Our holiday - stop 5 - Dunedin and surrounds

The drive from Te Anau to our new lodgings about half an hour south of Dunedin was uneventful, but we did have to stop at another of the giant statues that the Aussies and Kiwis seem so keen on. This one celebrates Gore as the centre of Brown Trout Fishing in NZ - whoopee!!!! Still, the kids like having their photo taken, so why not?

We stayed in a tiny place called Taieri Mouth. The house overlooks the beach and has a view of the Otago Peninsula. Very pretty. It was quite a nippy day so no togs and strict instructions to stay dry so we could head out promptly. Deaf Ears!!!!

We visited the chocolate factory (Cadbury World) in the morning. Mmmmmmm that smell! The boys loved the free chocolate they received (actually maybe it wasn't just the children!). And it was quite a well run tour. We realised just how many of the Cadbury products here are unique to NZ and Oz. Of course we can't get some of the UK varieties here. Favourites here are Chocolate fish, Moro Bars and of course Perky Nana! Of course the one downside of the tour was having to wear - no, having your photo taken wearing the rather fetching hats! ( I will get my own back - maybe further down the page.....)
The afternoon was spent at the aquarium on the Otago Peninsula. We were there for feeding time and watched the scuba diver feeding sharks in their outdoor tank. There was a great touch pool and both boys were up to their soggy elbows. Upstairs there was a great indoor play area with books, dress-ups, a mini sub etc - we even got a free cup of tea!

Ahhhh revenge is sweet!
The next day we got up early (again - of course not a problem when the boys share a room) and went to visit the Royal Albatross Colony at the tip of the Otago Peninsula. We climbed up to the hide after the introductory film and were able to watch several birds sitting on their nests. They had a live camera feed from a couple of nests over the brow of the hill and we were the first people to see a brand new chick! The adults are enormous - 3 metre wingspan.
Back in Dunedin we stopped at Baldwin Street (the world's steepest street) for the obligatory walk up and down and photo ops. According to the Guinness Book of Records the slope is 1:2.86, 19ºor 35%. Joe practically ran up and Ben made it all the way without moaning! They both thought it would be better to roll down, but the grazes on Joe's arms put a stop to that!