BUT before I blog what we did I have to say Happy Anniversary on 29th September to Julie and Mike - 34 years is wonderful!
We were away in sunny Dunedin (and it is not often you get to say that!) for three days as Derek was training with Ingram Micro so I went along for the ride, much nicer than sitting at home or in the office on my own.
So Monday I was on my own after breakfast and decided to do lots of cultural things. It was so warm and sunny so I walked down to the Chinese Gardens which haven't been opened that long and spent a couple of hours there in the peace of this lovely garden. The garden has been made to commemorate the contribution Chinese people have made to this district with support from the Shanghai Municipal Government and the Dunedin City Council. It is the first in the Southern Hemisphere and one of less than a handful outside China. If you ever come here it is on Cumberland Street and well worth a visit and only $9 to get in.
Right next door was the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum which is huge and goes from the middle 1800's to nearly the present day with hundreds of old photos of the first settlers here, mostly Scots, but my photo of that didn't come out. Another great place to spend a few hours.
Derek was finished by 2p.m. so we decided to go exploring again and this time headed over to Port Chalmers and the beaches beyond. Port Chalmers is where our stuff from the UK came in to nearly three years ago and is a bustling port.
The lighthouse is at Taiaroa Head where the Royal Albatross Centre is, the only accessible place in the world to see nesting albatross, and its' lovely lighthouse. These terns were everywhere too, just beautiful.
The next day Derek and Andrew were off early so I checked out of the hotel, got the car and drove over to the other side of the Otago Harbour passed all the little bays ........................
The gardens are beautiful, especially the Pacific garden which overlooks the harbour. You can see the harbour mouth in the photo where we were the day before.