When we got up and looked outside, this is what we saw:
Every two minutes the ship’s horn sounded and thankfully was
not returned. Almost four hours later, the fog had lifted enough for us to
venture into the narrow inlet to Port Chalmers, where we boarded the train that
took us up through the Taieri Gorge. Our train route, acknowledged as one of
the world’s great train journeys, followed the rest of the inlet to Dunedin,
where we had 15 minutes to check out the stunning old stone train station with
its Royal Doulton mosaic tiles, and then up into the central grasslands. We saw
horses and foals, cows and calves, sheep and lambs, and flowers everywhere. A
homesick Scot seemed to think bringing Broome to the country was a good idea,
as it was done at home in BC. This was decidedly not a good idea in the long
run, although it is hard to fault the Broome on a day like today, when it
glowed yellow amongst the green fields and hills.
The Taieri River wound further and further below us and we
wound up the gorge, feasting on a boxed lunch and as much local wine and/or
beer as we wanted. We wanted.
At the end of the line the engine changed places and we make
our way back. A lovely, sunny day and a perfect day out on our first land stop
in New Zealand.
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