New Zealand - February 23

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Tuesday.

Fortified by an excellent breakfast of waffles with Marvin and Terisha and a farm walk with Blaze and Marvin and half a dozen pigs, we embarked on our exploration of Dunedin and the nearby Otago Peninsula.

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- Baldwin Street - Our first stop was close by - the world's steepest street! I must admit it is easier to walk up the world's steepest street then it is to photograph a street and try to capture steepness. Maybe I should have used video with lots of puffing...

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- Railway Station - Why does any colorful depiction of a train, even in stained glass, resemble Thomas the Tank Engine?? (OK, no eyes. You're right.) The train station also had a modest art gallery and, of course, trains.

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- Otago Settlers Museum - Photos of settlers, multiple modes of conveyance (bikes, wagons, cars), and old theater lobby with toilets. Who couldn't have a good time?

- Chinese Garden - The location near a noisy highway does nothing to add to the peace. We were disappointed. Too much cement. Not enough green. If you need a Chinese Garden fix, go to Darling Harbour in Sydney.

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- Otago Peninsula -

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- Larnach Castle - I wasn't sure why Kevin was interested in the Castle. Big old house. It didn't seem like his style. But, we ended up spending a very long time there and thoroughly enjoyed it. We had a great lunch which undoubtedly did a lot to establish a good mood in Ann. The garden was extensive and in bloom and most of this bloomage was from plants that would grow in Ohio. So, it felt a little like being at home - if I lived in a castle in Darke County. We hitched a ride along with a tour group who had a guide of the castle, so we got to hear the gossip about the family. A sad bunch. Wives dying right and left. Suicides. Loss of fortune. Spoiled children.

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I would say the castle was just a big old house (with a great view), except for the ladies boudoir. OMG!!!!! Again, a no photo locale, but there was NO WAY I was leaving without some record. The entire castle is very elegantly restored. The boudoir is designed to show off the third wife's (Connie's) wedding dress along with some other typical fancy pieces... but up in the corner is first wife, Eliza's ghost

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and the walls hang with 3D artwork of the dead wives. The photos aren't fabulous, I know. But, it was a challenge to snap them on the sly...and now, I must prepare to go to hell.

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(I'll make a slide show from the garden photos. Someday. Maybe.)

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- Royal Albatross Centre - It was getting to be late in the afternoon by the time we made it to the Royal Albatross Centre. Just like everyone said, we could see plenty of Albatross sailing in from sea from the parking lot. The thing about these birds is that they are BIG. Really BIG. But, that bigness is always pretty hypothetical. They look like sea gulls (to me) and a 9 foot wingspan is hard to appreciate when the bird is flying hundreds of yards away from you. They did have a plush toy baby albatross so we could feel how heavy they were. (Heavy, by the way.) I was very amused that babies weigh more than adults. That there comes a time when mom and dad put junior on a diet. That while they still bring dinner, they bring it not as often and they make the baby chase after them so as to run off some of the fat.

We had our first close up encounter with a seal on the drive back from the centre. He was sleeping on the beach. We stopped. He kept sleeping.

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We didn't get far on Tuesday. By the time we left the Otago Peninsula it was after 5 PM and we actually debated calling Marvin and Terisha to see if we could sleep over again. But, we figured they would have cleaned the sheets and they'd think they needed to feed us - so we pulled out our Lonely Planet guide, chose a little town up the coast, and set off to our new hostel- The Asylum, an old mental institution, in Moeraki. And, as an added bonus we'd eat at what was purported to be an excellent, not to be missed sea food restaurant in this same little town: Fleurs.

I can hear you Kiwi's laughing. You know this tale ends in tears. STARVING we arrive in Moeraki to see the Fleur's billboard at the turnoff. Closed. Tuesdays. Closed. Tuesdays.

Wait - they're still laughing.

For, the Asylum isn't in Moeraki. (You'd think the name, Seacliff Lunatic Asylum might have clued us in to the fact that this hostel is in Seacliff... but I just figured - seacliff - that's a location description.) Anyway, Seacliff is 20 km or so back toward Dunedin. Fortunately, we remembered a Fish 'n Chips shop in the last town. But, since we were *there* we made a detour to visit the Moeraki Boulders.

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Oh, and that Fish 'n Chips shop? We got there 10 min after they'd closed for the evening.

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