Since we are a day ahead this is February 5,
and we will see the Super Bowl at 12:30 PM today, satellite permitting. We are
one day ahead and six hours behind you.
Before I get into what we did yesterday, I
thought I would tell you about today. We are not scenic cruising, we are in
rough seas. It is really rocking and rolling. Twice this morning we have hit rogue
waves that feel like you just ran into a brick wall. We did not walk this
morning, but when down and had breakfast in the dining room. They are really
struggling to serve people, and filling glasses half full. Our waiter was
saying that three of the crew were on the Costa Concordia, so they were more
than nervous. Here are a couple of shots Steve took from the balcony.
And these were taken from deck 2, which is one
below our cabin. It is where we always walk.
Port Chalmers lies on the 12-mile-long Otago
Harbor. Across the water past two picturesque islands, the distinctive Harbor
Cone summit rises on the Otago Peninsula. The town’s scenic setting has
inspired a thriving arts scene to flourish. Nearby, at the head of the harbor,
nearby Dunedin is home to New Zealand’s first university. This lively college
town is one of the South Island’s cultural capitals, but nature often takes
center stage along the Otago Peninsula, a finger of steep pastureland pointing
into the water from the mainland. This unspoiled region, a breathtaking vista
of mountains and sea, is home to seals, penguins and seabirds, including the
only mainland colony of albatross in the world.
It is New Zealand’s oldest
city. Maori first settled here over four centuries ago, attracted by the beauty
of its bush clad hills and valleys at the head of a long natural harbor. The
Maori name for where the city now lies is Otepoti. In 1848 Scottish migrants
established a settlement here, giving it the Celtic name Edinburgh: Dunedin.
In 1861 the discovery of gold
in Lawrence, in Central Otago, put Dunedin on the world map. Dunedin became the
gateway to the gold fields, and the Otago Goldrush became the catalyst that
laid the foundations of Dunedin’s rich heritage.
Today Dunedin has a population
of 127,000 who enjoy the lifestyle afforded by the beauty and diversity of its
natural environment.
In the morning, we took the
shuttle bus to Dunedin and in the afternoon, we took a tour of the Otago Peninsula.
Dunedin is a beautiful, Scottish, college town, filled with history and bars
and restaurants. We are here on Sunday morning, so it is relatively quiet. New
Zealand is made up of two islands, the north and south islands. The south
island is close enough to Antarctica, that the weather is chilly. Dunedin is
located in the south of the south island.
Our first stop was Dunedin
Railway Station with its ornate Flemish Renaissance-style architecture. It is
the country’s most photographed building. The rich style dates back to the
early 1900s when Dunedin was the commercial center of New Zealand. Inside the
interior is very ornate and the mosaic floor includes almost 750,000 Minton
tiles. Upstairs there is an art gallery and the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame
as well as magnificent pictures of the two levels. The platform is one
kilometer long and once a year becomes the world’s longest catwalk when it
hosts Dunedin’s iconic iD Fashion show.
Just along the road from the train station is
the Queens Garden.
We continued walking through another plaza and
they came to High Street, which you can see goes up very pointedly.
If you like Cadbury chocolates, this is the
place for you. We walked in, but did not take the very expensive tour ($22 pp).
I did use the restroom.
As I said there were a lot of bars and
restaurants in this town, and here are a few of the more interesting looking.
We stopped at the First Church of Christ, a Presbyterian
church that was undergoing construction. They were having services, so I took a
picture of the door only.
The center of Dunedin is called the Octagon. It
is the hub of the city with many beautiful buildings and a great park.
In the Octagon is St. Paul’s Anglican
Cathedral. Again, they were having services so only a few pictures.
We came back on the shuttle to catch the tour
for the afternoon, exploring the Otago Peninsula. It stretches over 20 km and
is world famous for its wildlife reserves, being home to the only mainland
breeding colony of the Northern Royal Albatross, the world’s rarest penguin the
yellow-eyed penguin, New Zealand sea lions, New Zealand fur seals and the
little blue penguins. Sounds great but all we saw was the albatross.
We went out on the low road, Portobello Road,
that follows the shore through harbor side communities to Taiaroa Head. We went
through Macandrew Bay, a favorite spot for picnicking.
We then returned to town via the high road,
Highcliff Road. Again, the scenery is gorgeous, even though the day was starting
to cloud over. When you see the pictures of the water in the background. That
is Macandrew Bay in the foreground and the Tasmin Sea in the background, which
is where we are fighting the waves today.
We ended up seeing spectacular views from
Signal Hill across Dunedin (“Little Edinburgh”) and the Otago Peninsula. This
is a high point in Dunedin, where you can see everything.
That was the end of the tour and he took us
back to our ship. Our driver was very interesting. His name was Robert Fulton
and he was a sheep farmer. He exports 90% of the sheep in has to the US to
Whole Foods. He said that his picture is on the package. Wool is no longer a
commodity now that there are so many synthetics. But, he said there is now a
new market for the wool, that is insulation.
We got back on the ship and we are dockside
looking over the beautiful working dock. As we are getting ready to leave a
bagpiper comes out to serenade us on our way out of the harbor.
We are now at sea for 3 days. Hopefully
tomorrow is better than today. Then we are back into warm weather in Melbourne,
Australia.
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