Manor Motel Dunedin

... exciting, rare moment that I will not forget. Our luck appeared to run out when the bus to our boat did not arrive and the weather turned bad, but some nice Cadbury folks drove up, gave us a bag of chocolates, and said they would take us to the boat. The bus came a minute later so we took our bag of chocolates and laughed at our luck. The return to Dunedin through the harbor was a beautiful, cold, smooth 1.5 hour ride that finalized ...

... it was nice to get a few free bars of choc. We had worked up a thirst after we - eventually - found our way to Baldwin st., better known as the steepest hill in the world with a 19 degree elevation. It was a monster hill and even cars struggled to make it, some not even getting halfway! Continuing on from our brewery tour in Brisbane we took in Speight's brewery (obviously not as good as there was no Irish guy ...

... family friends. It was a good opportunity to meet everyone before the big day. The next day, we went into Dunedin for a bit of shopping (for Rachel who suddenly realised she had no shoes for the wedding or smarter clothes for the events leading up to it) then went on a tour of the Cadbury factory. It was a really good tour during which we ate and bought a lot of chocolate (which tastes different to the Cadbury's at home but still very nice!). The tour ...

... say is that it was worth the wait. While we waited for dusk, there were Seals on the shore for us to marvel at and photograph, then the Penguins arrived. A volunteer for the DOC (Department Of Conservation) was there to make sure everything went smoothly and pointed out the disturbance in the water that looked like a flock of ducks. They shot right into the shore and that's when we could just make out the penguins heading up the bank. They actually ...

... and sure enough, the sealion suddenly woke up and charged straight towards them at a surprisingly fast rate. They retreated pretty fast too. Bought some lunch to have back in the room, then went out to meet a friend in the afternoon. Usual evening out on the town, with no shortage of pubs for the university population. 14 December Quiet morning in the motel, then we drove to Mosgiel to meet an ...

... told a nearby man so. He rather grumpily told me that he HAD fallen down whilst coming down (unscaling? descaling? Surely not) the hill, and did not seem very happy for me. I excused myself and continued on to the beach path. He disappeared to his car, from what I could tell, no doubt to tell others of his misadventures, and continue to be grumpy. Victory Beach was spectacular. Perhaps not the same savage beauty as the Ninety Mile Beach, but still very lovely ...

... uitkijkpost op de rotsen boven het strand ni veel te zien gingen krijgen. Normaal gezien is dit het moment van de dag dat de pinguins (de meest zeldzame pinguins ter wereld!) uit het water komen. Ze zijn zo schuw dat ge u moet verbergen achter de struiken want anders durven ze ni uit het water te komen. Maar dit bleek allemaal zever toen er plots ne pinguin uit de struiken zelf verscheen en rustig voorbijwandelde en bleef staan voor een paar fotos op een meter of zo van ons vandaan.

... Alle jyderne fra smilets by, Aarhus. De er nu så søde sådan nogle jyder. Så længe det ikke går alt for stærkt, så hygger vi os uanset forskelle i vores etniske oprindelse. Dagen efter orienteringsmødet skulle vi så i gang med det universitetet kalder "Course Approval". Skolen har afsat denne ene dag til at alle elever kan tilmelde sig de fag man nu ønsker. Dagen gik stort set med at stå i kø! Det første man skulle stå i kø for ...

... both had mullets so they were obviously used to living on the edge. We watched some bungying on the way into town and it looks horrible. I don't mind heights but the flailing around and then the bounce! Then you have to dangle upside down for 5 minutes while they reel you back in *shudders* All that seems relatively tame when you learn about the way kiwi hunters gathered in the introduced deer which were destroying local habitats and selling them to deer ...

... 100km/h speed limit. So it was with some surprise that I traversed the busiest road on the South Island between its two biggest cities in less time than I thought, arriving in the centre of Scottish heritage at Dunedin in time for lunch.

My first impression of Dunedin was that people were dying to get out of there – literally. I was driving around the Octagon in the very centre of the city when I saw an ambulance up on the kerb and the ambos/paramedics out ...