7th December 2009
After the relative and glorious wilderness of the Catlins we were looking forward to getting back to civilisation in the shape of the South Island’s second largest city, Dunedin.
On our arrival mid-morning we discovered a delightful, compact town centre shaped as a octagon with some wonderfully preserved old buildings. We didn’t really know where to start so we headed for the city’s I-Site where we were able to book a one hour historical walking tour of the city. This seemed like the best and quickest way for us to get our bearings, while learning about the grand old sites surrounding us.
We had a quick bite of lunch in one of the many cafes in Dunedin then headed back to the I-Site to meet our guide, Bob. Bob then took us on a gentle stroll around the city’s main landmarks such as the Robert Burns statue and town hall, the Scottish Presbyterian First Church, the law courts and the much-photographed train station which is apparently the most photographed building in the South Island.
As we walked he explained about the first permanent European settlers, two shiploads of pious, hard-working Scots who arrived and founded the city in 1848, including the nephew of the patron saint of Scots poetry, Robbie Burns. It was so interesting and engaging chatting with Bob about the city’s history and the Scottish settlers who came here that we didn’t take any photos on our walk around.
We finished up at the Settler’s Museum where Bob showed us the cramped conditions on board the ships that brought the Scots and explained how when they arrived, Dunedin was just a load of mud so they had to continue living on board while lodgings were built. This after a three month trip! It must have been so difficult arriving to nothing like that - truly hardy people. Since the parking had run out on the van we couldn’t stop to explore the museum further, so resolved to return tomorrow when we had more time.
Our campsite this evening is a little bit out of the town centre, not far from the Botanic Gardens. Since it was still early after we had booked in, we headed out to the gardens where we spent a pleasant few hours wandering around. We also explored the aviary which contained various birds ranging from endangered New Zealand birds such as the Kaka to exotic parrots and parakeets. Some of the parrots could speak, so we enjoyed an amusing time saying ‘hello’ and listening to them wolf whistle.
