RTW Day 35 - Dunedin

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After breakfast (a meal made more dramatic by the old man getting his hot cross bun stuck in the toaster and almost burning down the shed), we venture forth to check out Oamaru. LP claims it to be both Dickensian and hip, cool and freaky. I am intrigued to see how this pans out.

We can’t resist a visit to Steampunk HQ - a museum full of weird stuff. It’s awesomely insane or maybe insanely awesome. It contains all sorts of bizarre contraptions, a seriously strange laboratory and my favourite – The Portal. It’s a small room of glass and mirrors decorated with strings of lights. You shut yourself in to watch an infinite light show.

Next on my itinerary are the Moeraki Boulders; a collection of spherical boulders on the beach. The old man is not convinced these qualify as a tourist attraction. They are, however, surrounded by a gaggle of tourists taking selfies. We’ve been travelling long enough now to be able to identify the nationality of tourists by their selfie poses. I start with a very reserved British pose then go for a more German ‘help I’m stuck in a boulder’ pose. I’m not up to attempting the Chinese ‘I ought to be auditioning for a porn movie’ pose.

We take a detour down a dirt track to Katiki Point. It has a pretty lighthouse and a nature reserve. We take a walk along the coastal path, it is littered with seals. The signs advise not to go within 10 metres of a seal but it’s a 10 metre wide peninsula with seals either side. I’m a bit nervous and the old man thinks it’s hilarious to run up behind me making seal noises. He’s not as funny as he thinks he is.

After a brief pit stop for some very tasty Beanos pies (I opt for the butter chicken) we continue to Dunedin. Rumour has it the Scots chose to settle here because they travelled south until the weather was miserable enough to remind them of home. It is, perhaps not surprisingly, raining.

We check into the rather fancifully named Aria on Bank. It’s very nice with the bedroom on a glass fronted mezzanine over the living room. It’s like a little house and such a luxury being able to walk around without tripping over suitcases.

We pop out to visit Dunedin railway station – apparently NZ’s most photographed building. It is beautiful, almost like a church for trains with its train stained glass windows and mosaic floors.

We stop at the supermarket to get dinner. We are staying close to Ortago University, NZ’s oldest university. We are the oldest people in there by 30 years. It makes me feel very old.

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