97 Motel Dunedin

... time, couldn't even manage to open the fuel tank thing, there was a helpful man that worked there that helped! Cost $80 for half tank, not too bad! The journey to Te Aun was again really nice and quite simple, the roads are completeyl empty and you go through towns which seem derelict, like something out of an American horror film!!! But they are actually really nice. The whole of NZ feels like its years behind the rest of the world! 

... slot. Now, it is clearly wrong for anyone to write this. You could never fit a baby in that slot. I also found it amusing to discover that the three television channels in New Zealand are quaintly called TV1, TV2 and TV3. The locals also pronounce their vowels in the wrong order. They pronounce I's as U's, U's as A's and E's as I's. If you ever have to ask a Kiwi for a deck chair you're in for a whole lot of trouble. But fortunately I can't really imagine a set ...

... something we have never seen before, in June the chicks range in age from newly hatch to about 3 months old. You are able to get really close to the birds under supervision, we counter over 30 birds and seen about 5 chicks which appeared to be bigger than their parents, the parents have a wingspan of about 3 metres. Just before dusk we went to a local farm (Penguin Place) and got a key to drive over the hill to watch the yellow eyed ...

... peoples' values and traditions. Before we leave we head out to St. Clair, Dunedin's beach and take a swim in the "St Clair Hot Water Baths". This is a great refurbed outdoor pool which is 25% salt water and is heated. We're lucky because it closes in less than a week as we say goodbye to the NZ summer. Feeling exhilarated we enjoy a coffee in the cafe overlooking the waves and the surfers. What visit would be complete without a souvenir? As we eat ...

Dunedin... otherwise known as little Edinburgh. almost and pretty, not quite as rich in history, but just as fun! eunice and i arrived early one afternoon to a cold and almost frigid Dunedin... it was on and off rain and the only thing that kept us there was the promise of sunshine to come the next day... and it did come ... still cold, but the sun was a nice warming change... side note: did you know that NZ has one of the biggest holes in ...

... little haphazardly arranged. There were some photos of possible relatives of Jones, Henderson and Boyd! We set off for our hotel which was in the middle of the Otago Peninsula, high on a hill with a dramatic drive to reach it, particularly in the rain and mist. Its called Larnach Castle and is the only castle in NZ. They have converted some of the outbuildings for accommodation, some of which are self-catering - the Stables ...

... Cadburys factory - Yummie!! we were given loads of chocolate so we are now clinically obese! -it was a good tour though and very interesting. Then we drove out to a beach to see if we could spot any yellow eyed penguins and sealions and albatros, saw plenty of sealions but none of the other two. Paid a visit to the worlds steepest street - Baldwin St and then hit the road again for Blenheim stopping for the night in Timaru.

... making the sea very choppy we stopped along the coast and took a walk along the beach to take a look at the Moeraki Boulders. These spherial rocks are randomly positioned in the sand and are clearly eroding away. Some have broken apart displaying the intricate layers and shapes inside. We continued south, stopped at Shag Point to take a look at some seals before ending up in Dunedin (nothing else much to do there.....?!). First stop was the ...

... br><br>The province of Otago celebrates its foundation on 23rd March (roughly) - as some of you know, this is also the anniversary of my foundation. My birthday present is a night somewhere with a hot bath, but this will have to wait a little while as we are booked into a further chain of hostels as we make our way north. There is a distinct autumnal feel now, with the leaves changing colour and the Autumn Joy out; we seem to have had one of these already ...