Australia & NZ (Cruise) -- Nov 2013

This photo and the next two were taken in the countryside during the bus ride back to the cruise ship. Going to the preserve, the bus had driven along the coast, traveling essentially at sea level (or a few feet above it) for the entire trip. On the way back, the bus cut overland, going up some steep hills and enabling dramatic views of sheep farms and the sea. New Zealand is about the greenest place I ever recall seeing.

The harbor here was shaped sort of like an elongated "U" with the open end of the U facing rougly east (so the long sides were on the north and south sides ofthe "U"). The length of the U was perhaps 6 or 8 miles. The ship was docked perhaps halfway into the "U" on the north shore and the penguin preserve was at the end of the south shore (on the tip end of one of the long "bars" of the U really, since the little bay where the seals and penguins were was actually on the ocean, not on the larger harbor/bay).

The city of Dunedin is at the bottom of the U. Thus the bus had to go thru portions of the city on the way to the perserve and again on the way back. (IMG_5207.A495.JPG)