Last day in Dundin

Just had a late afternoon downpour although it started out beautifully this morning.

After breakfast I went to the Otago farmers market which is a nice community market. Although I had just eaten breakfast I couldn't help eating a lamb kebab grilled with honey -- they smelled so good and tasted just as yummy. There was a young chap selling homemade sauces and spice mixtures and I bought myself a jar of, you guessed it, dukkah.

After the market I walked some more of the streets of Dunedin and then had lunch in the Lemon Room cafe on the Octagon. Chicken burrito with a glass of Allan Scott riesling from Marlborough region.

After lunch I walked up to Olveston, a historic Edwardian house. Built between 1904 and 1906 it was lived in by Dorothy Theomin, the daughter of the family who built it, until her death in the 1960s. She bequeathed the house and furnishings to the city of Dunedin when she died. It's a gorgeous house filled with art, items collected from the family's extensive travels and original features. Beautifully restored.

When I was at the farmers market a row of vintage Jaguars drove by and I thought there must have been a vintage car meeting somewhere but when I got to Olveston I found them all in the parking lot. A group from the cruise ship in the harbour had hired them for the day to be chauffered around -- certainly beats a minibus!


I was sitting in the garden enjoying the sunshine, waiting for 2:45 when my tour would start, thinking to myself that this would be a nice place for a cat to live. And, lo and behold, who should appear but "Millie", the house cat.

Walked around the streets around Olveston looking at the lovely houses in the area on my way back to the hotel. Found another giraffe...

When I got back to the hotel I had a glass of wine in the lounge with Rod and Shelley, the owners, and Baron, the dog, and Molly, the cat. Just in my room now relaxing a bit before heading out for dinner. The rain has started again so hopefully that will stop. If not I will just stay in.

Must pack tonight as am being picked up by the airport shuttle at 8:15 in the morning to fly to Christchurch and then connect to Nelson. The weather around Nelson is supposed to be the best statistically in the country -- with the most hours of sunshine. I have to say that I am getting more than a little nervous about my two weeks of yoga with John Scott! If you don't "hear" from me for a bit it is just that I am without wireless access. Stillpoint Yoga is in the countryside and their wireless access apparently can be intermittent.

Bye for now. Be sure to add Dunedin to your list of places to visit. My favourite things: the whole darn town, the Dunedin Public Art gallery, dukkah-crusted poached eggs at Nova cafe and penguin watching.