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Published: November 9th 2006
Dunedin or "The Edinurgh of the South" as it's known on account of its architecture and Scottish-influenced history, was a surprise highlight for us. We didn't originally intend to spend more than a day there at best - "drive-thru Dunedin" was the original plan. As it happened, our visit coincided with Dunedin's Fringe Festival, (another parallel with Edinburgh) so we stayed a little longer to soak up the atmosphere and see some "down under" style comedy.
Dunedin itself is a perfect gateway city for exploring the Catlins coast, the Otago peninsula and the Cental Otago region. We had two stints in Dunny split by these three excursions - ample time to explore its charms at leisure.
Dunedin is definitely a city with a student population at the heart of its culture - lots of bars, cafes ad cheap eateries. The city centre revolves around the Octagon - an eight-sided (hence the name) central alternative to a square. Streets spear outwards from the Octagon up the bowl-shaped sides of the hollow in which Dunny sits. Some of these roads are extremely steep and proved to be a challenge for Little Lady C and her 1.6L engine. Baldwin Street, officially the
Baldwin Street
The sign speaks for itself.world's steepest, was such an incline that we daren't allow Lady C the challenge.
Our home in Dunedin was the aptly named "Ramsay Lodge" which even with a minor spelling flaw, was a great little place to rest. One of our fellow hostel goers,
Mike Loder was a comedy performer at the Fringe and so provided a healthy dose of quick-witted chat. He joined us on a night's foray into Fringe comedy for Joanne Brookfield's (a Melbourne lass) routine entitled "Princess Pissy Pants the Greedy Cheese Eating Bitch and Other Naughty Dog Tales" - a hilarious sketch devoted to the ups and downs of dog ownership. It was great to have a good chortle out loud and exercise those laughter muscles again. Apart from my one-man role plays (I'm missing Jayman's input for sure) which Laura frequently tells me, outstay their welcome (at least I'm trying), there's been a distinct lack of slapstick lately.
Beyond the central Dunedin attractions, there's plenty to do by jumping in the motor and tootling off on short drives. A variety of hilltop lookouts give cracking views over the city and bay, and an inpromptu visit to the Botanic Gardens was well worth it,
not least for its tranquil greenery but also its colourful aviary. A particular favourite was a sulphur crested cockatoo with its string of cheeky chappy human like crys. Laura almost wet herself in delight when it greeted her with an eerily human sounding "hello" and invited her to "have a cup of tea"!
Outside the city limits, a short drive round the natural harbour brings you to the Otago Peninsula - an area rich in wildlife and home to a colony of Royal Albatross and Yellow-Eyed Penguins. A quick drive up to the headland offers a spectacular view over the high rugged cliffs and amongst the throngs of sea birds, suddenly a giant appears - the sight of a 3m wingspanned Alatross, is something to behold.
To get up and close to the penguin colony without disturbing the birds' breeding schedule, tunnels and viewing dens have been installed at the imaginatively named "Penguin Place". We watched breeding pairs exchange egg warming duties, a male collecting twigs and performing other housekeeping responsibilities and a group of juveniles hanging out in the surf - all with superb commentary from the guide.
Our final stop before heading west back across
the Southern Alps, was at the peculiar "Moeraki Boulders" located north of Dunedin near the town of Oamaru. The rocks are perfectly spherical with a honeycomb style centre - a bit like Maltesers. They're a strange sight sitting on the beach and are a little like something out of a sci-fi movie - fortunately nothing hatched whilst we were there!!
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