February 19 & 20
Dunedin
February 19
A quiet day. I left Paul & Kris's and drove across town to Pete & Toni's. It was sunny and warm. Very pleasant.
I was introduced to Doug, the dog, a trainee explosives sniffer dog. He was initially reluctant to speak to me as he had a large jar containing a smear of peanut butter which required all of his attention. He eventually acknowledged me and gave me lots of cuddles.
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After lunch and another rest, Pete and I staggered up Garfield Avenue, which is steep, even by Dunedin standards, and walked about one kilometre to Pete's parents' house. There, we had some rather good Australian wine - Boscwood Petit Verdot/Shiraz - and a chat. I must try to find some of the wine when I'm back in the UK. While we were there, the skies darkened and the wind strengthened. Nothing eventuated, however, and we walked home.
Toni cooked dinner and we had a restful evening. I wrestled with some more IT problems and was eventually able to make my laptop work well enough to process the photos from the last couple of days.
February 20
I awoke to bright sunshine but a chilly breeze. The family took Doug for a walk while I showered. I breakfasted and the others prepared for work. I had decided to walk down the steep hill into the city. Only a couple of kilometres but with the knowledge that I would have to make the reverse journey later in the morning.
The road passes through some smart houses on the edge of the town belt, then past the Moana Pool, an ugly building.
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The pool was the alma mater of Danyon Loader, double swimming gold medallist at the 1996 Olympics. Never since then has it achieved such celebrity.
I arrived in the city via the Octagon, which houses the Town Hall and the Cathedral. I inspected the cafe at the Art Gallery, closed on Monday & Tuesday, two others, both packed, and a lovely old one that I used to love, now a craft beer bar. No fun at all.
I walked along the main street and found a new sticky thing to hold my lens cap in place at a camera shop.
Over the road was Marbeeks, a deli/cafe, where I have had coffee before. The food looked amazing but I wasn’t eating. The long black looked classic but was a bit weak. I have had some less than perfect coffees on this trip!
The Art Gallery had the usual mix of old masters and strange modern stuff. They even had a Stanley Spencer, which didn’t remind me of home as it was of a housing estate in Belfast! I didn’t know he had painted such things.
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I emerged from the Gallery, set off round Moray Place and then up Stuart Street. This rises steeply, probably about 1 in 6 or 8 but I can’t find any data on the gradient. It continues for over a kilometre, until it reaches the main thoroughfare of Highgate at the top of the hill. I tested my heart by fighting my way slowly to the top, resting at very frequent intervals. At the top of the hill, the Old Fire Station offered a coffee, not bad but still not of the standard I expect in New Zealand.
Unfortunately, my normally immaculate record keeping went awry at this stage & the remainder of today’s photos have been erased. The rest of the walk cannot be documented.
Further along the block is Luna, a smart new building with stunning views, where I met Pete and Toni for lunch. I was good and my seafood chowder wasn’t accompanied by anything alcoholic. We returned home, Pete did some work and the dog and I snoozed.
After a couple of hours, the dog was taken for a walk round the block but it was probably too hot for a black Labrador and too hilly for an elderly Englishman.
We spent the evening having dinner and discussing affairs of state.