Dunedin, South Island 2017

At the Octagon

It was lovely arriving in Dunedin in the sunshine. We came in from Mosgiel and coming over the hill on the motorway with the sea and the peninsula in the distance was an amazing sight.

Click on an Image for Hi Res

The Octagon

We’ve been here before but only for a day here and a day there and it has always been raining and dreary so it was really a nice suprise to see it sunny and warm.

The NZMCA park in Dunedin

We headed straight for the Woodhaugh NZMCA park which is on the northern side of the city  but is very easy to find and handy for buses into town. After arriving and getting settled we walked around the corner and caught a bus into the Octagon.

Walking up to the Bus stop by the river

Fiona was keen to go to the Scottish Shop and check out the tartans. After that we head a quick look around the Octagon before heading down to the iconic Railway Station and having a good look round there. This building is something else.

The Dunedin Railway Station

Opened in 1904, it was Dunedin’s fourth railway station and was designed by Architect George Troup, earning him the nickname Gingerbread George after the pink basalt and Oamaru stone used in the building.

In the Railway Station

It is a stunning building with more than 750,000 mosaic tiles in the floor and is something to see.

Spectacular décor inside the station

Its nice to see Dunedin Railways doing so well with the Taieri Gorge railway excursions. The trains look fantastic and are all original carriages.

The Taieri train

Cadbury’s Café and Chocolate Tours was next on our list so we walked up a couple of blocks to check in for a Hot Chocolate made with Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate. No extra sugar required 🙂

Fiona with the Cadburys Chocolate

Its something else and I recommend you try one if you’re in the area. They also do the tours of the factory too but having just done one a few months ago in Belgium, we passed on this.

Plenty of room for more

After wandering around the town a bit more, we caught the #3 bus back to the NZMCA park.

Rafe with Robert and Dawns Burstner next door(in the middle)

When we arrived back at the camp, we had a new neighbour with a new Burstner so I went over and introduced myself and after tea, Robert and Dawn came over for a few glasses of nice Pinot and cider with lots of laughs.

A great day in a nice city in the sun with some nice people.