Dunedin Sunrise

We left our hotel in Dunedin early enough to catch the fantastic morning sunrise.

Dunedin Sunrise

New Zealand Countryside

We drove through pretty New Zealand countryside.

New Zealand Countryside

Pacific Ocean

We also drove along the Pacific Ocean along the Otago shoreline and followed the sunrise.

Pacific Ocean

Moeraki Boulders

Our first stop was at Koekohe Beach on the Otago coast to see the Moeraki Boulders. The boulders are from the Paleocene epoch, making them 56–60 million years old, and are made of mud, fine silt, and clay and are cemented by calcite. They have been exposed due to shoreline erosin.

Moeraki Boulders

Oamaru

Our next stop was at the town of Oamaru which has 70 historic buildings made from Oamuru stone, a type of limestone.

Oamaru

Spreight’s and Flight to Australia

We had lunch at a Spreight’s Ale House and then drove on to Christchurch where we would catch a flight to Sydney, Australia, a 3 1/2–hour flight, the second flight within our tour. We didn’t have time to see much of Christchurch, though we were told that many of its historic buildings were heavily damaged during their fairly recent earthquakes. We would also lose our great tour director, Richard, as he was not coming to Australia with us. We would have a different guide for that country. So we said our sad goodbyes to Richard and also to New Zealand. Still much else to see in New Zealand but this tour gave us a very good overview of the country.

Spreight’s and Flight to Australia