New Zealand: Day 20

Gold rule

January 22, 2013

Another gorgeous day with bright blue skies, and just traces of clouds. It was very cool in the morning, perhaps in the low 60s, but it subsequently warmed up to the low to mid-70s as we moved inland and the day advanced.

I was awakened this morning by the rumblings of the Milford Mariner's engines coming to life. It was quite cool and very peaceful on Milford Sound, and it looked like another beautiful day was ahead of us. After a quick breakfast, I went out on the front deck to watch for photo opportunities as the ship headed towards the Tasman Sea. We only ventured as far as the point where the Sound meets the Tasman Sea, and met an enormous passenger cruise ship of the Celebrity Cruise Line entering the Sound. We turned around and began heading back towards the dock. I took a few good photos, but could not get any without the Celebrity ship in them. I joked that Celebrity should have to pay me royalties for promoting their cruises if any of my photographs ever were published,

Morning in Milford Sound
Morning in Milford Sound

We had docked and returned to the bus by 9:30, and retraced some of the route we had taken yesterday, as far as Te Anau. I certainly didn't object because I didn't mind another look at these beautiful vistas. Our driver was kind enough to stop for a couple of additional "photo ops" we had by-passed yesterday.

Fiordlands National Park
Fiordland National Park

Today was another day spent mostly on the bus in transit, with Dunedin (duh NEED in) our destination. We didn't arrive until about 5:00 in the afternoon. Of course the first thing I did when I got into my hotel room was go online, post the report for yesterday, and start catching up on email. I'm such a geek! Even on vacation I can't keep away from the computer, but I make no apologies. I'm doing all of these other new and exciting things, so it's hardly like I've traveled halfway around the world just to do the same old, same old. Twenty days and I haven't turned on the TV even once.

Most of New Zealand celebrates its Maori heritage, but Dunedin celebrates its Scottish heritage. Our bus driver "volunteered" three from our group to participate in a little performance tonight before dinner. I was in the elevator coming down to the dining room for dinner when I heard a wailing sound when I reached the second floor (most folks would refer to it as the third floor, but in New Zealand, the first floor is the ground floor, the floor above it is the first floor, and so on), which became louder and louder as the elevator descended. I feared the elevator had a mechanical problem.

When I reached the ground floor, I realized the wailing sound was a set of bagpipes, and it was the entree of a performance welcoming our group to Dunedin. Our three "volunteers" had been dressed in kilts and red wigs, and they marched into the room followed by a bearded fellow with what looked like a gray bag on a silver platter. He gave a rather funny speech about Dunedin, noting its Scottish connections, and thus its claims to be the largest Scottish city in the world. Indeed, when coming into Dunedin we had noted the outer boundaries of the city had been set far out in the farmlands surrounding the city proper, so technically I suppose his claim had some merit; cities in Scotland are far more compact.

The ceremony we were observing was an honoring of the haggis, yup, the real thing in all its disgusting glory. I was never so glad to be a vegetarian because there's no such thing as vegetarian haggis! Fortunately, the haggis before us was only a mutton pâté rather than something concocted from the entrails of a sheep, but it was served up in the traditional manner with a sheep's stomach as the container. Nevertheless, I noticed only one person at our table at dinner try a little haggis spread on a cracker. It was politely ignored by everyone else, and we ate selections from the buffet instead. We received miniature bottles of scotch as mementos of the occasion.

Tomorrow is a day of many options for our group. Dunedin is home base for Cadbury Chocolate, so some are going to its manufacturing plant. I have asked those folks to get a cream egg for me if they can. Others are going to visit a local brewery. Others are taking a train ride. I'm going on a day-long expedition to see local wildlife, including penguins. So, no philosophical musings tonight.

Gold rule

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