We arrive in Port Chalmers (Dunedin, NZ) at 8:00 am and the scenic route is beautiful into port. They export lumber logs and the site is incredible to see. We went up to breakfast and met everyone in the Atrium for our tour of the city and the Speights Brewery! It is incredibly windy today and very cold. We met our tour guide Andy and he takes us to see the steepest street in the world (about 2.1 gradient)…..it is Baldwin Street. We went up to view the city from a mountain top and took many pictures. As I was taking a picture of Mike I seriously almost got blown off the ledge. So cold and windy!
The locals call Dunedin the “Edinburgh of the South”. We walked through Otato University which was built in 1870. It is a beautiful campus with amazing buildings. We finally arrive at Speights Brewery and everyone is excited for the tour. The guide was so knowledgeable about the process and the history of the Brewery. Our tour lasted about 1.5 hours and then we got to enjoy the beer! After the tour we found an Irish Pub called “The Bog” and had an amazing lunch. There was only one girl from England working there and boy was she surprised when 25 of us walked in for lunch! Heading back to the ship we saw many Albatross flying around. We’ve been told that once the start to fly they don’t land for 5 years. That’s nuts! J
Our bus driver took us back to the ship around 3:00 pm and it is starting to sprinkle a bit. The clouds are rolling in. When we got to our room we found a note from the captain saying he is sorry to say that he has to change our itinerary and backtrack up the coast north to reach Hobart, Tasmania through the Cook Strait instead of going around the point into the Fiordland National Park…..we are officially bummed but glad that we will be avoiding horrible weather. This is their summer however.
Mike and I decide this would be a good night to go to the Steakhouse for dinner instead of the dining room. So we make reservations and eat earlier than usual. It was very nice and my stomach appreciated the early seating! While up at the Steakhouse we pass by a Albatross Colony. They are everywhere…..such a sight to see. We hear an announcement from the captain saying that we will have to go “full speed ahead” because now they see that there is a second storm coming in after the first one and we have a small window to get through it. Sounds like we need to find some Dramamine just in case! After visiting the casino yet again we decide to go to bed earlier this time and head up to the room about 10:00 pm.
Port Chalmers (Dunedin, NZ) Fun Facts:
Pronounced Doon-E-din….There are about 110,000 people who live in Dunedin. It is located in the southeast of the South Island on the Otago Peninsula. It was settled by the Scottish Pioneers and is, in fact, the Gaelic word for Edinburgh. They have beautiful Botanic Gardens. The city is the 4th largest in NZ. People came here searching for gold. They have the largest amount of Victorian and Edwardian buildings outside of Britain. It is approx. 103,739 square miles with a population of about 4 million. They speak English and their capital is Wellington, NZ. They have a nice city center called the “Octagon” and there is a Gothic Larnach Castle that is set on 35 acres. It was built in 1870 by a banker and has views of the Otago Harbour.
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