Dec. 20/15: Dunedin (train to Oamaru)

This morning I awoke early enough to realize that the sun rises now before 6:00 (at quarter to in fact). It's up until about 9:30, so lots of daylight! In their winter  (our summer), the sun doesn’t rise until 8:30, but also sets later than us, about  5.

I had decided I would take the train – the Seasider – for a seven hour return trip along the coast, to Oamaru. This included an hour’s stop in the town of 15,000. It’s reputed to have one of the most interesting streetscapes in the county , because  of the number of 19th century buildings made of local limestone.

One of Oamaru's limestone buildings

Trains are wonderful, and this was  no  exception. Lovely  views of  the coast, and hillsides dotted with sheep. Foxglove grow wild, it seems, beside the tracks, much as lupins do by the roadside back home. Although lupins are far more prolific.

View from the train

I’m loving the walk into the city centre and back from my “home” here. It starts off through the Town (green) Belt, and feels like a rain forest (admittedly with paved streets). Within 5 minutes I’m at the top of the town centre and in another 10 minutes right downtown. One street is so steep  they have had to incorporate steps. So, coming  back up is decidedly a workout. So much the better.

The climb through the "rainforest"

Dunedin has  such an old world feel to it, even though it was not  settled by Europeans until about 1850, long after they first came to Canada.

I’m guessing I will not  continue to  add to this blog as often as I have been, but who knows??