I flew out in the morning home to Auckland while Marie took an excursion on the scenic Taieri Railway.  It was something I’d like to do some time but I couldn’t risk taking the evening flight back to Auckland in case it was full since I was on staff standby tickets.

In the morning we wandered around admiring Dunedin’s beautiful old buildings including the railway station.  We broke for a snack at the markets near the station which sold many home-made goodies, savoury and sweet. Text continues after this gallery.     In the afternoon (yes, a strange time to start), we were picked up to […]

While Christchurch is the most English city in New Zealand, Dunedin is the most Scottish … it is referred to as the Edinburgh of the southern hemisphere. Dunedin’s airport is rather far from the city but fortunately there is competition amongst the shuttle providers and I managed to prebook a very cheap transfer service which […]

With Marie (my friend and overseas visitor) here, I thought I’d join her in Dunedin for the weekend.  I’ve always wanted to go to the Royal Albatross Colony. After a full day at work, I headed out to the airport to fly down to Dunedin on Air New Zealand’s ex-Indonesian aircraft.  I could tell because […]

Above: This copy of the Cardona hotel in Auckland didn’t conceal a garden behind. Today is officially the last day of summer.  Tomorrow it will be autumn, and Marie will hop on the plane home after a two month visit.  Who knows where and when we will meet again! We commiserated the twin-event at the […]

We had breakfast where Jo and the Navy Band was playing, then headed out to Mission Estate, a winery that is often the venue for summer concerts by famous stars.  Lionel Richie was coming to sing in a week.  But as it turned out a week from today, it became the venue’s first ever cancellation due […]

We flew down to the Art Deco Weekend in Napier today.  Napier is the (self-proclaimed?) Art Deco capital of the world because it was rebuilt in the style of that era after being levelled by an earthquake 1931.  Like Nelson, it has known for good weather and a seaside setting.  Oh, I want to move here […]

We did a circuit around the region today, heading north to Arrowtown, Cardrona and Wanaka. Arrowtown is an old mining town that has been kept in the style of the period … to the extent possible I guess.  It was home to the first Chinese in New Zealand who came to work in the gold […]