A visit to Dunedin

April 4, 2012

We left the “Hermitage” early this morning and started the long trek south to Dunedin—on the southeastern coast of the New Zealand’s south island. After saying “goodbye” to Mt. Cook, we traveled again along beautiful Lake Pukakai then through the town of Twizel (pronounced Tweye-zel according to the local gas station attendant).

By the way, this was the most expensive tank of gasoline I ever purchased; at $4 per liter, it cost nearly $90 for ¾ of a tank—and that was in a Toyota Camry!. But given the distances between gas stations in this area, we decided that it was better not to take a chance. Besides, gas is just as expensive everywhere else!

Linda and I decided that this place has the most beautiful and varied scenery of just about anywhere we have ever been! We passed green hills crowded with sheep and cattle; then lakes with the most incredible blue water and coastal hills; then mountain foothills-- golden with long autumn grass; then river gorges thrashing with translucent, blue water and bordered by wide shores of gray gravel and football-sized stones. And it just kept coming!

After a couple hours of driving on the familiar 2-lane roads at 100km/hr; and through several medium-sized communities (at least for here) we decided to stop at a tourist attraction…a place called Moeraki Boulder Beach. After a short walk down a gravel path and a few stairs to the beach, we saw what appeared to be huge egg-shaped stones littered across the beach and surf.
We don’t mean chicken eggs either; these were definitely dinosaur-sized eggs with a few more than 5 feet in diameter!

It definitely offered an interesting break from the driving. Also I stopped to scoop of a half-cup of sand for my friend Brick, who collects sand from all over the world. Apparently the South Island of New Zealand is one location missing from his collection.

After the Moeraki boulders we headed the last few miles into Dunedin and found ourselves in the midst of a georgeous and hilly Scottish town. Apparently, Dunedin (pronounced
done-KNEE-dinn) thrives on its Scottish heritage and offers many churches, public buildings, hotels, private residences, parks and other attractions reminiscent of places we previously
visited in Scotland, years ago.

After settling into the motel, we walked down the main street to observe the local culture.
Apparently there are several universities in the area, reflected by the many youth-oriented cafes, stores, music-video shops and other establishments lining the busy streets. We noticed a beautiful white building along one street; it turned out to be the local train station—a real
traditional monument to the time of its creation. We went inside and found the architecture as
lovely and timeless—with long halls of arches and elaborate ornamentation over the doors and particularly along the railing of the mezzanine above.

Walking only a few minutes further, we discovered the First Church of Dunedin, a gothic-style Presbyterian church built soon after the town’s establishment. Surrounded by a lush, green yard, it seemed to offer just the kind of focal point and source of strength and quiet that a small community would need—so far across the sea from home.

Next we decided to visit the local brewery—Speight’s Brewery. It was closed, so we opted to
visit the brewery bar instead—not a bad option, I might add on a warm autumn day—at least here it is autumn.

Tomorrow we head for Te Ananu, a community on the Milford Sound area of the southwestern
coast of New Zealand. Obviously, we are in for more panoramic vistas and wonderful experiences. So after taking a few moments to update the blog and other tend to email obligations, we will soon begin to wind down the evening and look forward to tomorrow.
Still, we wish we had more time to explore Dunedin—a place that feels more like home than many places we visited thus far during this trip.