South Island New Zealand - down the East Coast to Dunedin

Saturday, February 13

After a sumptuous breakfast, we leave the beautiful home stay quite early this morning.

Thanks to our hostess' directions, we get around Christchurch very easily and soon find ourselves on the coastal road heading South.

It is a very good road and we're making good progress.

When we come into Oamaru, we stop for a picnic lunch and a bit of a wander around the shops in the old arcades and warehouses of the historic district.

Continuing down the coast, we eventually come to the turnoff that takes us to the famous Moeraki Boulders.

The Moeraki Boulders are a group of very large spherical “stones” on Koekohe Beach near Moeraki on New Zealand’s Otago coast. These boulders are actually concretions that have been exposed through shoreline erosion from coastal cliffs that back the beach. The Boulders are one of the most fascinating and popular attractions on the South Island.
They originally formed in ancient sea floor sediments around 60 million years ago.

From there, we continue on our way to Dunedin. Mary's daughter Kirsten has kindly offered to host us.

It's always good to be staying with some locals.

We're certainly having an interesting time with Kirsten and her children Kiran and Natalya and young Tiffany who also lives there, talking long into the night.

Sunday, February 14

Kirsten and I are the first ones up and about. Rather than going to church, Kirsten decides to take me to the dog beach with little Ruby.

We're having a great time chatting away and the dog beach makes me look forward to taking my own babies to the beach again.

In the afternoon, Kirsten takes the kids and myself for a drive in my car. 

When we get to the lookout on Signal Hill, I notice that my camera is suffering some health issues. It just won't switch on, let alone take pictures.

I have to resort taking photos with the phone. With the sun on the little screen, I can't really see what I'm doing and just point and shoot. It's a little while before I notice that the silly thing is reversed and has been taking bad selfies.

We have a look at the steepest street, but don't attempt driving up it in my hire car.

And before long, it's ice cream time. The ice cream parlour is very famous and the queue is incredibly long. Valentine's day probably contributes to the long queue too.

By the way, the ice cream in my left hand belongs to Kirsten who is taking the photo.

The interesting mural below is just down the road.

In our travels, we see lots of beautiful buildings like the railway station above.

Dunedin is at the head of Otago Harbour and has a population of 127,500.  It's known for its Scottish and Maori heritage, Victorian and Edwardian architecture and a large student population. Hiking and cycling trails crisscross the dramatic landscape of the adjoining Otago Peninsula, home to colonies of albatrosses, sea lions and rare yellow-eyed penguins.  

Kirsten drives out onto the peninsula on the harbour side and up to the entrance of Larnach Castle and the back down along the ridge. What a fabulous guided tour!

We have another evening in the fold of the family, but tomorrow being school day, we're not letting it get too late.