Dunedin Jan-30-31st

Tonight will be our 3rd night staying at the Scenic Southern Cross hotel in Dunedin. The city was awarded NZ most beautiful city in 2008 and is rated among the 101 must-dos for Kiwis! Fantastic examples of Victorian and Edwardian architecture are found throughout the city. The Railway station (1906); Larnach Castle (1871), NZ only castle, the University of Otago designed gothic style in 1878; Spright’s Brewery, in operation since 1876; Olveston, a Jacobean-style mansion; First Presbyterian Church with its 54-metre spire; the Municipal Chambers, designed in 1878 and St. Paul’s Cathedral made of Oamaru Stone. This town has it all; Botanic gardens, Baldwin Street (the world’s steepest street), Albatross colonies, yellow eyed penguins, great food & beer, including a Cadbury chocolate factory.
A population of 123,000 with 20% being students; our city tour guide called it a city with old buildings and young people! How true! The wealth generated by the goldfields was instrumental in establishing the Boys High School, Girls High School and the university (the first in NZ). Wealth was reflected by how high up the hill you built your house. Per our guide, “the wealthy looked out at the sea; everyone else looked at each other”. Certain streets are exceptionally wide, in a city of narrow streets. These streets were used to transport goods from the port to the commercial district. The width of these streets resulted from the turning radius of a 14-bullock team. Bullocks were used for drayage because horses were useless in the mud. Dunedin was called “Mudedin” by its residents.
Saturday morning we strolled along the local farmer’s market at the Railway station. In the afternoon we did the scenic bus tour (old London double-decker). Today we travelled to the farthest tip of the Otago peninsula to catch the actions of the Fur seals and Sea Lions and watched a Royal Albatross soar overhead. We stopped at Larnach Castle to tour the gardens and marvel at the views from the top of the highest mountain in the local area. Tonight we dined at the casino!
Tomorrow we will drive north to Christchurch. Yes, I will spend my 60th birthday on the road driving along the South Pacific Ocean. We have reservations at the Beachlife Apartments New Brighton, with a balcony facing the ocean – we’ll let you know how it goes!