Dunedin

Dunedin, New Zealand – March 9, 2014

Dunedin is New Zealand’s first city. It is perched on the southeastern coast of the South Island and its Maori name is Otepoti which means “place beyond which one cannot go.”  It boasts many firsts...including the first university in New Zealand, the steepest street in the world, and this large albatross colony.  Yes...those white specks on the hillside are indeed albatrosses, including a mom and her chick.  Sorry, this is as close as we could get!

The Taieri Gorge Railway travels out into the countryside and the mountains and offers spectacular scenery….so we grabbed our cameras and hopped on.

Chuck was a hero when an elderly gent lost his balance getting off the train at a scenic stop. The gent slid down a gravel embankment until Chuck and another passenger grabbed his arms just in time to keep him from falling into a ravine! (And Chuck wasn’t even wearing his super-hero cape!!)