We dock by 9:15 AM in Dunedin. New Zealand was settled by largely Scotch settlers (at least until the Gold Rush attracted the rest of the world.) Dunedin is Gaelic for Edinborough. This is a city of 140,000 - but it covers a large area. We spend the day on the Taieri Gorge Railway. More spectacular scenery, but also lots of rain - so the photos are disappointing. On the narrow gauge railway we are served tea in the morning, beer before lunch (Speight’s Gold Medal Ale), and wine with a box lunch. This is ranked as one of the best narrow gauge railroads in the world, and our trip covers 70 Kilometers, one way.
The rain continues throughout the day, and the temperature is 57 degrees. But it’s comfortable in the rail cars. We are now near the bottom of the southern island of New Zealand. Back at the ship, we set sail just after 4:00 PM. It will be a long run around the tip of New Zealand and across the Tasman Sea (or “the ditch“, as it’s referred to locally) before we reach our first port in Australia, Melbourne. We will be spending the next two days at sea. We are expecting seas to reach 12 meters, before they calm somewhat tomorrow.
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