Dunedin
After leaving Milford Sound, which is on the southern west coast of the south island, we took a cross-island drive to a city on the southern east coast of the south island called Dunedin. Dunedin was probably my (Dan's) favorite city in New Zealand (of the cities we visited, at any rate). We arrived in Dunedin at some time, on some day, neither of which I am sure of anymore. The hostel we stayed in was called Stafford Gables, and was a super interesting old building that had (in a previous century) been both a hospital and a hotel.
Here are a couple shots (outside and bedroom) of Stafford Gables
Some of the things that were great about Dunedin was the "Octagon" at the center of town. Quite literally, instead of like a city "square" or something, they have a city "Octagon". And in the Octagon are tons of great coffee places, cafes, pubs, etc. Quite an awesome place to just walk around, or have a yummy coffee. Also, spattered all throughout Dunedin were many fabulous buildings with old-word feel and architecture.
In addition, Dunedin is home to the only castle in New Zealand. It certainly isn't Neuschwanstein, but that's alright.
I must also say that while in Dunedin we took a tour of Speights Brewery, who happen to brew some of the best beer I've ever tasted. It's terribly depressing that none of it manages to get exported to Singapore (or Canada, for that matter). It's also worth noting, that Speights sells the yeast they use to make the beer to Sanitarium, who in turn make it into Marmite. So if you've ever wondered why Marmite tastes like something that came out of the back side of an animal, instead of something you put on toast, you now know why.
Another neat feature of Dunedin is that they are home to the steepest street in the world. It's called Baldwin street, and even looking up it made me tired enough to know that I didn't want to walk up it. The average gradient is 1 meter in 3.41, and at it's steepest point it's 1 meter in 2.86. The street is 161.2 meters long and rises a total of 47.22 meters over the stretch.
So, as much as we wish we had more to type, we've forgotten everything else, but suffice it to say, Dunedin was an awesome town.
