Going Out The Door

It was tough to say good bye to Te Anau. There was more we would have liked to do while there, but it was time to head to Dunedin. Dunedin is on the east coast of NZ’s South Island, and we decided to take the scenic route along the southern edge of the island, through Catlins Forest Park, on our way.

By now, we have been fortunate enough to see more beautiful forests, mountains, lakes, streams and waterfalls than we thought possible. But yes, there were lots more on the drive to Dunedin. The road winding through Catlins Forest Park offers plenty of opportunities for exploration, with park highlights well-marked for those journeying along the road. You could easily spend a couple days checking out all the sites along the road, but we did get to visit McLean Falls, Papatowai Beach and Kaka Point along our way.

• 

• 

• 

Dunedin is the biggest city in New Zealand we’ve visited yet. Dunedin derives from the Gaelic name for Edinburgh, and there’s a significant Scottish influence in the city, as well as a fair amount of Gothic architecture downtown. Robin had us set up in accommodations just a short walk from the “octagon” in the center of town, so we parked the car and were able to just walk where we wanted to go.

Dunedin is also known as a university town. In addition to all the shops and restaurants downtown, we were also really close to the University of Otego. And God bless them, the students of Dunedin’s University of Otego. They worked hard all semester and, with term now over, it was time to let off a little steam. Make that a lot of steam. Or maybe not steam, exactly, but something more primeval. Like a volcanic eruption.

In any case, we were witness to a party that lasted for (at least) two days, only petering out as we were getting ready to leave town. That’s not to complain–we were able to escape most of their exuberance by just closing the windows in the evening, and so weren’t bothered. In fact, they were pretty entertaining. But those students deserve some serious kudos for endurance. With hoots and hollers, and a dance beat pumping away, these kids were really showing how much they were glad to be done with class. They even had (small-scale) fireworks going off throughout the evening. The students at BGSU could learn a few things (or not?) from these folks.

We spent our day in Dunedin wandering through the city’s Botanical Gardens, which were quite lovely. We were a bit disappointed that the garden’s aviary featured more birds from Australia than from New Zealand, as NZ has a number of unique birds that we would like to see. But I’m sure other opportunities will present themselves.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

In the evening we went to Emerson’s Brewery, where we got our first New Zealand oysters since arriving. They were delicious, and I’m looking forward to more. We spent the rest of the night rubbing shoulders with folks in the restaurants and pubs downtown, before falling asleep to the sound of fireworks at the party next door.

In the morning, out the window, we could hear the sad and forlorn sounds of a paltry handful of students desperately clinging to the last, quickly-fading remnants of the party vibe. Then they, too, went silent.