Day 5

Dunedin, New Zealand

It was a two-day cruise from Tasmania to the South Island of New Zealand (NZ).  The sea was rough early on, but around 2 pm the second day, we got caught up in a cyclone (the name for Pacific Ocean hurricanes).  It was only a category 1 cyclone, and there were winds in excess of 80 MPH.  The swells were 15 feet, and it was funny for a while as everyone looked like a drunken sailor…. until they were hanging on to railings and walls for dear life, including Shari!

There are two Polish women playing a Steinway piano and a Stradivarius violin nightly. They are great to listen to!  Even with the rough trip, we were happy to be there.

It turned out my request to hear a Metallica song was accepted.  I know of only one Metallica song, and it works for piano and violin.

Our first stop in NZ was Dunedin.  It was the first of two on the South Island of NZ.  Our ship had sailed through the night, and our first view was of these logs at our docking station.

There are trucks and more trucks off-loading logs to be shipped to China.  The logs are Monterey Pine, which is a US species brought to NZ.  The trees and logs are only 17 years in the making!  In the US, most species require at least 70 years to mature.  If you are a tree farmer, gardener, or horticulturist, NZ is the place to practice.  BTW, 90% of the log exports go to China, who makes things from the logs and exports them back to NZ!

Dunedin looks to be living mostly in the past - cerca 1960.  Many of the buildings look as they did years ago including the houses that look more like cottages.  There’s a good feel about that.

Many of the efforts here to modernize have been thwarted.  There was a movement to replace the old train station which the locals stopped partly by raising funds to fix it up.  It is the most photographed building in NZ.  I did my part and took at least two dozen pics.

I have been told to post the following.  There is a public road in Dunedin that is recognized by the Guinness World Records people as the steepest public road in the world.  Here is a picture of the famed road.

10% of NZ is flat, the rest is steep.  I saw lots of steep roads….so many that Shari told me we are not moving here . . .

 period.

I know I mentioned expeditions to Antarctica from Australia.  New Zealand is also such a staging area. The American Richard Byrd visited the frozen continent, and Mike and I tried to pay tribute to his efforts. We are standing next to a stone image of him looking south to Antartica.