Dunedin

November 24-26th Dunedin

My impressions of Dunedin: very cool Victorian architecture (Gothic, Renaissance, all the good 1800s). Some buildings are better kept up than others. For instance, the Stafford Gables (the YHA I am staying in) is an old hospital & I love exploring the 5 staircases, many alcoves & hidden terraces. It would be fun to live in one of these old buildings.

Dunedin – is a university town, due to the ‘free’ tuition it is still a young feeling city, with an artistic & chic vibe. A pretty good bar & restaurant scene too, to cater to all the young ins.

On my days here in Dunedin so far, I have caught up with my good friend, Fredriek & we wandered down to the other end of town along Princes & Georges Streets, through the Octagon, passed the University of Otago & the Otago Museum to end up at the huge Botanic Gardens on the most sunniest of days. After the Rose Garden, Rhodendron Hall, the Aviary, Lovelock Bush & a hike through the terraces we spent the rest of the afternoon sunning & reading our books, enjoying each other’s company. An all together excellent day.

The next day, back on my own as Fredrieck has moved on to Lake Tekapo, I wandered by some of the old buildings like the Union Bank (now a stripclub), the Otago Provincial Council Chambers, the Cargill Monument, Bank of NZ, Garrison Hall, Commerce Buildings, War Memorial & Cenotaph, Otago Settler’s Museum (unfortunately currently under renovations), passed the police station, Dunedin prison & over to the majestic Railway Station. Most of these buildings were built in the early 1900s. The Railway station is NZ’s most photographed building & is said to look somewhat like a gingerbread house. Then it was up to the Otago Museum, which although small in comparison to the Auckland Museum & Te Papa in Wellington I really enjoyed the section ‘Southern Land, Southern People’ focusing on the Otago region. It was then back downtown, popping into Knox Church, one of the many churches built in the 1870s.

But I must say the highlight of my days here was visiting the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. Hmmmmm From the wall of Crunchie bars, to the overwhelming smell as we entering the ‘conch’ room where different types of chocolate are made, it was a great smelling adventure. With our hairnets in place, we learned about the chocolate making process, how different products are made & what specifically happens at the Dunedin location. Pretty cool stuff & of course got lots of Cadbury chocolates along the way. To top off the tour there is a huge purple silo that use to store milk but no houses several enormous vats that now create a huge chocolate waterfall….. insert chocolate covered goodness here!! Oh yummy day!

My last day (& really one day too many probably) in Dunedin was spent wandering the Octagon, perusing the market, taking in a coffee on the outdoor patio café & laughing at the hundreds of school kids participating in a road safety campaign run through traffic to get to their buses (something tells me the message didn’t quite hit home). It was also a great spot to people watch, one of my favourite things to do for sure…. This time it was watching the bus shuttles drop off Holland America cruise ship old folk into the downtown core to wander the streets of Dunedin. A great, lazy, sunny day in Dunedin.

My nights here are spent watching old chick flicks from the 1990’s: Far & Away, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Titanic….. oh the good times.

Sorry there are not many photos, the weather is a little lousy, cloudy & rainy days. That & something about trying to take photos of churches & old buildings just isn’t as appealing as picturesque mountains, greenery & native wildlife haha.

Off to Lake Tekapo on Saturday