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Published: August 24th 2007
Forrest Gump Shot
Dunedin War MemorialAugust 24th
Today was a day to remember. We woke up and it was extremely nice out, so we decided to use the opportunity of good weather to have a little tourism day. Considering the fact that we hadn't wandered far from the hostel since being in Dunedin, it was great to get out into the fresh air and experience the different aspects of the city that had since been unseen by us.
Our afternoon started with a relaxing walk along St. Clair’s Beach, where there were many photo opportunities. Getting there was an easy 5-6 minute bus ride which brought us directly to our destination along the beach walkway. We spent just under an hour walking around, looking at the ocean, and appreciating the excellent weather that we've been missing.
When we made our way back to the heart of town we walked around for a while and got a feel for some of the history of the city. There are heaps of old buildings, churches, memorials, etc. So we took some time to visit the different locations and the different historical sites such as the First Church, Train Station, War Memorial, and the old Drinking Fountain.
St. Clairs
Richard and I at St. Clairs Beach The College Experience - August 25th
Last night was quite entertaining. This weekend is a big College weekend in Dunedin, so there are lots of college kids visiting that have come down from Christchurch. The hostels in the area are quite full because of this, including the hostel that we are staying at. So last night Richard and I were watching Napoleon Dynamite and some people came into the TV room while we were watching it; Liv, Amy, Julia, Georgia, Emily, Ben, and Mike. They watched the end of it with us and talked to us for a bit. When the movie was over they asked if I wanted to go out on the town with them, so I went. Going out showed me a much different side of Dunedin that I haven't seen. The streets always have a lot of people on weekends, but last night, because of the College Weekend there were more than usual. We walked around to a few bars and each bar had a long line at the door. It was a fun experience because all of the College kids were dressed up in outfits and whatnot.
We made our way to
Monkey Bar
This is the bar that I went to on the 25th a bar called the Monkey Bar. Going to this bar was the best part of the whole night, because the bar is an old church that had been transformed into a nightclub. It was incredible. The inside still looked like a church and everything. But it was dark of course, with loud music and hundreds of people on the dance floor. It was so packed that just walking through was difficult. You literally had to push your way through. While I was dancing with my new friends I enjoyed watching people walk by in their well thought out costumes. It was like a costume party. Plus, you know how girls like to dress up. Some of the outfits were quite breathe taking. This one girl was wearing all black leather with a cop hat. She looked like something out of a Motley Crue video. We stayed there for quite a while and I ended up leaving at about 4 in the morning. When I left the place was still bumping. I couldn't believe how many people were out, and how busy the place was at 4 in the morning. It was incredible, and reminded me of Courtney Place in Wellington,
Dunedin Train Station
This is the most photographed building in New Zealand which I remember is quite similar.
On my way back to the hostel I met up with Ben and Emily who had left a few minutes before me. We walked and talked for a bit when I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since way earlier in the night. We walked by a McDonalds and there were people everywhere. I didn't even think that a McDonalds would be open at 4am but it was. So we went in and there were College kids everywhere. The place was packed. I even did a head count because I was so interested to know how many people could be there at 4 in the morning. I counted about 65, most of whom took part in the long line at the counter. Everyone was joking around, laughing. Even the people who were working there were having a good time waiting on a bunch of drunken youngsters. You know how drunken people can be. A few guys even fell over while they were in line, and I was trying to hold them up. Eventually I just gave up and let them fall.
Long story short, it was a night to remember. And I
will never forget that bar. I'm still blown away by it. Who turns a church into a nightclub? It was amazing. Anyway, I hope I experience more nights like this while I'm in Dunedin, because it has most definitely been the best night yet.
The Dark Side of the Moon
I learned so much more last night about what has happened in Dunedin the last couple days. As I said in my August 25th journal, this weekend was a big college weekend down here. The students have nicknamed the weekend the
Undie 500, which happens every year. Apparently, part of the weekend fun for the students is to buy a car and drive down to Dunedin from Christchurch. The car must cost 500 dollars or less (Undie 500) and all the cars are painted up and decorated. It's kind of like the homecoming parade at the high-school I went to, where the different classes had to make a float. It's just like that, except people just get their friends to chip in and they all drive down together. One thing that I was told that I still don’t really understand is, apparently part of the fun of
the whole thing, is that the car is "meant" to break down. I guess that is the point of if costing $500 or less. They're suppose to break down to make it that much more fun for the college kids to get here.
Dunedin has a college as well, which I believe is one the biggest if not "the" biggest in New Zealand. So considering 1000 kids have come down from Christchurch, adding to the 25,000 students who already attend college in Dunedin, it made the whole town like a campus for two nights. You couldn't walk down George Street without seeing people everywhere, and the Undie 500 cars driving by all night. What made it fun for me was that a lot of the Christchurch students stayed at hostels for the weekend, including the one that I am staying at. It has been a very quiet and peaceful hostel for us in the last week or so, but the last two nights it was a madhouse. There was never a time when the students weren't drinking. They all thought I was crazy because Richard and I were the only ones not partying. Well, not to the extent that
they were anyway. The owners of the hostel were so annoyed because the hostel was being overrun by students. They were even asked to leave at one point. The owner came up and told them that they all had to go to town because he didn't want them drinking in the hostel anymore.
So basically, everyone left and we kind of just hung around the hostel and watched a movie. Little did we know, that not going out was a huge mistake on our part. I am very disappointed that I didn't think to myself, "Hmm thousands of students in town, parties going on, hey we should take a walk down to the campus and see what's going on". That is what I should have thought to myself, but I didn't. As midnight approaches, some Americans that I met earlier in the night came back to the hostel. They were from, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. So they started talking to us and told us how there were a bunch or riots down by the campus. At first I thought it was really funny because they were just so laid back about it like it was nothing. Slowly more
people began showing up and the conversation grew bigger and bigger. And with every new person that showed up there was another story about how it began and how it escalated. The original thought of what it could have been like wasn't anything like what I thought it was, because all I could imagine is the American riots that have occurred that I have seen on TV. But as the conversation grew, I learned that it actually was pretty bad. People were throwing Molotov cocktails, setting cars on fire, tipping cars over, etc. Not that any of this was funny, but it was kind of comical listening to these people discuss it because they were all laughing hysterically and making it out like it was all just fun and games, which it was. One guy showed up and someone yells "Hey you were that guy running down the middle of the street with the fireball ha-ha" "Did you see those guys tip that car over?" This is what the conversation sounded like. I couldn't help but laugh and think to myself, how did I miss this?
"But students said police went over the top. They asked why police went
Distance Sign
St. Clairs Beach into houses and dragged people out on to the street. Police arrested 30 people in the Castle St area, mainly for disorderly behavior, where 13 fires broke out in less than four hours, forcing a fire engine to remain stationed in the street. Police point to a combination of reasons for the "disappointing behavior" - the Undie 500 race, which brought 1000 people from Christchurch, fine weather, two rugby games and graduation. Police used 10 staff to form a line and did three sweeps down a Castle St block to escort students into the university area. A group of about 150 people shaped up against the line of police and bottles were thrown at them. The crowd finally dispersed about 12pm, and "common sense prevailed". 69 people in total were arrested.
How could I have missed this?
Check out a video clip that I found taken earlier in the day. This video looks like the footage of the first fire. I saw some clips of the late-night fires and riots, and they blew my mind. It was amazing. And to think, I was a 10 minute walk away from where it all happened and I had no idea.
You can search Dunedin Rioting on the internet and find videos of it and stuff. Crazy Stuff...
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