Dunedin

I have had a lovely holiday in Dunedin with the Roes. I flew in Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday morning I went on a family outing with the Roes to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, which is like a smaller version of Zealandia in Wellington. The highlight was seeing one of the two takahe they have there. We didn't see them the first time when we had the kids with us (teenagers and silence aren't really compatible...), but at the very end of the walk the kids went to the cafe/giftshop and we tried our luck again. After a noisy family who were picnicking departed, one of the takahe eventually wandered out from his clump of tussock. He hung around for 10 minutes or so before wandering back...

We also saw tui, silvereye, kaka, fantail, bellbird and south island robin

Richie took most of the photos on this post as I didn't have room to bring our camera down with me. Will was flying straight to Dunedin from the States (42 degrees Celsius!) so I had all of his winter stuff, as well as his stuff for the ball. My bag was fully laden... Luckily I was able to use the self-service check-in and chuck it straight onto the bag-drop so it didn't get weighed!

Will flew in on Friday morning, he was in remarkably good shape considering he had done a 30 odd hour trip door to door. He had a sleep in the afternoon to set himself up for the evening. Rach & I went and got our make-up done in the afternoon, Rach had found a really good deal on one of the voucher sites. The woman did a good job, I very rarely wear any so was a bit apprehensive, but it wasn't too OTT.

The ball was at Larnach Castle and there was a group of us going together. We gathered at the Roe's for some cocktails first before getting a bus from the railway station out to the castle.

The ball was great fun. It was  Scottish Ceilidh style dancing with called dances in groups and lots of partner swapping. David Bain also happened to be at the ball, and Rach ended up in a dance group with him. It was a continuous finger food buffet and the food was plentiful and of a very high standard.

When we arrived at the ball we were announced into the ballroom. Rich & Rach were the 'Duke and Duchess of St Clair' and Will & I were "Lord and Lady of Wilton'. We decided that the 'Duke of Wellington' was already taken! Above you can see Laurie and Karen who were part of our group being introduced. 

Laurie's brother Alan was a great laugh. He was very taken with the candelabra and spent most of the night carting it around and posing for photos. He had grown his Victorian whiskers especially for the occasion. The pic below is of him and a random woman in a steampunk inspired outfit which was one of Will's favourites.

All in all a great night was had by all. Saturday morning was a very quiet affair, in fact it didn't really exist as most of the household didn't surface until around lunchtime. It was a grey and miserable day anyway, so no great loss... Apart from that day we have had remarkably good weather down here, much warmer than expected. 

On Saturday night a few of the Roe's friends came around for a soup and bread dinner and a few drinks. It was a fairly quiet chilled night, a couple of the group were still recovering from the ball the previous night...

On Sunday the weather we had come to expect was back. Will and Rich went and took a few pics of the neighbouring Cargill's Castle. They also popped down to the beach to take some pics of the St Clair poles. Rich wants to get some good shots to put onto canvases.

Later on Will and I went for a stroll down to the beach. It was just nearing dusk and there was some lovely soft light. As we were leaving a sea mist was rolling in. 

Today Rich and Rach and the kids were all back at school. I am lucky in that my school always gets 3 weeks off for the July holidays. Will and I had a relaxed morning, then Will went into Otago Boys with Rich to do some marketing/promotion for robotics at Victoria University. I enjoyed a nice afternoon shopping in the city centre. Tomorrow we have a morning flight back to Wellington.