This is a beautiful sight for two people who are trying to blog on a ship......or to two people who have spent 2.5 months trying to find reliable wifi, period....free! It doesn't exist in many places in this part of the world! So we spent the morning in this tent, trying to catch up. The ship docked about 20 miles from Dunedin....and we had to pay $36 just to get there and back!
$36 and an hour later, we arrive in Dunedin....and head straight for the public library which has free wifi!
We spend another 2 hours in the library.....blogging.....at least we have access to a bathroom, as opposed to the tent!
The above posters were in the library, urging residents to attend various meetings, workshops and forums around town to discuss the town's budget....and VOTE on it!!!! Notice the chart on the right, showing their debt! And the one on the left, with the first statement: "Live within our means by: CUTTING COSTS!!!!!" Dare I repeat that the New Zealanders have an efficient government....at all levels!
This one cites the locations/dates of the various meetings and how to submit one's suggestions or proposals for the budget.
We are "done" with the blogging for the day....Countdown is a big grocery chain where we buy liquid and solid goodies to take back to the ship.
Street sign in front of a local barber shop on our way to lunch... 
Toilet directions are as well or better marked than the road directions!!!
We stopped for lunch at the Craft Bar
We were far more impressed with the fact that we got water WITH ICE AND LIME!!!! than we were with the crafted beer.....and these are the only oysters Tom has had...."bluff" oysters at $3/each, least expensive we have found; most were $4 or $5 each! They are a delicacy in NZ and available only a few weeks every year. We were lucky enough to be here in season. They are good, a nice size, mild flavored, and a nice texture....but not Appalachicola.
The sign next to our table.....and all the following were scrolling across various TV monitors around the bar....very entertaining!!!
Octagon is the name for the "centre ville".....not a square nor a circle, but an octagon shape.
Cafes, bars, restaurants, cinemas
all encircling a lovely park
The Town Hall, housing the city government...
We were in Dunedin and Paul Simon was performing the next day. Tom was within an inch of telling me he would fly and meet the ship at the next stop!!!
Dunedin was first settled by the Scots. Our NZ friend, Roger, insists that the Scots are the only peoples who could stand the climate in Dunedin....very gray, cold and rainy much of the time!
Nearly every port we visited in NZ had acres of timber....it is their major export, most of which goes to China. We hope that NZ is cutting at a sustainable rate and not selling off their native forest for a few $$$.
A very Scottish looking church visible from the ship in Port Chalmers where we docked.
Cars were lining the small road along the coast, wishing us a bon voyage....again, we were the last cruise ship to visit the area...signaling the end of the season.
Bunkers along the waterside as we leave port. We are assuming they were sued for protection during WWII.
We are headed out to the southern tip of New Zealand, on our way to the famous Milford Sound tomorrow.
