Dunedin

Dunedin is essentially a Scottish NZ city. We travelled from Te Anau to Dunedin today, 8th March. On the way we called in to see Colin and Isabel Cameron - parents of Shona who live in Balclutha. The name Balclutha comes from the old name Clutha for the Clyde and Bal- from the Gaelic meaning township. What could be more Scottish! It was great to meet Shona's parents and we enjoyed an excellent lunch with them before proceeding in the rain to Dunedin.

Queenstown

5th March

We spent the afternoon visiting Vineries where we had the opportunity to taste wines made in the Queensland Area. These were at Amistal and Gibson. The wines were excellent - especially the Pinot Noir which is the speciality of the region.

In the evening we had dinner at FINZ with Kate Cameron from Scotland along with our friends Liz and Ian Thompson from Selkirk. We had an excellent seafood dinner on the waterfront. The local pipe band appeared to recognise the Scottish occasion!

Lochiel Vinery

Today, 24th February 2009, we visited Lochiel Vinery, situated on the East Coast of North Island - midway between Auckland and Bay of Islands. It is owned and run by Gary and Liz Cameron from whom we had an excellent lunch and sampled some of the product of the vinery. The view from the house is fabulous ; the wine is excellent and the hospitality was exceptional. It was wonderful to come across a little piece of Lochaber in New Zealand.

Auckland

Friday 21st February

Our first full day in New Zealand. We were in Auckland staying in the Mercure hotel, Commerce Street. It was rather a wet and miserable day all day. Our hotel was near the harbour and we headed in that direction. There was a cruise ship in port – The Dawn Princess. We went to the maritime museum where there was an excellent display of artefacts associated with the history, geology, and social anthropology of New Zealand. Surprisingly to me, the first peoples only came about 500AD and they were Polynesians who moved as a result of overcrowding. The journey they took was of 2000miles and they used the stars, the currents and bird migration for navigation. They called New Zealand the great white cloud because when they struck land in South Island it was covered with snow. Their boats were dug-out canoes with an outrigger. This was adapted for long voyages where two canoes were fixed together with a platform to give stability and also to increase carrying capacity. The effect was like a twin hulled catamaran. There was a shelter on the deck and they carried fresh water in little tanks at the sides of the craft. There was a sail and with this craft they could carry up to 100 people.

These were the first people to settle in Aotearoa. They were followed by the European settlers – the first of whom was Abel Tasman – a Dutch man and in succession French, Portuguese and British. It was the British who were the most successful colonists especially under James Busby - a Scotsman - who forged a treaty in 1840 with the Maori people by co-operation not by domination.
The museum focussed on the sailing ships of all these people from the earliest settlers to the modern craft. This is an excellent and worthwhile visit and there is an excellent café/restaurant next door with good food.

In the late afternoon (still raining) we had a barbecue with members of the Clan Cameron Association of New Zealand (Auckland Branch) This was arranged by Don and Valmar Cameron and included Neil & Ruth Cameron, Bryan & Jenny Haggit Heather Cameron, Fiona Cameron, Piper Alexander MacQueen and his brother Matt who is a drummer and their father Malcolm, Rex and Linda Garland, Peter Cameron

We had an excellent barbecue and great chat.It was hosted at the Parnell Cricket Ground which was built on a town rubbish tip.