Hi,
What a fabulous weekend we had down to Dunedin for Wellington anniversary long weekend. Mike took Friday off in the end, so we didn't have to find him a spot in Polly's house for him to work.
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| Great view of the Otago peninsula as we flew in Friday morning |
We were on a civilised flight time of 8.50am and got into Dunedin just after 10:15am or so for our shuttle into Dunedin. Maybe $22 each, I think. We only had carry on luggage. We got a nice touristy ride, dropping people off in south Dunedin.
Got to Highgate around 11.30am, I suppose. We had lunch with Mike's mother
(butter chicken for Mike and Polly - vege spring rolls for me) before we met
up with Ange and headed up to Flagstaff for a good walk.
Caught up with a lot of Ange's news. She is moving back to Wellington next week! Woot! Enjoyed our walk up from the Bullpen to the top of Flagstaff. Great weather. t shirt conditions. No wind to speak of.
Next morning saw us all up for Park Run in the botanic gardens. My first attempt at a park run in about 18 months. Gorgeous location. But... they have hills! OMG. And it was already getting warm.
Two laps on the flat (by the duck pond and back through the rose garden). Then over the bridge and right and along the bottom of the hill until the "stairs of despair" where you turn left and go up. Two loops of that. With an extra loop up to a turnaround point, for good measure.
We popped out to get some stuff from Bunnings to fix the Weetbix lid of the letterbox. That was good fun.
Saturday evening we went to visit Richard and Theresa. Got Indian takeaways and their new local one is really delicious. Ellen was the only one of their kids at home. Aidan was working and Alex has gone to Queenstown to study hospo there.
Next morning we walked to Roslyn for a coffee. That was the start of another lovely day in Dunedin. Gorgeous weather once more. But then Mike got a migraine Sunday morning after our coffee walk. So he slept a lot of the morning.
Cheryl took me to St Kilda via Cargills Castle to meet up with everyone for
fish n chips on the beach after we finished catching up.
Mike, Polly and Ange then took us to Marlow's takeaways for the fried goodness. And we sat on John Wilson Drive, in the wind, and ate it.
Monday saw us head to the terminal to meet up with Shoshana and get a tour of the site. So good! Loved it. They looked after us so well. We went out to Gilberts bakery behind Bunnings to pick up some baked goods to take. I didn't try them though - so I dunno how good they were.
Second Beach was a revelation. So gorgeous. And the track ends in some basalt columns. Although it looks like you can climb over them and the path continues a bit longer. Next time we will do that!
I saw a huge sea lion in the crystal clear water as Mike climbed up the basalt at the end of the track. Huge as me.
When we got home, we went for a walk down the Bullock Track to Woodhaugh Gardens. Lovely. So many people picnicking.
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| Walk up Flagstaff with Ange |
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| Selfie |
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| Feet and plaque |
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| Mike and Ange |
Caught up with a lot of Ange's news. She is moving back to Wellington next week! Woot! Enjoyed our walk up from the Bullpen to the top of Flagstaff. Great weather. t shirt conditions. No wind to speak of.
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| Ange and... Angela |
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| Pretty |
Next morning saw us all up for Park Run in the botanic gardens. My first attempt at a park run in about 18 months. Gorgeous location. But... they have hills! OMG. And it was already getting warm.
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| Park Run hills! |
Two laps on the flat (by the duck pond and back through the rose garden). Then over the bridge and right and along the bottom of the hill until the "stairs of despair" where you turn left and go up. Two loops of that. With an extra loop up to a turnaround point, for good measure.
It took me 42 minutes. So I guess it could have been worse. Tough gig.
Mike was running extra. Because he has legs of steel. We looked at the Peter
Pan statue we both recall from our childhoods. Mike has old film footage of
him playing with the wee mouse at Peter's feet. So we recreated that.
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| History recreated |
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| Post park run iced latte |
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| Whanau and Peter Pan |
We popped out to get some stuff from Bunnings to fix the Weetbix lid of the letterbox. That was good fun.
Mike found an old rimu table that cut down easily to the right size. Screwed
it on and sealed it.
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| Fixing the weetbix letterbox top |
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| New top getting sealed in place |
Saturday evening we went to visit Richard and Theresa. Got Indian takeaways and their new local one is really delicious. Ellen was the only one of their kids at home. Aidan was working and Alex has gone to Queenstown to study hospo there.
We got a look at their new campervan. A big Mercedes sprinter 6 berth one.
Really good nick. Ex Maui van. They have it on some bookable site too. So
they were going to spend Sunday getting it ready for its first hire. They
only got it just before Christmas. I can see a lot of good holidays in their
future.
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| Mike's old primary school |
Next morning we walked to Roslyn for a coffee. That was the start of another lovely day in Dunedin. Gorgeous weather once more. But then Mike got a migraine Sunday morning after our coffee walk. So he slept a lot of the morning.
When we got the Park Run results on Saturday morning, I saw some names I
recognised. So I scrolled down the list further and saw one name from my
primary school. Same age range as me. Mike suggested I check Facebook to
find her. So I did. Pinged the most likely match in messenger. Turn out it
was her. So we scheduled a coffee at the Esplanade at 4pm Sunday.
Met up with Ange at No 7 Balmac for brunch at 11am before that. Lovely food.
Mike felt a bit better and walked up to join us. But he was still a bit
quiet, and went back to bed afterwards.
So I ubered to the beach in the afternoon and caught up with Cheryl.
Had a great time reminiscing about primary school. I supposed I hadn't seen
her since about 1979. So good to catch up and hear about mutual friends that
I have lost touch with over the intervening years.
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| Looking towards St Kilda |
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| St Clair |
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| Chips on the beach |
Mike, Polly and Ange then took us to Marlow's takeaways for the fried goodness. And we sat on John Wilson Drive, in the wind, and ate it.
Popped in to see where Ange has work on her new degree on our way home.
Gorgeous old building.
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| Ange's work - Zoology dept. |
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| Terminal in Dunedin |
Monday saw us head to the terminal to meet up with Shoshana and get a tour of the site. So good! Loved it. They looked after us so well. We went out to Gilberts bakery behind Bunnings to pick up some baked goods to take. I didn't try them though - so I dunno how good they were.
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| Esplanade iced latte |
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| Great colour in that |
We grabbed lunch at the Esplanade with Polly. Drove there and found a park
in the baking sun. Wandered around a bit. Grabbed a table inside and ate
some very nice food. All Italian based in the Esplanade cafe on the
corner. So many cafe options there too. I reckon any would be good.
Mike and I walked to Second Beach. It is just behind the hot salt water
pool. Polly had a coffee at a cafe called Fugue under a hotel not far from there, that's owned by the same person as her local Maori Hill cafe, Copper. She
met a woman called Mary who was born in 1930 and was bright as a button.
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| Selfie time |
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| This sea lion is called Mum. |
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| Hi Ken! |
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| Second Beach walk |
Second Beach was a revelation. So gorgeous. And the track ends in some basalt columns. Although it looks like you can climb over them and the path continues a bit longer. Next time we will do that!
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| The path did keep going - next time I will try that |
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| Second Beach |
I saw a huge sea lion in the crystal clear water as Mike climbed up the basalt at the end of the track. Huge as me.
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| Polly met Mary at the Fugue cafe |
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| Good iced latte |
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| Walk in Woodhaugh Gardens |
When we got home, we went for a walk down the Bullock Track to Woodhaugh Gardens. Lovely. So many people picnicking.
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| Flying fox |
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| Dunedin airport iced latte |
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| Waving at Blenheim - only sunny spot the entire flight |
Then home to relax and pack up. A light tea before bed. So hot when trying to get to sleep. But slept well once I was asleep. Up early (4.30am) to get a 5am Uber to the airport.
Easy flight home. And working now.
Hope your weekend was a good one. We loved seeing Polly, and Dunedin friends and family.
Love,
Angela
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