Day 55 6th March

We arrived at our first stop in Port Chalmers which is a small container harbour for Dunedin. Dunedin is the capital city of the southern region, Otega. We took the ship’s shuttle bus the 30 minute ride into the city. The bus was adapted for wheelchair users in that it tilted and had a ramp and space on the bus for a wheelchair. The drivers also helped you get on. On our travels we have come across drivers who simply ignore you so a nice change.

We had been told that New Zealand looks and feels like England in the 1950’s and in a way it does although the shops look like 2011 ones. The people were very friendly and helpful and look very much like the folks you see walking around Nottingham. We had a wander around the shops the prices of any item that had been imported were high with paperback books being around £15 each. However, local products were probably slightly cheaper than at home. Two lattes and cake cost about £8 compared to about £10 at home.

It was a short stop today and we had to be back on board by 2.30pm so there was little time to explore but it looked a prosperous place with a clear Scottish influence. Scots were the original settlers. Although, there was the compulsory Irish pub, “The Bog” selling Guinness and also a Starbucks. The world is certainly becoming a smaller place with world wide brands.

Port Chalmers is a river harbour and another cruise ship was berthed alongside us from the Holland America line. It was an older and smaller vessel. As we left this afternoon the ship followed the river to the sea and you could see that the countryside was hilly and perhaps not surprisingly was full of sheep. Our next stop is Wellington, tomorrow morning.