Day 18 - 20 (February 14 - 16) - Dunedin, Otago Peninsula

Day 18

The day today flew by with the feeling of not having done anything. In fact, we didn't do much exciting today. We had breakfast at our sleeping place, admired cows, horses, and sheep on the way to Dunedin (especially Mattis :-)), did some shopping at PAK'nSAVE and The Warehouse in Dunedin, and filled up the tank.

In Dunedin, Tim and I were able to relax by the sea and watch waves and surfers while both children were sleeping. It was wonderful. In the early evening, Tim went surfing and the children and I went to the playground in Marlow Park (right next to our freedom campground - parking lot between the playground and the dune).

This playground is amazing again. It has everything to offer and is on such a large, green area. Where else can you find playgrounds with so much space. I have never seen anything like it. New Zealand is really very child- and family-friendly.

Matthis played on the entire playground and Lea also had fun - on the slide with me and swinging. Today, Mattis and Lea swung together in a nest swing for the first time. At first, Lea found it strange, then they both loved it.

In the motorhome, we danced before going to bed - Mattis played pop music on my phone and danced to it. Lea was so delighted again that Mattis laughed hysterically the whole time. They are so sweet together.

The night turned out to be quite good. The teenagers with their souped-up cars thankfully only revved their engines until 1 a.m. and then let us sleep peacefully.

Day 19

We had breakfast today at the farmers market in Dunedin (next to the train station). Such a market with regional, fresh, and homemade delicacies is always great. We had good coffee for us and milk foam for Mattis, as well as small sweet pies. You could also buy cheap fruit - Mattis loved the plums. For the road, we also took savory pies with "Beef and Mushroom" and "Steak and Cheese". Extremely tasty.

We visited the steepest inhabited street in the world, Baldwin Street. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records with its 19-degree incline. We hiked up once, and even Mattis managed the incline on his own. The visit here was worthwhile.

Later, we drove to the Otago Peninsula, adjacent to Dunedin. There we visited Glenfalloch Garden - a very pretty garden with a jungle. I, being in flip flops, was only expecting a garden, but it turned out to be a garden and then a jungle with wild branches. It was an unexpected hiking adventure, which we all loved. Mattis hiked the entire way on his own, with inclines, prickly plants, and grass taller than him. Truly amazing. He is determined.

Today, we were early (around 5 p.m.) at our sleeping place on the Otago Peninsula, on a large meadow under trees (Harwood Reserve). When we arrived, there were no campers there. Later, 3 more vans arrived. This way, we could be sure that we were really staying at an official freedom campground. After the night in Dunedin, it was really nice to have the tranquility of nature.

Day 20

The weather was okay with 17 degrees, but it was cloudy. In the afternoon, we went to the city of Dunedin again, to briefly see the center. The houses in the inner city of Dunedin are to my liking and remind me of New York - external fire escapes on the houses, built flat. Somehow cool. There are also many nice little cafes here, where I would now like to linger, but things like that are just not as relaxing with children.

In Dunedin, there was a contest of bagpipe groups (the city was founded by Scots, hence this connection). Several groups were playing bagpipes in parallel on one square. Everyone wanted to be louder and better than the other. It was exciting to listen and watch for a while, but eventually, it became annoying. It was too loud for Mattis. He is generally sensitive to noises.

We also visited St. Paul's Cathedral, an Anglican church. Mattis, Lea, and I lit a candle for great-grandma/grandma Martha. This is a tradition of mine, with which I remember my deceased grandma. So candles burn for her at the most beautiful places in the world.

On the way back to the motorhome, we briefly stopped at the "main" train station in Dunedin (it only has one track) and watched trains. Mattis loved it but was startled when the train suddenly honked.

The train station looks like a gingerbread house and is beautiful to look at. In front of it is a nice garden.

At the parking lot of the train station, Lea had carrot puree for the first time. She immediately took the spoon on her own, turned it, and put it in her mouth. However, not much puree ended up in her mouth and was pushed out again. Unfortunately, the puree was a bit chunky due to the lack of a blender, which she didn't like so much, and the gag reflex kicked in quickly. Hm, not very successful yet. We will keep practicing. She definitely has a strong desire for our food and reaches for our plate or whatever we hold in our hands immediately at every meal and brings it to her mouth.

In the late afternoon, our journey continued to the next region, the Catlins. At Kaka Point (great name - this is where we will have the poop party when Mattis is finally out of diapers... :-)), there were supposed to be sea elephants and penguins. When we arrived there around 5:30 p.m., we didn't see any. We drove along the beaches with our motorhome for a while but then decided to stay at a paid campsite (Kaka Point Camping Ground - 38$).

The campground is nice, but nothing special - a meadow with hedges around it. We used the kitchen area to have dinner there. It was very nice to eat in a larger space than the motorhome. Some people were bustling around, which Mattis loved again. Mattis immediately made friends with an older man, Dutch, sat down next to him on the couch, and showed him all his books. Mattis is extremely open to strangers. He was delighted to be able to talk to someone who also responds in German. It is somewhat strange for him that he doesn't understand the people here, especially when they speak to him directly.

Today, both children slept at the same time, so we could sit in the kitchen, prepared with a baby monitor, think about our next activities, and I could write the blog again.

Oh, I also have to mention something remarkable - Tim hasn't smoked at all during the entire trip. I have almost forgotten that he used to smoke. It's really amazing how easy it is for him.