Edinburgh of the South = the place I caught up on much
needed sleep! (Dunedin)
I don’t even remember the drive from Queenstown. From the moment I boarded the coach until we
reached Dunedin I was dead asleep.
Waking up nicely refreshed I headed into my hostel in the rainy city
center. The highlights of Dunedin
included the architecture brought to NZ by the large number of Scottish
immigrants. I managed to capture a few
photos and get back into the picture taking mode. Before leaving Dunedin our tour topped at
Baldwin Street (famed as the steepest urban street in the world). A nice change from the generally lazy coach
rides I got a bit of exercise climbing to the top and then quickly descending
to the bottom. Our next stop was at the
Moeraki Boulders along the coast before I jumped off in Oamaru and the coach
continued onto Lake Tekapo.
Penguin Capital and Whitestone Buildings (Oamaru)
I really didn’t know what to expect here but hearing it was
known for a penguin colony I had to stop here for my dear friend (they even had
a cheese factory here Cathy you would have been in heaven). Oamaru did not disappoint and the buildings
were a striking contrast to the dark materials used throughout Dunedin. Local to the area, and now known as Oamaru
Stone, the streets of this quaint town are lined with dramatic white buildings
accented by colorful flower beds. A
thriving town in the Victorian Era – Oamaru reminded me of summers spent at
Klondike Days back in Edmonton. By
Queenstown I was getting tired of the tourist traps and packaged tours and did
not bother to arrange a tour at the seal colony. Turns out it wasn’t really necessary as I was
able to view a few Blue Penguins on the beach down just down the street from my
hostel at dusk as they came in for the night.
They were sooo incredibly tiny and cute making their way up the much
larger rocks (in comparison to their size) after a long day of swimming in the
ocean.
BBQ Time (Lake Tekapo)
From Oamaru the next day we headed to Lake Tekapo with a few
picture stops on the way to catch images of Mt. Cook (highest mountain in
Australasia). Our driver organized a
group BBQ and everyone got together to prepare and enjoy a traditional Kiwi BBQ
at the lakefront (complete with Hokey Pokey Ice Cream – vanilla with
toffee). A fun filled night playing
games (one with an empty wine box), views of the lake, mountains, red sunset
and the stars. Next time I would stay
longer in this spot.
The Most English City Outside of England (Christchurch)
From Lake Tekapo we drove through the plains of Canterbury
Plains (flattest part of NZ) into the bustling city of Christchurch. It took quite awhile to reach our hostels
due to The World Buskers Festival going on in the city center. Alive and busy with festival goers the city
center is easy explored on foot, on the bus or tram loops. The prominent Cathedral stands in the center
of the activity surrounded by cafes, restaurants and shops. Steps out of the center are numerous parks
and gardens and the Avon river which you can hire a punt to travel along the
seaway. A change from the many small
towns on the south island and it could be a nice very place to live. For some reason I was not overly excited to be
in the city again. Strange I know but
the beauty of the rural scenery seemed to be missing. I didn’t spend much time in Christchurch (or
“Chch” as the locals call it) but used it as a base to plan a trip to the Banks
Peninsula, arrange a WWOOFIng placement on the north island, and catch up on
laundry.
