Tag Archives: Rolling blogs

Rolling blog: Good intentions…

11 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by in Lancashire, Rail electrification, Rail Investment, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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I had planned to be working from home today, then two things happened. The sun shone and (after many trials and tribulations) electric trains did finally start running to Bolton in normal service – so how could I resist?

I’ll do a separate blog on the story of Bolton electrification as I have many archive shots of the work underway. This rolling blog will simply describe today’s foray. Right now I’m on the slightly late-running 11:22 from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester Victoria which is being worked by a Class 153/156 combo. As it’s post Peak it’s actually quite a quiet train, for now anyway…

Today’s going to be a busy one. Right now there’s a major conference underway which is discussing the future of transport in the North, including Northern Powerhouse Rail and Hs2. There’s no doubt that the vast majority of Northern politicians. businesses and business groups are determined to push for expansion and investment in transport for the North, but at the same time a small bunch of Londoncentric Tory right-wingers are launching their latest attempt to influence Government policy by attempting another hatchet job on Hs2, a project they hate as it doesn’t fit in with their political world view. Tonight Channel 4 will screen a Dispatches programme fronted by one of the band of right-wingers. It has the entirely neutral title of “Hs2, the great train robbery?” I’ll be blogging about it in detail after it’s been aired and I’ve had a chance to see it, so watch this space…

12:08.

A quick hop across platforms at Victoria has enabled me to catch the 12:08 to Blackburn which worked by ex-GWR units. I’m in another 153, which allows a direct comparison of interior. The first shot is Northern’s 153363, the second is ex-GWR 153380.

13:33.

Whilst in Bolton I had time for a wander and noticed this statue to one of Bolton’s more famous residents.

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15:46.

With the sun sinking I’m making my way back from Horwich Parkway, which was my last port of call. Today’s been another cat and mouse contest with the sun but I’ve managed to get a few reasonable shots. Here’s 319361 working a Buckshaw Parkway – Manchester Victoria service at Bolton.

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A number of different diesel diagrams went over to electric on this first day. 319s worked a Manchester Victoria – Buckshaw Parkway service and also Manchester Airport – Blackpool North and Airport-Preston. A pair of 156s shared the Buckshaw Parkway services, so the introduction of electric services is obviously phased. No doubt more will go over to 319s soon. Here’s another shot from Bolton.

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If you want to see a few more shots I’ve added them to this gallery on my Zenfolio website.

16:47.

I’m currently bouncing my way back to Yorkshire by Pacer (The 16:37 Victoria-Leeds. Today’s electric launch must be the beginning of the end for these units now. They were already living on borrowed time – half the fleet should have gone by May 2019 yet all remain in service at the moment. Soon, sights like this will be a thing of the past.

To add to the fun of the journey, this car has a wheelflat, so there’s ‘thud, thud, thud’ to complement the usual Pacer noises!

 

 

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If you enjoy reading these blogs, please consider clicking on an advert – or two! You don’t have to buy anything, honest! The clicks just help me cover the cost of running this blog. Many thanks, Paul

Rolling blog: Chester caper (part 2)

10 Sunday Feb 2019

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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08:00

The weather forecast has proved to be as accurate as Brexiters promises this morning. I woke up to rain, not sunshine, so the day’s starting later than I’d planned. It’s hardly great weather for photography so I’m taking time to edit a couple of pictures before venturing out. Let’s see how the day goes…

The hotel where I’m staying is only a couple of hundred metres from the station and the view from my room shows up some Victorian history. Old tram tracks that led into the depot, which has been redeveloped.

09:39.

I’ve opted to take my leave of Chester and begin the trek back to Yorkshire as the weather’s looking decidedly mixed. Mind you, it’s good if you like taking shots in puddles!

Chester’s overall roof was pruned in BR days, leaving bits here and there. One such bit covers the bay platforms 5-6. Problem is, you have to cross this gap – which can get rather wet!

I’m aboard the same Class 175 that brought me here yesterday. It’s been serviced at the Alstom depot at Chester overnight and this is it’s first trip of the day. Other units are stabled in the yard ready for Monday morning.

Behind them are new homes built on the site of the former goods sheds which were demolished in the 1990s. Building homes on old railway land right next to busy stations like this always provoke a wry smile when I think of the Nimbys who complain about the fact they’ll have to live a few hundred metres from Hs2 when it’s built!

10:22

I’ve stopped off at Warrington Bank Quay in the hope of getting one or two shots. This place is normally a busy freight centre but as It’s Sunday the yard is quiet. Looking at the clouds heading my way it looks like I’m in a race against time…

11:06

The law of Sod is working well today. Just as my next train arrived the sun showed its face! I’m now on another Few 175 heading back to Manchester. There’s thin gruel today as Northern Rail are operating a reduced timetable in the North-West, so my best option now is to get back to the urban sprawl of the city and see if some picture opportunities present themselves. It’s not just services that are thin on the ground today, the sort of characters I observed yesterday are too. So far, today’s passengers have all been boringly normal!

I’ve changed trains again at Oxford Rd to give myself time to appreciate just how much the city’s skyline is changing. There’s a massive amount of new construction going on around here with tower cranes springing up left, right and centre. It’s a far cry from the desperate days of the 70s-80s when the city was in decline. Now it’s a vibrant place with a lot to recommend it.

12:16.

I’m heading East again, this time on Trans-Pennine Express’s Huddersfield shuttle. The skies are thwarting me once more – as you can see from the shot taken from the train.

12:49

Time for a pit-stop at one of the rail networks oldest and most famous station bars: Stalybridge.

The station has historical interest too. This plaque’s mounted on the outside wall of the bar.

The bar at Stalybridge is one of several on the Colne Valley line that have become famous as the ‘rail ale trail, which was a marketing idea set up many years ago as a way of encouraging real ale fans to use the train to get between some excellent local taverns between Leeds and Manchester. It became a victim of its own success when it was featured on TV by James Mayl and Oz Clarke. Suddenly, it was a ‘must do’ that had nothing to do with real ale. It attracted larger swilling stag and hen parties and life became pretty unpleasant for train crews, bar staff and the residents of the villages involved due to the drunken behaviour of some of the participants. (I’ll add a pic later). There were incidents of people falling into or walking along the tracks. It was a miracle no-one was killed. It got so bad that some of the pubs refused to sell lager at a weekend and wouldn’t serve anyone in fancy dress. Things have quietened down nowadays, but on summer Saturdays many locals still give pubs in Marsden and other villages on the route a miss.

15:30

I’m back in Huddersfield now and on my final train of the day, Northern’s 15:34 to Leeds via Halifax. It’s not exactly busy today…

On the way I stopped off in Slaithwaite (or Slawit to some, the arguments over pronunciation are endless and very Yorkshire). It’s the penultimate stop before Huddersfield and features on the rail ale trail as it has two very good pubs, the Commercial and the Shoulder of Mutton. Nowadays it’s very much an up and coming little place as it has cafe’s, bakeries and gin palaces. It’s also quite a pretty little place on the Huddersfiel narrow canal.

Rolling blog: The Chester caper…

09 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by in Huddersfield, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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Having survived this morning’s battering from storm ‘Eric’ (No, really, that’s what I told it was named!) I’m on the rails again today as I’m off to Chester to meet up for a meal and some drinks with many of the other folk who volunteer to run the Railway Children’s annual 3 peaks by rail event. We’re always so busy over the 3 days we don’t normally get chance, so – as there’s no train to run…

Despite the fact today’s Northern Rail strike was called off earlier in the week it’s not proved possible to reinstate a normal timetable, which has meant no Calder Valley services today. Instead Dawn was good enough to take time out and give me a lift to Huddersfield where I could catch Trans-Pennine Express service instead. I’m now aboard the 13:08, heading for Manchester – and it’s actually running to time!

Huddersfield station was rammed, I can only assume the local footy team are at home today. I still can’t get used to the sight of 100mph TPE Class 185s sitting in the platform used by Northern’s Manchester shuttles now that they’ve taken over most of the services. It’s lovely having a 185 instead of a 150, but I can’t help feeling it’s a mis-match of resources.

13:25.

This is my first trip across the Colne Valley route since returning from New Zealand. It’s interesting to see the precursors to the forthcoming route modernisation and electrification. Lineside vegetation received quite a prune last year, now new cable troughing is appearing – much of it elevated. I suspect I might be kept quite busy documenting the changes to the route over the next few years…

Meanwhile, on board my train is as busy as ever. Lots of folk are heading to Manchester for the weekend, including a couple of Geordie lasses sat opposite – one of whom has has had quite a bit of ‘work’ done. Blonde hair extensions? Check. ‘Trout pout? Check. Boob job displayed by a low top? Check. Trump ‘tan? Check. I’m sure they’ll have a wonderful time in the city!

Their replacement at Manchester Victoria was a portly middle-aged man carrying a plastic bag full of beercans but no sense of personal space or spatial awareness. He immediately spotted a lone woman in the vestibule whom he buttonholed, pouring out a life-story that included divorce, the inability to hold down a job and a persecution complex that includes the courts and the DWP. Luckily for her, he got off at the next stop, Oxford Rd. So did I as I’m changing the TfW’s 13:56 to Llandundo.

Despite the fact it’s a 3-car, it’s another busy train. There’s a few empty seats but some people, including myself, opt to stand. My excuse is that people-watching is more fun that way!

14:26

We’re just leaving Warrington Bank Quay where half the folk in my coach retrained, only to be replaced by an equal number of new folks. As we pulled away I was surprised to see a Colas liveried Class 60 (002) on a rake of Drax power station biomass hoppers. Isn’t that a GBRf operated service? Thanks to the power of social media I’ve now found out Colas flogged this loco to GBRf last year. I clearly don’t pay enough attention to fleet news these days!

16:11.

I’m now ensconced in Chester – and it’s packed! The station was busy enough, it’s on odd melange of old and new that doesn’t quite work due to the piecemeal nature of the improvements carried out over different decades. My personal belief is it needs a master plan redevelopment to turn it back into the gateway to the city it once was – and fix that leaky roof! Notice the mats and cones everywhere?

My hotel was only a few minutes walk away, which will be handy for tomorrow. It’s cheap and cheerful and in the throes of a refurbishment in the hands of new owners – which could account for the cheap!

As I wandered further into the city it was full of Saturday shoppers, gawkers and ordinary tourists. Here’s the view from the old city walls.

Despite the crowds it’s good to be back. I’ve fond memories of Chester stretching right back to the 1970s. I’d also forgotten what an interesting town it is due to the mix of architecture. Hopefully, tomorrows weather will permit me to get some pictures. In the meantime, here’s a couple of tasters.

Here’s some of our merry band dining at the Botanist in the city centre.

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Finally, after a very convivial evening, I managed to get a shot of the group before we headed off to our respective abodes.

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Rolling blog: stir crazy no more…

08 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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10:35.

Despite the lousy weather in the Calder valley this morning I’m going to tear myself away from my desk and get out and about in order to grab a few pictures and blow the cobwebs away. The high winds we’ve got this morning should be ideal for that!

Watch this space to see where I go and what I get up to…

11:22

I’m now on the 11:23 from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds via Mirfield which is made up of two of an endangered species: the Pacer! Over half the fleet should have already gone off lease but delays in electrification of other routes and problems with commissioning new trains has seen them soldier on. Here’s 142053 and 142094 arriving on my train.

Set 094 is one that’s had its original bus style bench seats replaced with more modern high-backed ones.

I abandoned the Pacers at Dewsbury, where I was sorely tempted by a visit to the excellent West Riding refreshment rooms on the station. Instead, I grabbed a couple of pictures in the mixed weather before heading on to Leeds. Dewsbury’s some classic old Victorian building’s as it was once a wealthy town, making it’s money from the production of ‘shoddy’. Nowadays it’s more famous for poverty & social ills. Still, there’s an interesting double footbridge across the station which makes for good pictures.

14:06.

The weather’s not entirely played ball so whilst I’ve waited for it to pick up I’ve enjoyed some Pacer perambulations, catching a 142 from Leeds to Wakefield Kirkgate via Castleford. The train traverses some interesting and varied tracks, first passing the Freightliner loco depot at Balm Rd where at least 10 class 70s are in store. They’re expensive bits of kit to leave idle, but many haven’t turned a wheel for some time. Once past the intermodal terminal we hit the section of route towards Woodlesford which will be shadowed by phase 2b of the new HS2 railway into Leeds. The area’s a mass of old industrial scars and closed railways so It will be good to see expansion for a change. At Castleford our crew changed ends as the train reverses here. The lines continues on but few passenger services use it except on diversions. On departure we headed for Normanton, another old industrial area that once had a famous steam engine depot and thriving goods yards. All are long gone and the station’s a shadow of its former self – unlike my next port of call: Wakefield Kirkgate.

The station’s undergone a renaissance in the past 10 years, going from a derelict building to a thriving hub with a cafe and 1st Class lounge for Grand Central passengers. I didn’t have time to visit either as my next train was only a couple of minutes behind. This time it was a later version of the Pacer, the Class 144, the interior layout is less like a bus and more like a train.

I was heading back into Leeds via the connecting line from Kirkgate to Westgate stations and the direct line to the city, which took around 20 mins. The weather had picked up in Leeds and we were following one of the new Hitachi Class 800 ‘Azuma’ trains that was on a test run so I was keen to get some shots but I found an embarrassment of riches when we pulled in. Not just one but two Azumas, closely followed by one of the loco’s they’ll displace, 91119, which has earned celebrity status after being repainted in the original Intercity livery it carried when it entered service with BR in the early 1990s. Here’s 800202 just before departure.

14:55

I couldn’t resist a ride and chance for a decent pic of 91119, so I’m heading back to Wakefield behind it…

15:12

LNER trains don’t hang around in platforms long! I barely had enough time to leg it across the exceedingly high footbridge (with lots of steps) to the opposite platform try and get my shot before the train was pulling away.

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Now I’m retracing my steps into Leeds for the final time before beginning to head towards home. This time My conveyance is one of the old Class 155s built for Calder Valley services back in the 1980s. This example’s been refurbished.

But, if you look above the doors in the vestibules you’ll still find this.

15:39.

Off again, this time back to Dewsbury. I ended up playing hide and seek with the sun at Leeds, which was rather frustrating. On the plus side – I may have made a young lad’s day…

I was approached by a train driver who’d seem me taking a shot of his train as it arrived. He explained that his young son is always scanning the internet for pictures of his dad driving – and would I be able to help? A quick look at the cameras LCD confirmed I’d a clear shot of Tom at the controls, so I’ve arranged to email him a copy of the picture for his son!

15:56.

Back at Dewsbury, and this time I didn’t resist! Well, it IS Friday…

16:52

Now heading home to meet the wife and spend the evening together as I’m away over the weekend (see tomorrow’s rolling blog). Whilst waiting at Dewsbury I noticed this around a few doors on the Westbound platform.

This is what can happen when you you raise the platform edge on an old Victorian railway station and alter the camber!

Right now I’m on my last train- a pair of 150s on a Leeds – Manchester service via Sowerby Bridge. I’m on an old friend, set 130 which used to work on the Gospel Oak-Barking line in London when that was one of my local lines. How things come full circle!

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If you enjoy reading these blogs, please consider clicking on an advert – or two! You don’t have to buy anything, honest! The clicks just help me cover the cost of running this blog. Many thanks, Paul

Rolling blog: Back in Britain…

31 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by in Air Travel, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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06:20.

It’s a bit of a shock to the system but we’re back in the UK after flying in from Houston. We’ve actually had a very good flight. Our plane was well over half empty. The food was very good and crew were friendly and helpful, my only observation was that this was an 11 year old 777-224 (N69020 for the aviation geeks) so the seat-back entertainment system was rather clunky.

We arrived nearly an hour ahead of schedule after an easy flight. It’s the first time I’ve flown out of Houston and across Texas, so I was surprised to see just how green the state was. After a childhood spent watching cowboy films the last thing I was expecting was to see how green it was with huge tracts of pine forests, winding roads and arrow straight roads. We also crossed Louisiana and Arkansas only by then the clouds had rolled in. leaving little to see but this.

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Admittedly, US cities look rather spectacular when you fly over them at night…

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It was still night when we entered UK airspace and flew past Bristol and up the Thames valley before looping back on ourselves before lining up for our final approach to Heathrow, where we encountered mist and very low cloud. Now we’ve got to re-adapt to UK climate, which isn’t at its best. It looks like we’ll be returning to snow in West Yorkshire. We’ve a few hours to kill before then as our Grand Central service back to Halifax isn’t until 10:57…

09:16

We’ve braved the cold to get on the Piccadilly line tube to Kings Cross. In truth, it’s not a bad day to come back to. The sun’s shining and it’s a beautifully clear but frosty morning.

12:17

After brunch at the Parcel Yard in Kings Cross station we’re now speeding North through a Narnia style landscape courtesy of Grand Central trains (my first UK rail trip of the year). We ran out of sunshine North of Peterborough, swapping it for freezing with visibility down to a couple of hundred metres at most. Doncaster almost looked attractive in the frost (no mean feat) although the further West we get the more the frost’s fading. I don’t envy the guys we passed, working on the station platform extensions at Pontefract, they must be freezing – despite all their PPE.

19:17

We’re home, unpacked and knackered! Having travelled halfway around the planet on two flights, one of 12hrs 30m and the other of 7hrs 45m plus a layover of 2.5 hours as well as having crossed the international dateline has caught up with us. Now it’s time for bed and a chance to begin resetting our body clocks to UK time.
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If you enjoy reading these blogs, please consider clicking on an advert – or two! You don’t have to buy anything, honest! The clicks just help me cover the cost of running this blog. Many thanks, Paul

Rolling blog: New Zealand day 25. Milford Sound to Te Anau.

23 Wednesday Jan 2019

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Wow! What a fantastic 24 hours that was. I’ll pick up from where we left off yesterday when we ran out of wifi and phone networks after passing through Te Anau.

Our journey from Dunedin met with a variety of weather including heavy rain at the start but picked up for most of the way – until we left Te Anau for Milford Sound. We could see the mountains ahead were swathed in cloud, but we weren’t too bothered as this had been forecasted. Although we didn’t realise it at the time, this was to lead to a fantastic experience as we saw the Milford area at it’s absolute best – in a range of weather. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll describe much of the rest of the trip with them, using captions…

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On the Milford highway en-route to Milford Sound. The torrential rain had produced waterfalls from nowhere.

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This was the view of the road to Milford Sound once we’d passed through the 1930s-50s built tunnel. The weather made it look more Mordor than anything else.

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The passenger terminal at Milford Sound’s been rebuilt since I was last here. The new building and facilities were opened in 2012.

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We were very lucky to see these waterfalls. They would only last a few hours and be gone by the next morning. The non-porous rock in Milford Sound and lack of soil and vegetation means that in many places the rain runs straight off the tops of the mountains and creates effects like this.

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How’s this for a sense of scale?

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This evening we’re taking it easy in Te Anau, which is a small town on a pretty lake. We’re only here one night so we’re staying in the Lake View backpackers where we have a chalet room out in the rear with a new shared toilet and shower block we share with the people camping in the small grounds. The chalets are new and very comfortable for what they are. The place itself is very well organised and maintained, with plenty of communal and kitchen space. It’s popular with people of all ages and nationalities, especially outdoor types who’re here to walk the various trails in the area or visit one of the Sounds.

Tomorrow we move on to Queenstown, our last port of call on the South Island. From there we fly back to Auckland for our final few days before returning to the UK…

Rolling blog: New Zealand day 24. Dunedin to Milford Sound.

22 Tuesday Jan 2019

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06:30.

We’re up and packing, ready for the five hour plus drive to Milford Sound this morning. The beautiful weather we had yesterday has given way to cooler temperatures and light showers of rain. Hopefully it won’t cramp our style too much.

12:10.

Despite the fact that it rained heavily nearly all the way to Gore  we had a very good run. Dawn did brilliantly coping with the unfamiliar roads and our car regularly disappearing in the spray from numerous heavy good vehicles heading towards Dunedin. This was passing Milton, a town we made a mistake of stopping at in the other direction!

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At Gore we stopped for coffee and had a brief look at what looks like a really interesting little town. It has some substantial old buildings with a bit of history.

Once off Highway 1, the weather brightened up and the roads were both drier and quieter, giving us a great run as far as Lumsden, where I spotted this bit of railway history. The railway’s long gone, but the town has preserved the old road/rail bridge. These used to be common on the South Island, but only two remain. I remember travelling over several 20 years ago on the West Coast.

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We’re now taking a break in Te Anau before heading on up to Milford Sound. We may be gone some time…

 

Rolling blog: New Zealand day 23. The Taieri Gorge railway and Dunedin

21 Monday Jan 2019

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09:10.

This morning we’re travelling on the Taieri Gorge railway, a tourist line that runs from Dunedin to Pukerangi. We’re travelling on some venerable old coaches hauled by a pair of equally antique Mitsubishi built diesels. Expect pictures as & when…

14:20.

We’ve just arrived back after a fantastic trip. Needless to say there’s no phone reception where we’ve been.

The Trans-alpine may be considered one of the world’s great train journeys, but I have to say, in my opinion this equals if not tops it. The Taieri Gorge is simply stunning and the railway’s a real feat of engineering. Here’s the train at the head of the line after the pair of Mitsubishis had run round. These locos were built for NZR in 1968-69 and are wearing well!

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This is a small selection of pictures from the route.

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The weather was chilly before we set off this morning but it’s certainly warmed up – as you can see from the pictures. I’ve gone from a fleece to suntan lotion and a singlet.

22:35

This is a late night for us! We’ve just got back to our Airbnb after spending the past few hours at Sandfly Bay, looking for Yellow Eyed Penguins. We managed to observe two pairs, but by sunset (when we had to leave) no more had come ashore. Still, it was a great experience as the bay is beautiful. I’ll add some pictures as soon as I can. Tomorrow we’re on the move again – and with an early start too, as we’ve got to get across the South Island to Fjordland in time for an overnight cruise on Milford Sound. This means tomorrows blog may be a bit intermittent. It’s a five-hour plus drive, so tomorrow my role is to keep the driver (Dawn) happy!

Rolling blog: New Zealand day 22. Dunedin and the Otago peninsula

20 Sunday Jan 2019

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It’s a sunny but not too warm day here in Dunedin and we’re off exploring to Otago peninsular, so expect a few updates and pictures during the day – and (if we’re lucky) some penguin pictures…

Out first call was to Port Chalmers via the hills around Mt Cargill. The views across the bay were stunning and well worth the drive. The only thing you can’t tell from the pictures is just how windy it’s been today.

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Port Chalmers is only a small place, but it’s a busy deepwater port that boasts a container terminal as well as a general port. When we visited the cruise ship ‘Viking Orion’ was present as well as the Hamburg Sud container ship ‘Rio De Janeiro’.

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Port Chalmers has an older claim to fame. On November 19th 1910 it was from here that Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition sailed for the Antarctic, never to be seen alive again…

14:17.

After visiting Port Chalmers we’ve just walked up Baldwin St, which has the distinction of being the world’s steepest residential street. Over the 161.2 metre length of the top section it climbs a vertical height of 47.22 metres, and average gradient of 1 in 3.41 but at its steepest it’s 1 in 2.86!

Over the years it’s attracted tourists and those who want to rise to its challenges – hence these commemorative plaques at the top.

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Dawn’s reaction on reaching the top said it all…

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Now we’re having a quick drink at the railway station which really is a superb looking building and the most Southerly railway station on the planet since the service to Invercargill was withdrawn in 2002.

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16:12.

The drive out along the Otago peninsula to the Waiwhakaheke Seabird Lookout was beautiful. For much of the way the winding road’s been built right on the edge of the sea, which makes for some interesting driving conditions when it’s as windy as today and the sea comes over onto the road! Sadly, we didn’t see any Albatrosses when we got there – or penguins, just lots of Gulls, Gannets and seals. However, on the way back we did see something just as rare and equally endangered. These old tram bodies…

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I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading these blogs, please consider clicking on an advert – or two! You don’t have to buy anything, honest! The clicks just help me cover the cost of running this blog. Many thanks, Paul

 

Rolling blog: New Zealand day 21. Wanaka to Dunedin.

19 Saturday Jan 2019

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08:55

We’re on the move again today, this time heading across to the East Coast and the three and a half hour drive to Dunedin, where we’ll be based for three nights, giving us chance to explore the area and also to travel on the Taieri Gorge railway. As usual on this trip, we’d liked to have stayed longer where we are, but we always knew this was going to be a bit of a whirlwind tour! The good news is that yesterday’s rain has cleared, so we’ve been greeted by a beautiful sunny morning.

Here’s our nippy little hire care and AirBnB these past two nights.

Well, we didn’t get far. We were passing the national toy and transport museum and couldn’t resist. My God, it’s an Aladdin’s cave of memories like this!

15:12.

We’ve stopped for a break at a place called Milton, back on our old friend highway 1. The road from Wanaka’s been really interesting. There’s a collection of quaint ‘One horse’ towns (mostly boasting Scottish names). The area’s also the fruit bowl of Otago. I’ve lost count of the number of fruit farms we’ve passed. The road’s been incredibly winding and very busy. Dawn says it’s also had the worst standard of driving too! She’s been complaining about the sheer number of driver’s tailgating her. Another thing we’ve noticed is the amount of classic cars we’ve seen, like these two specimens.


17:00.

Made it! I never realised just how hilly Dunedin is. Here’s the view from our AirBnB..

22:04.

We’ve spent the last of the afternoon/evening exploring Dunedin, which seems like a really interesting city. I love some of the architecture here – especially the railway station.

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I’ll blog more about Dunedin tomorrow, when we’ve had chance to explore some more…