I've traveled all around the world, I've seen some amazing sights. I can't possibly tell you how beautiful it is here in Dunedin and the surrounding area. We landed Port Chalmers today at around 09:00 and immediately secured a 6-passenger van with Big Nev (Neville). In hindsight, the van was probable just a little too small for the six of us. The five-hour tour was just a little too much to take for some of our passengers.

It's difficult to secure a Maxi-Van when you land in the port, with hundreds of people off all at the same time, looking for a tour van to circumvent the high HAL tour prices. Our driver told us that he just recently had an eye operation and was apparently very pleased with the results. The surgery consisted of having his eyelid attached to his "willy". Hence, every time he winks, he ***** ! We were all very pleased that he did not wink while driving, particularly on those narrow mountain roads.

It was a fantastic day, the scenery was stupendous. The shots attached will attest to this. The minimum wage here in Dunedin is $17.00/hour and average house prices are in the $300K range, so it seems like a nice place to hang a hat, particularly with around 250,000 inhabitants.

The next few days will be horrendous, we have five ports-of-call in direct succession so there will be NO sea days for us to recuperate in between. If this first port in New Zealand is any indication of what's to follow, I'll be blown away.

Stay tuned