Austrian visitors learn chinese

Ahhhh the morning dawned bright and beautifully! We will have sunshine on the last day of our Tiki tour as well. That does mean we had only one day of rain - and solid rain it was - during the trip! Yes someone does look after me when it comes to travelling. We had limited time left and a deadline of 6pm in Christchurch to meet - so first up the steepest street in the world.  Folks it is official - they came and measured and confirmed it and written it up as such . . . . 
It is a well hiked street - and surprisingly even Mamabear made it all the way to the top! Once a year there is the great lollie race with numbered M&M's being set free and if your "purchased" number is first down you win a prize.  It is also the setting for the annual 'gut-buster' race.  First up and down.  Hmmmm running this downhill???? You have to be barking mad.   Turns out - watching an elderly dude doing training here - you do not run - rather you skip downhill.  0.0  That has got possibilities - but I am not in a hurry to TEST this technique!!

You get an idea on HOW steep it really is from these two pictures.

The view from the bottom up towards the top.

At the top is a chair - and you can have a well deserved rest. The mural is great - and so are the ladies present ^^

Then it was to Dunedin' latest, newest attraction -- a Chinese garden. Actually it is a supposedly a home for a middle class person of let's say intellectual interests such as a teacher or philosopher.  The Chinese have played a huge part in the development of NZ in our early colonial days - and in particular during the Gold rush days - later then with garden (fruit and veggie) supplies. Dunedin used to be the jumping of point for the Chinese immigrants.  So the good folk over there planned this typical residence and built it in China - once they had completed the building everything got dis-assembled and crated and shipped and then some 25 plus labourers from China came here and re-assembled it here. So materials are originals from China. 

They did a really good job!

It features many nooks and crannies as we say here - so a water feature along with bridges and waterfall and lots of corners and hiding places and walls and - ah you just have to go there and visit yourself.  It has areas which would have been used for contemplation/ study / eating of course / gardening and so forth.

yes - they recently celebrated the Chinese new year  (year of the horse) - so it was a cultural affair and there is always something happening there. There are hidden 19 'horses' onsite and school children are encouraged to find them all and mark them off on a site plan - then get a prize or something.

You can see it - he is pondering - why did we get dragged here?  What am I supposed to do here?
Mate - just enjoy the space / layout and reflect on your trip . . . . . .

From a photographic point of view there are some challenges ahead - like this 'view' through the window and much depends on lighting - angles and skill to get it right.  I didn't do nearly enough to get it right

better but still lacking

This was particularly challenging -wish I had a super wide angle lens.  See the floor you walk on - they brought millions of them and laid them all over the place as a footpath.  Pity the person who had to make them!

Looking from the outside inwards. 
What you do not know is that I am leaning half out over the water - locked by a precarious foothold on the concrete with my right toe - one slip and I am in water along with my not so expensive gear.
Should have asked for a ladder and placed that in the water  . . . .

From there is was going north and homewards via the Moeraki boulders - A F T E R  we left one Austrian behind in Dunedin - not because he smelled or asked one to many time "are we there yet"  rather he chose to stay and spend some time with Mamabears sister AND go and see the albatross colony along with the penguin colony and, and, and, yup and that as well. I shall pick him up from the bus station in some days time.

These are the fabled boulders. Nature has a habit of surprising us - scientists are not 100 % sure exactly how they came to be formed and why only on this particular stretch on the coast of NZ and only in NZ.  I'm not bothered why or how or so -, rather I am glad they are and enjoy visiting them.

We had this invite from Elisabeth Peach  (Ohhhh remember her?? We jettisoned her at Methven after she had a long weekend with us on the beginning of this trip) to come for tea the day we were due back in Christchurch and have one last catch up with the remaining two Austrians.
There were complications in the end with a certain Luke (not of skywalker fame) using a screw driver - hmmm inappropriately, requiring a trip to the Emergency Department.   We didn't mind waiting for a bit - we had driven 3000-plus km at this stage - whats a half hour??

Last chance to take a picture, then eventually we made it back home - with one LESS passenger.  Seems to be the theme today - we welcome all and then we loose them.  Liz and Doris having a Girl night out (which didn't last long in the end with both of them being very tiered)  This trip started with 6 of us and it was a really weird feeling having only 3 of us coming back home. There suddenly was space in the cars . . . .
We got home and after the usual photos and drinks and reflections and unpacking and catching up with the boys and our wildlife here and the old fella next door and more drinks and checking up on emails and facebook - ah yess - my own bed - bliss 


Finito -           well - almost   :D   0.-