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Wellington to Dunedin
Feb. 19th, 2019 10:17 pmMy last days in Wellington included catching up for lunch with Art P., Kay J., and Tim J., to discuss various matters ranging from NZ politics to science fiction. Promotion of The Locksmith is appropriate in this context. After that went to Te Papa, NZ's national museum, a visit which was particularly notable for the Terracotta Warriors exhibition, and their quite literally larger than life Gallipoli exhibition. Appropriately, the following afternoon I went on the Weta Workshop combination tour which was worth a visit, but not something I would return to in a hurry. The morning after however was a regular event on my visits here, the Wellington Cable Car and Museum, along with the well-appointed botanical gardens. Inside there is the Carter Observatory and Space Place, which I hadn't been to for several years and is well worth regular visits.
That evening took a flight to Dunedin and paid the notoriously overpriced taxi fare and stepped in my home for a few days, Balllymena House. This is an increasingly dilapidated old Victorian era building which creaks and wobbles as you make your way around, but it's comfortable, inexpensive, and the family-staff are very helpful. Have carried out some of the more official purposes of my visit, firstly being to check on my Masonic Lodge; tenant Dominic S. (of the The 3Ds fame) loves the place and has made the main hall into a music studio. My other required activity here was complete enrolment matters with the University of Otago. A few thousand dollars later, I now have a student card for my Masters of Higher Education degree; the first tutorial is on Friday.
In less requisite activities, I have purchased a small mountain of shirts from the local SaveMart; run into a chap from Byron Bay who also considers it to the finest clothes store in the AU-NZ region. As for today, spent a good few hours making my way through the Otago Museum, which has excellent Pacific Island culture sections, a good maritime history collection, and an impressive nature section. Curiously, it also has a good Greco-Egyptian antiquities collection (including a mummy). As always, I find Dunedin to be one of the most delightful and charming little cities imaginable; any excuse to visit.
That evening took a flight to Dunedin and paid the notoriously overpriced taxi fare and stepped in my home for a few days, Balllymena House. This is an increasingly dilapidated old Victorian era building which creaks and wobbles as you make your way around, but it's comfortable, inexpensive, and the family-staff are very helpful. Have carried out some of the more official purposes of my visit, firstly being to check on my Masonic Lodge; tenant Dominic S. (of the The 3Ds fame) loves the place and has made the main hall into a music studio. My other required activity here was complete enrolment matters with the University of Otago. A few thousand dollars later, I now have a student card for my Masters of Higher Education degree; the first tutorial is on Friday.
In less requisite activities, I have purchased a small mountain of shirts from the local SaveMart; run into a chap from Byron Bay who also considers it to the finest clothes store in the AU-NZ region. As for today, spent a good few hours making my way through the Otago Museum, which has excellent Pacific Island culture sections, a good maritime history collection, and an impressive nature section. Curiously, it also has a good Greco-Egyptian antiquities collection (including a mummy). As always, I find Dunedin to be one of the most delightful and charming little cities imaginable; any excuse to visit.