Caution: Nudity! A Visit to Dunedin - Back to School!

We wanted to see Dunedin, NZ, even if it was brief. Scottish and Maori heritage, Victorian and Edwardian architecture and a large student population!

We took the drive through the Waitaki Valley from Aoraki/Mt. Cook along more turquoise lakes, Lake Benmore, Aviemore and Waitaki, and, more beautiful mountainous landscapes. The drive eventually connects with Highway 1 along the Pacific Ocean. Once on Highway 1, we made a brief stop at the Moeraki Boulders. Remarkable, dozens of large perfectly rounded boulders scattered along the beach. This was a bit touristy stop, with loads of buses and people…we didn’t stay long!
What we thought was more interesting was Shag Point, which we just stumbled upon as I decided to “take a left” toward the beach when I saw the sign. We had stumbled upon another beach with seals. At first we thought we saw a couple seals…looking a little closer, there were dozens, if not hundreds of seals! Just amazing! The rocky shore was lined with fur seals as well as the large bull kelp or rimurapa. There was also an old cart displayed that represented the coal mining coal mining that used to occur up until the 1970s (that apparently ended due to the mine shafts along the coast flooding).

Carrying on, we drove into Dunedin just after lunch and arrived at our next Airbnb destination for a couple nights…another hilly city! This reminded us a bit of Wellington. At least we are keeping the legs in shape for the next hike. Dunedin is known for its Sottish and Maori heritage, Victorian and Edwardian architecture and many students. Dunedin is home to the University of Otago, New Zealand’s oldest and largest university with over 20,000 students. When we arrived, they were in the middle of orientation week, or “O-Week”…i.e. after all it is nearing the end of summer and back to school! More on the students in a bit.

Only having two nights in Dunedin, we started our own walking tour just after 2 pm. Our walking tour included a visit to the First Presbyterian Church of Otago built in the 1800s, several old bank buildings, the railway station and a short visit to the Otago Museum…hours could be spent in this impressive museum! The railway station was built in 1906. Inside is a mosaic on the floor containing nearly 750,000 Minton tiles.

Dunedin central is set around a set of streets shaped in an octagon. The “Octagon” serves as the cities central point. Within the octagon there are restaurants, pubs, shops, theater, cinema. We ended up sitting outside the Ragbags and the Innocent Bystander (Tagline = “A Bright Future through Inactivity” :)). We sat at a sidewalk table, people – student watching as they start to prepare for the new school year and the occasional set of parents that perhaps just dropped off their child for first year at university. We sampled a couple more microbrews, Little Creatures Pale Ale, and ended up having some dinner. We couldnt make it until the band started along with free pizza at 11 pm….ahhh the student life!

On the way home, we did run into students heading to a toga party. This is a tradition at the University and claims to be the largest Toga Party worldwide. It was held at the cities main arena, one of New Zealand’s largest, the Forsyth Barr Stadium (seating capacity 30,000!). We chatted with the students a bit, they almost had us talked into going to our place, stripping the white sheets and joining them. We made a good decision…NOT to join them :). I am sure their orientation week was a success without us!

One of the highlights of Dunedin is to visit the Otaga peninsula, another beautiful drive. At the end of the drive is one of the world’s few places where albatrosses call home. Albatross apparently spend most of their time at sea and in the air! The other highlight of the area are rare yellow-eyed penguins. Unfortunately, it never stopped pouring rain, so we saw neither birds.

Later that evening we had a wonderful dinner at Scotia, “Scottish cuisine with a New Zealand flair”! The lamb and pan seared salmon were outstanding! The next morning, we headed out for the 5 hour drive back to our base in Christchurch. Dunedin is definitely a place to visit and spend some time…more time than we had
for sure.

We stopped along the way back to Christchurch for lunch at Fat Sally’s Pub in the town of Oamaru. Oamaru is a very interesting town that thrived in the late 1800s and at the time became a major port town in New Zealand. The town built many Victorian style structures from local limestone, known as Oamaru stone. When the area fell into near bankruptcy in the early 1900s, buildings remained but were not torn down. What is interesting is that for decades, these beautiful old buildings sat unused and untouched until restored. These beautiful buildings stand today in nearly pristine condition which creates a main street area that feels as if you have stepped back in time.