Saturday, July 28, 2012

We took a

 ride on th e Taeiri Gorge Railway up over the gorge, into the mountains and back again.  It was originally built the deliver food and livestock to points north of Dunedin but is now just for tourists. 

 Lots of pine trees

 Someone thought there should be something to look at near the end of the line, so this statue honoring sheep dogs has been put up.

 End of the line.

 This is the Dunedin Railway station - a Scottish design - the one below is the Pukerangi Railway station at the end of the line!

At the end of the line, the engine was unhooked and brought around to the back of the train which then became the front and back we went.

Northern Royal Albatross

After we visited Larnach Castle, we continued to the Royal Albatross center which is at the tip of the peninsula - - more fabulous views - and learned a little about albatross.

Northern Royal Albatross colony in New Zealand.  is the only albatross colony of any species found on a human-inhabited mainland. When they are not breeding Northern Royal Albatrosses undertake circumpolar flights in the southern oceans.  They mate for life and return to the breeding ground in Sept - Oct.  There had been one sighted earlier in the day but not while we were there.

 I copied thes photographs fromt display.  Their wing span can be up to 120 inches.

 

We visited Larnach Castle - not really a castle but a castle-like home built by William James Mudie Larnach who was a banker and came from Melbourne during the gold rush.  It's now owned by a single family and is open to the public for tours.

There's always a cafe for tea!

 I was a little surprised to see so many succulants planted on the castle grounds.  Spring would be beautiful here.

It was a beautiful day and we're overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery - oh and then there's Bruce the Lion!

Out and About

We had a little driving tour of Dunedin the first morning

Dunedin was settled by the English and Scottish after the native Maori and by the 1850's 12,000 had settled here.

Gold was discovered and that increased the population, which today is approx. 130,000.

This is a view from atop one of the hills looking over the cit.y

Every view was beautiful.

 The city was actually planned in Scotland and is the sister city of Edinburgh.  It's especially evident in lots of the architecture.

On to New Zealand!

We arrived in Aukland with a short layover, then on to Dunedin. Ross and Julie Notman were there to pick us up.  Ross is a professor at the University of Otago and was key in getting Bruce's fellowship here.  Bruce has work with Ross in the past, including some workshops here two years ago. 

 I really like the wide back door.

 It was a rainy day but the back patio gets lots of sun

 Long hallway thru the center of the house with rooms on either side, then leading to kitchen in back

 Front yard is very simple

 Lots of big windows

 We had the fire going every day

Ross and Julie have recently renovated their lovely home --I really love the wide central hallway and the wide doors. 

Out of snyc

These pictures are out of sync - that's exactly how we were feeling the week we were in Australia.  Ready for sleep at 8 pm and wide awake at 5 am.....       

 Since I've shown no quilts yet, I thought I'd stick this one in - it's one I finished AFTER Bruce and I disassembled the machine on Salazar Trail.  I finished piecing when we stayed at Stan and Kris's house and quilted it on Susan Hall's machine( Thanks, Susan).  I carried it with me to California and finished the binding while staying at Grandma Katie's house.  Finally got it mailed off to Cynde Baack for BJ and Pam on our last day in Santa Cruz.  I like the Debbie Maddy pattern AND it was pretty easy.

Anyway, I was unable to get the computer up and running well til now, so I'm just adding all the pics ...the dates are off, as well..   is a The top one is a photo of the apartment we rented in 1999 when we lived here in Parkdale for a semester.  Mostly put up for the benefit of Brendan and Kyle - they'll get a kick out of it.

Golf (Nooooo...not me) in Melbourne

We had a lovely afternoon of golf at Brighton........no not me....I just walked the course.  It was a little chilly but so beautiful and we got to spend some time with a high school friend of mine, Brian Ludwig.  He is now an Aussie citizen and we try to spend some time with him whenever we're down under.