Dunedin

  Dunedin, New Zealand
Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Today I decided I would check out Dunedin since I had a few days before my tours I booked started. I drove out to Mavora Lakes which is on the way to Te Anua. The drive to Mavora Lakes was quite a haul from Queenstown but I had always wanted to see it even though I knew it was remote. South Mavora Lake was pretty but I knew it wasn't the scene in the Lord of the Rings books I was looking for so I drove north and I found the gravel beach front I was looking for.

Mavora lakes

The Lake was very peaceful with a couple of campers spread throughout, not very populated. The campsites operate on a honor system and only cost five bucks. The lake is full of trout and you couldn't find a more peaceful removed spot if you tried (a perfect spot to get away from it all). I ran into a flock a sheep on my way back to the main which was really a funny site to watch. Sheep or at least the ones I encountered run like hell to get away from anything making a loud noise and will even run into fence two or three times. Watching the sheepherder let his dogs loose and wrangle all the sheep off the dirt road into the corral was fun to watch. I headed over to Dunedin from there, which was about a four or five hour drive from where I was. I spent the night in the holiday park and was ready to explore a little of the city's sites in the morning.
Dunedin is one of New Zealand's oldest and one of the first areas to be settled (by Scottish immigrants). My first stop was the Cadbury Chocolate factory in downtown Dundedin. The tour was a lot of fun and I got a lot of free chocolate candy bars along the way (the chocolate bars I had were really good). The smell of chocolate throughout the factory was really nice. If you are in New Zealand most all the candy bars you see at the grocery stores and gas stations are made by Cadbury. I read somewhere pineapple lumps and L&P (a drink) a really popular in New Zealand. You will see Cadbury chocolates in Australia, Singapore, and other parts of Asia but not the US. It was a fun little tour and I'd recommend it for people of all ages.

Baldwin Street

I headed over to the settler's museum next, which details life in Dunedin from the 1800's to modern day. The photography and arriving of Scottish immigrants by boat exhibitions were the most interesting and give a good account of major events that help shape Dunedin and the Otago area. I headed over to Baldwin Street, the world's steepest street, and walked to the top. I headed over to Lanarch Castle, New Zealand's only one, on the Otago peninsula. I arrive at the gate and pay the twenty dollars for a self guided walking tour of the castle and gardens. The entrance and walkway to the castle is really nice and winds through some lovely gardens. The Lanarch castle grounds are really well maintained and have lovely open garden views of the peninsula. Left aligned photo tag:

Lanarch Castle

The castle itself is about four stories high and in made of Kauri wood. I have never been to Europe or been inside a real castle before, but I found this one to be really nice and enjoyed the details of the surrounding gardens and the many rooms inside the castle (the castle was purchased in the 1960's and is still be restored).
I drove north to the albatross colony on the tip of the Otago peninsula. I didn't see many albatross when I was there but the view was nice. I decided to head back to Queenstown after this so I could begin the tours I had scheduled and crossed my fingers it wouldn't be raining this time.