The First Church of Otago
I have to begin with a couple of pedantic clarifications. With the word "cities" in the title, you might expect me to write about the multiple cities on the south end of New Zealand. (And by multiple, I mean: two.) But I won't. I'm only writing about Dunedin because Invercargill is a hole – an industrial sore in which we briefly stopped for a night whilst travelling the Southern Scenic Route between Dunedin and Te Anau. And Dunedin isn't technically part of the Southlands Region, but since I visited the city on a four-day road-trip through the bottom of country, the whole area is melded together in my mind.
The Dunedin Railway Station
Even though I was only there for an afternoon and an evening, it was enough for Dunedin to give me an impression that was as good as Invercargill's was bad. Dunedin is a college town, home to the University of Otago, New Zealand's oldest university. Even though I was there during the summer break, I could see the vestiges of student life: musty second-hand bookstores and cafés everywhere. It also has a touch of the quaint: the city boasts the world's steepest street, a result of a city administrator laying out street grids without bothering to look at a topographical map.
The Train to Taieri Gorge
Dunedin is also the place to indulge, with the Speight's Brewery and a Cadbury's confectionary factory within ten-minutes walking distance from each other. There are tours available at both locations along with inevitable samplings of the product. I chose the beer and can offer up this handy tip to anyone wanting to do the same: book onto the last tour of the day. The trip around the building ends in the tasting room, and with no tour behind us to rush us out the door we were left alone with the taps for a good half hour.
St. Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin
But what struck me most as I spent a couple of hours walking around the Octagon area were the buildings. Plenty of eye-catching Gothic and Renaissance architecture. Maybe it was the sky that day; with cloud cover alternating between dark and stormy, and wispy patches that threw light everywhere; but it gave everything a very moody feel.
I like moody.
A Hallway
Related Entries:
1. The Kiwi Experience
2. Festivities, Falling From Great Heights, and the Franz Josef Glacier
3. Starting Down the Wet Coast of the South Island
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