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| Baldwin Street |
Dunedin takes its name from Dùn Èideann, the Gaelic word for Edinburgh. And not without reason. The town looks and feels incredibly Scottish, from its architecture down to the fact that nearly every area is named after a place in Scotland/Edinburgh (such as Waverley, Musselburgh, and the Water of Leith. There are dozens more).
Dunedin is also particularly hilly, and my hostel was located at the top of a very steep hill. Once I'd staggered up it, it was very comfortable, and quite a quirky old building. My room was on the top floor, and I appeared to have my own private balcony, until someone else appeared on it from another door.
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The view from my private balcony (that I had to share with other people
sadly) |
The charter of every New Zealand town/city appears to have three requirements. A botanical garden, an art gallery, and a "Peaches and Cream" sex shop. And while I didn't visit the last two, I did visit their botanical garden. It was incredibly hilly and easy to get lost in - so I was surprised to learn the local parkrun uses this park.
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| You'd need a map and compass to do this parkrun |
The park had its usual assortment of weird and wonderful trees and plants ...
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.. and while probably not as impressive as the gardens in Wellington, it did have an unexpected aviary with lots of native birds that had almost become extinct (mainly due to introduced predators), such as the kākāpō and kea. However, they have plans to release most of their birds back into the wild. My favourite was this playful chap from Australia, the musk lorikeet.
Dunedin also boasts a Chinese garden, which is quite different from traditional common or garden, er gardens. They have a lot more buildings and features, and noticeably fewer plants (still plenty of ducks though). It was still very pleasant and relaxing though. You could even get a cup of tea there, although I think I'd have got a funny look if I asked for a cup of PG Tips with milk, so I just left it.
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The Chinese art of Penjing, which actually predates Japanese bonsai. |
Another popular attraction in Dunedin, is the Victorian train station, which seems to function more as a museum and art gallery. Sadly, the Taieri Gorge railway was "hibernating" (in summer?!) so I never got to visit that. And indeed, the train station seems to be undergoing some major renovations.
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At least they showed you what it's supposed to look like. |
Like the Death Road in Bolivia, I'd always fancied visiting the World's Steepest Street, which is located on the outskirts of Dunedin. Unlike the Death Road in Bolivia, however, it doesn't really merit its own blog page. Its story is quite interesting though - when town planners were doing their town planning back in the 19th century, they just drew lines on a map, not stopping to think about the resulting topography.
It starts off gently enough, but near the end, has a 30% inclination and I was toiling (to be fair, it was hot). I didn't even try and run it, but here's someone trying (and almost succeeding) to cycle up it.
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Note the woman pausing to have a quick gasp of air (click to expand) |
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| "Hooper Cain ascended Baldwin Street aged 3 yrs 4 months. Could not reach the fountain. Hence: Hooper's step." |
They even had a World's Steepest Tourist Shop, but I didn't buy anything. Firstly, because it was actually located on a nearby completely flat street, so there was nothing steep about it. But mainly, however, because it was closed.
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| I did however sit on the "World's Steepest Tourist Shop" bench |
Another cracking (and free) attraction is the Toitῡ Otago Settlers Museum, which focuses on the various groups of people that have made the local area their home, although my main interest was the large Scottish influx who emigrated in the 1840s and later. One room was filled from floor to ceiling with hundreds of portraits of early settlers ...
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| Heavy night last night mate? |
.. and there was lots of other interesting artefacts, like this rather ornate table found in the bank for customers to write cheques on ...
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| The albatrosses live on other side of the cliff |
During the actual tour, you can enter a big hut but for obvious reasons, you can't get too close to the birds. Fascinating creatures though.
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| A couple of male albatrosses sitting on their hatched chicks |
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| Can't believe how close I got to this baby albatross |
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