Kristin Laura

Today was our longest driving day.  After a tasty breakfast at the Dunedin Distinction Hotel, we were on the road headed for the southern most point in New Zealand. Poached eggs and cured salmon rosettes on rye bread French Toast wth strawberries, apricots, marscapone and slated caramel All the elevators in NZ seem to be manufactured by Schindler.  The first one we rode in actually said Schindler's Lifts Last sighting of street are leaving Dunedin This country really caters to tourists.  As you're driving along, anything that might be a tourist attraction is posted on a brown sign instead of the usual blue and green highway signs.  The first attraction that caught our eye was a sign for waterfalls (we're suckers for waterfalls of any size).  We pulled over and took a 35-minute return (round trip) walk to two beautiful waterfalls.  Once again, the paths are well maintained for easy access to the falls. The lovely path to the waterf...

We strolled through downtown to the railway station this morning to catch the train from Dunedin into the Taieri Gorge.  The Dunedin Railway Station was opened in 1906 and is referred to as the Gingerbread House due to its ornate embellishments. Dunedin Railway Station We made the four hour roundtrip through the Taieri Gorge in 1937 wooden body passenger coach.  Wood was used to keep the carriages cooler in the summer months.  The passage consisted of 12 tunnels and innumerable bridges (according to the brochure).  We started in an industrial section of Dunedin before moving to the rural outskirts.  From there the countryside included rolling hills, horse pastures, and sheep farms before changing to forests and the deep gorge of the Taieri River.  I found it amazing that a railroad line was built so long ago through such rugged terrain.  Often the train trestle was high above the canyon.  We hung out the windows and stood between the cars to ...