the edinburgh of the (nz) south
onwards and eastwards, as i left the ´adventure capital of the world´ behind, and travelled to a town i had great anticipations for, Dunedin. Dunedin being the old name for edinburgh, and considered the edinburgh of the south, it was founded by scottish settlers as a ´perfect place´. it was a most bizarre experience entering the city, with familiar architecture in the churches and buildings almost parallel to something you would find in scottish towns, and yet only a couple of hundred years old. where i had been used to seeing blackened and aged sandstone, Dunedin´s examples were blindingly more whitewashed and much younger.
instead of making me feel more at ease, as you may think, it actually made the town feel more foreign to me than i imagined. the heritage is certainly there, but the buildings which represent those times have long been surrounded and intertwined with terraced and colourful bohemian style houses very different to what you would encounter in scotland.
those which particularly impressed me were the train station, a quaint and beautifully decorative area which still remained simple and understated. outside was a grassed area with a tiled design throughout. on closer inspection i noticed there were names on each tile. some of individuals, some couples. following it round i realised it was in alphabetical order, and even managed to find a few taylors on the tiles. why those names were there, is still a mystery to me.
i could not visit dunedin really, without going to one its most prominent factories, and it was with a solemn air of duty that i made my way to the cadbury´s chocolate factory. free samples, and the chance to see a tonne of chocolate fall in a unique (and completely unnecessary) style avalanche was all i was to see, as i went on the smaller Sunday tour when the factory itself was closed. when chocolate is involved though, i certainly wasn´t disappointed.
the hostel i stayed at, the yha, was a little bit out of the city centre, but its character made up for it entirely. stafford gables is a converted georgian hotel, and much bigger than you would ever realise unless you took the time to explore its crooks and crannies. two tv rooms, each through different corridors and down different stairs, (including through a door which was not much higher than me and askew to top it) and high ceilinged corridors and thick carpeted floors made the place feel almost stately.
the art gallery, although relatively small, was really quite impressive. i went to an exhibition by new zealand artist colin McCahon, who i´d never seen before. he often uses religious and/or biblical text in his pictures, sometimes having full paragraphs scribbled onto large canvasses. a pretty impelling effect.
the 0tago museum followed on from the gallery, and to top it off, i went to a production of shakespeare´s ´Winters Tale´. perhaps to punish me for overdoing the cultural thing, im not sure, but this last effort was a bad mistake. possibly the worst theatre i have ever seen, (me being no expert) where the actors seemed to read off an auto cue in mumbles and whispers..
three nights in dunedin, and the morning of our departure led us first to Baldwin street, stated in the guinness book of records as the steepest street in the world. you dont often get to encounter this, so in true form the whole bus traipsed, jogged and crawled up to the top, taking a photo to prove they had actually bothered to walk its entirety. i adventurously raced a fellow traveller as a joke, and lasted maybe 5 minutes before getting back to a normal climbing/walking pace again. our drive from dunedin now led us into so-called ´mackenzie country´, named after the famous sheep rustlers, and an agricultural landscape of field after field, and the first i would see of deer breeding. our bus driver told us that 20 or 30 years ago deer were much less prolofic in the area, and as such could be quite profitable to the hunters. his descriptions became a litte graphic as he intimately revealed how he killed and skinned them..
Today you will see fields full of deer, as you would see them full of cows and sheep in europe.
entering lake tekapo at around 3pm, it gave me the opportunity to walk around the surroundings before the light faded. a spot which is seemingly the most photographed point in new zealand, is that of the church of the good shepherd, a tiny church set next the lake and overlooking the snowcapped mountains, with no other building around beside it. the hostel i was staying at was right beside the lake, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. i spent an hour just walking, taking photos and admiring the view which will remain another highlight of new zealand. for its stillness and silence and blending of brown autumn colours, pure waters and snowy mountains looking on in the background. it is one of the most peaceful places i have ever been to. it marked the winding down of my time in new zealand, and a much needed moment to take some long deep breathes and reflect on what had been a fastpaced month!
the views at night focussed not on the lake, but on the sky itself as thousands of stars could be seen in the clear skies. The area is known for its star gazing when the weather conditions are good.
with another early start in the morning, and christchurch not at all far away, we arrived not long after midday. 7 days to look forward to, and with the sun already out it was a lovely arrival!
with love, Rx
