Dunedin 18th April to 20th April 2006 The following day we get the tyres sorted out ($120 for 2) and drive to Dunedin past the Moeraki boulders. Quite a strange sight to see perfectly rounded boulders sitting right in the middle of the beach, I think they were made of harder mudstone than the surrounding soil which has been eroded by the sea over time. The drive south is very hilly and the whirring noise from somewhere in the back of the van seems to be getting louder and louder. So we drive on oblivious as to how much damage we are doing to the vehicle, funny smells come and go and the stupid creatures sat in the front decide to ignore once more the obvious warning sings. Well we didn't get away with it for much longer. Dunedin was formed by a multitude of volcanic activity millions of years ago and when entering the city via a particularly nasty incline the rear brakes finally decided that the'd had enough. when stopped at the lights we see huge plumes of smoke coming from the offside rear end of the van. Oh dear. Unsure whether we should get out immediately in case the whole lot set on fire of whether we should just pull over, we quickly decided to pull over and nearly slammed into a bus coming down our inside. Not good. We made it over the junction, parked up and exited the van pretty pronto after grabbing our passports. We were a picture of frustration and pretty downbeat, thankfully we'd joined the AA. As with all AA vehicle inspectors, on arriving at the scene of the crime our guy just shook his head and said something about dib filters (or something). He looked at us like we'd just misplaced our only child and that 'we should really know better'. Well excuse us if we haven't been on a 'build a Toyota Hi-ace from scrap' course, this is exactly why we pay our membership fees so dudes like him can come out and fix our van for us. Except fix it he couldn't and with that air-inhaled-through-sucking teeth noise he said those immortal words "oooohhh, it's gonna cost ya" The ironic thing was that we had the van booked in to be looked at the next day anyway. Ok, we'd been ignoring the warning signs for months and it was entirely our own fault anyway. In the morning we arranged for the van to be towed to the garage and we were without our baby for a night. Well what to do? Best book into the backpackers then and make the most of it. There's an oft re-told story about how the scottish settlers came to reside in the southern part of the south island and I'll quickly re-tell it now. When landing in Picton (home of possibly the most sunshine hours in the whole of NZ) the scotties took one look at the place and saw immediately that it was not for them. Heading further south the general feeling was that "this is more like it" but only when stumbling upon the pissing rain in Dunedin and Invercargil did they finally realise that they'd found a home away from home. So we had a couple of showers in Dunedin and generally the place reminded us of Glasgow with nice wide, hilly streets and slightly run-down houses. The backpackers we booked into was a lovely old building with nice high ceilings and reportedly a resident ghost. We take a walk around town and do a little bit of shopping. In the evening we take a tour of the Speights brewery and fein interest in the brewing process long enough to make it to the tasting session at the end. The tasting session was a bit different with us tourists being allowed to take control behind the bar and to pur our own drinks from the tap. How very civilised. So after 243 pints (ok, 5 small glasses) we finish up and head down the road to possibly the bast bar we've come across in NZ to date. The bar was owned by Speights brewery and was set in a former warehouse with the bar like an island in the middle. The food was great (Stu had Lamb) and for once we decide that this pub would not look out of place back in old blighty. The following day we wait around for the van to be fixed so go to the Art Gallery set in a lovely grand building and we know that we've been on holiday for too long when we see an exhibition first viewed by us in Perth on display here in Dunedin. We then go to see March of the Penguins at the Cinema and it's pretty good. Finally our van is ready by late afternoon and best part of 600 dollars later we are on our way to the Otago Peninsular. On our way to Portobello we stop to see a huge sea lion which has beached himself after eating way too much. Quite beautiful yet scary creatures up close. The drive itself is pretty precarious with the road about 2 feet away from the sea itself. Thank god we got the van sorted before attempting this drive! Keep the messages coming please everybody, Lots of Love Stu & Amy.