley until he got closer and it was revealed as a steak trolley! He explained all the various steaks and chops we could try, since this is apparently what they are noted for: both the quality of the meat and how they cook it. We all enjoyed our meal very much.