An unofficial royal tour through Dunedin kept media busy and diners bemused yesterday.
A sizeable media scrum gathered in front of the Southern Cross Scenic Circle Hotel in the morning with the single aim of getting the "one shot" they wanted - Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips.
Shortly after 11am, the English rugby player and the Queen's eldest granddaughter walked into the hotel's Cafe d'Oro, sparking photographers and cameramen to press their lenses into the window for a shot of the couple together.
In less than 30 minutes, those images were distributed to news agencies throughout the world for consumers eager for an update of the couple who were married just seven weeks ago.
On Thursday night, the newlyweds were reunited when Ms Phillips touched down in the city, arriving after footage surfaced of her husband cavorting with a mysterious blonde in Queenstown last week.
A tip-off the pair were at St Clair for lunch was confirmed by a late-model silver Range Rover parked pointing in the wrong direction, and the handful of photographers gathered at a local park looking anything but inconspicuous.
The number of photographers, some of whom had come from overseas especially for this assignment, began to build up as word spread the pair were dining behind closed curtains at Starfish Cafe and Bar.
Cameras were raised each time an unsuspecting diner emerged, much to their amusement, and the media suggested the couple should appear together to end the speculation and chasing.
A smiling Tindall finally left for his vehicle - smiling, that is, until the line of questioning from a television reporter clearly annoyed him and he asked her how her day was going.
Next it was the turn of his wife, who was spotted waiting at the rear of her restaurant, with nowhere to go to avoid the cameras.
While the high-profile couple might be used to the exposure, spare a thought for Starfish owner Nick Dodds, who said the experience was "horrible". He escorted one cameraman from the premises and later helped co-ordinate the couple's escape.
"I tried to make sure they had a nice dining experience, had privacy and not worry about the media outside."
To eat, the pair had an antipasto, Zara taking hers with a Central Otago white wine and Mike opting for a coffee.
