Dunedin

Cruise ships arrive at Port Chalmers which is about 14 kms out of Dunedin. We “passed” on the organised excursions, and took the “shuttle” into town. So long as you had NZ currency, this was a breeze. It was very well patronised, too, although it hadn’t been given a lot of publicity on the ship.

We checked out St Paul’s Cathedral, the “First” Presbyterian Church, the small but good art gallery, the famous railway station and the local equivalent of Woolworths (to stock up on mineral water). After having coffee at the art gallery, there were noises in the Octagon outside – the Scottish bands were gathering. I couldn’t count how many there were, but obviously there was going to be a “band-fest”. Things didn’t seem to be moving very fast, and there was a hint of a shower in the air, so we didn’t wait to see the outcome – but suffice to say, I’ve never seen so many sets of bagpipes in the one place!

Free wi fi was provided in the terminal building, which is a nice touch (although it did drop out occasionally). There was another cruise ship in Port at the same time as us, but the local tourism authorities certainly deserve credit for rising to the occasion – everything is extremely well organised.