Weather - Overcast & Mild (no idea of temp as no Internet service)
Early start today (no problem for me as i am still having problems sleeping with my painful right shoulder) as we will be reaching Dunedin by early afternoon. There are a few optional excursions both this afternoon, evening & tomorrow morning. Amongst these are a couple of different castles, a wildlife boat trip, Cadbury Factory & Speights Brewery Tours. I have been to the main castle before as well as doing the brewery tour (which was fantastic & I think Mike will enjoy) so we have opted for that. Will let you know more about that later.
Luggage out & off to breakfast at 7am .... Then all aboard the coach and on the road just after 8am. So far this tour, with a couple of minor exceptions, everyone has been very punctual as far as being on time for departures. We are also travelling a little lighter for the next week as we left one large suitcase in the hotel in Christchurch because we will be returning there on the last night of our tour. Because that suitcase only contains our dressy clothes and things we required for our cruise, it seems pointless to drag it around everywhere. We did ask if we could leave it on the coach, however were told this was not possible due to insurance reasons? Not a problem now though.
We had a nice drive through the region between Omarama & the coast where all the large dams are located. One which provides all the water for the power station was full & flowing over the spillway. Very spectacular, as the photos will show. We stopped for about 20 mins to walk along the wall & take photos. Once again the clouds cleared & we saw brilliant sunshine just after departure. Can't believe how lucky we have been with the weather so far!
Back on the coach and a scenic driver for an early lunch stop at a little coastal town called Moerki Boulders. They are famous for the boulders along the beach & fresh fish & chips, so we had to try .....yes it was amazing & so fresh. More photos, then back on the coach and a short drive into Dunedin. This is our 2nd visit in 3 weeks as we spent a day there from the cruise just before Christmas. At least we know our way around the city and where to locate free Internet
Our hotel is great .... Right in the centre of the city, within 5 minutes of the Octagon (main shopping and cafe area). Once inside we discovered a wonderful view of the harbour area. Very nice indeed & the rooms are huge, unlike the one in Christchurch which was tiny.
After a quick unpack, coffee & little rest, we walked down to the Octagon & were soon hooked up to the free Internet there. I uploaded yesterday's blog entry whilst Mike went for a walk. It is not cold out, but is extremely windy. We then walked back to our hotel, opened a bottle of wine and sat & relaxed before getting changed & ready to meet Phil, our tour guide, for the Speights Brewery Tour. Only 5 of us sighted up so should be good.
We met Phil in the foyer of our hotel at 4.45pm and we walked to Speights Brewery about 5 minutes away. There were a couple from Wales, a guy from Melb (Norman) & Mike & I. Well the tour was good, but a thirsty process so we couldn't wait to get back to the bar to sample their wares. Included in the $22 tour price was an "all you can drink" deal at the bar. Their 5 best selling beers plus their new cider were all on tap and the group were able to pour our own for a period of 40 minutes following the tour. We began by trying their beers in order. I am not much of a beer drinker, but they were all great. Then we tried their new cider, which we had samples in a couple of places (bottled) earlier in our tour. It was delicious on tap & I managed to consume 5 before time was up. Mike was a little slower :) Next we headed towards our hotel and discovered Phil, our tour guide in the Speights pub next door to the brewery. We had to go in and check he was OK. Well we then had another 2 ciders each & had to leave because dinner at our hotel was booked for 7pm. We all had a great time and Norman was quite inebriated. It turns out he doesn't drink normally so he kept thanking me for a great time when we were at dinner. His wife thought it was hilarious. Hope he is OK tomorrow!
As I am typing this Mike is unconscious on the bed .... Some people just can't hold their alcohol. I actually feel OK and we have a late start tomorrow so all is well. I will try to upload some photos and post this before we leave Dunedin & head for Te Anau tomorrow.
Goodnight all!
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