Daily Photo – Dunedin city across the harbour

From Portobello on the Otago Peninsula, I was heading for the harbour settlement of Port Chalmers on the opposite side of the harbour. I was travelling by car, and since it was such a lovely day, I decided to take what we locals call “the bottom road” to the city. The alternative route is the “top road”, which passes through the rolling farmland of the peninsula, divided by long stone walls built in the nineteenth century. The bottom road, by contrast, snakes its way around the base of the peninsula, eventually linking up with the central city.

At just 18 km, it’s a narrow, winding road that leaves little margin for error, with the cold lap of the harbour tide ever present close by. Every other month, a vehicle has to be salvaged from the harbour after a moment’s distraction results in a watery end. Unless, of course, you travel with a local. Then it’s a daring drive where every corner and porthole is known intimately.

As I drove, the weather was fine, the harbour still, and the traffic light. Across the water, the city sparkled in the warm, mid-morning sun. It was all rather fetching.