Our first night in New Zealand and we both slept very badly, but no fault of our comfortable bed at Camp Estate. More to do with jetlag, trying to sleep when we are used to being awake and over-active brains which simply refuse to shut down! Nevertheless we managed to get ourselves up at the appointed time in order not to miss breakfast. We looked out of the window and wow! No view! Just very thick, cold, damp, mist. Not quite what we were expecting.

Feeling somewhat shell-shocked from lack of sleep we set off for the short drive into the centre of Dunedin. As we descended into the city we left the mist behind us but it was still rather damp and drizzly. We parked right next to the railway station (no charge on Sundays!) and walked the very short distance to The Otago Settlers Museum. On our last visit in 2011 we were disappointed because the museum was closed due to renovations. Now it is a brand spanking new facility with a wealth of fascinating exhibits, many of which are interactive. Entrance is free and we spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering around finding out about the many diverse peoples who have come from near and far, from way back in the mists of time or much more recently, to make New Zealand their home.

We had lunch in the museum cafe, then walked the short distance back to the railway station ready to board the train for our afternoon trip on the Taieri Gorge railway. There were hordes of people disembarking the train from the morning trip and piling into coaches. More people, in fact, than we had previously seen in the whole of New Zealand! It turned out that there was a cruise ship in town and the passengers had all come out in the morning for the train ride. It was lucky that we chose the afternoon because the train was almost empty and we were free to wander around the train as we pleased. The train takes you on a half day journey, from Dunedin to Pukerangi, and back through the rugged and spectacular Taieri River Gorge, across wrought iron viaducts and through 12 tunnels, many carved by hand more than 100 years ago. Along the way you see some spectacular scenery and some sights only accessible by train. They encourage you to go out onto the viewing platform at the end of the carriage but this is seriously taking your life into your own hands and we only stayed out there for a few minutes. The maximum altitude reached by the train is 254 metres at Pukerangi and we stopped there for 10 minutes while the engine changed ends before returning to Dunedin along the same track. It was a vey pleasant way to spend what turned into a sunny afternoon, even better, we were able to share a bottle of wine whist enjoying the view!

In the evening we ate at Plato which is a casual, very quirky, retro-themed restaurant situated back from the harbour front of Dunedin. Interestingly it occupies a former hostel for seafarers from around the world which was established by the British. They serve mainly seafood, the menu was varied and very interesting and the food was fantastic! We drank Blue Dog beer which is their speciality and brewed on the premises and that was good too so well worth a visit anyone down that way.