Dunedin

Scottish Dunedin was going to be one of my favorite cities!
In the morning I drove to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world. I walked all the way up and let me tell you, it IS steep! You can even get a certificate that you made it all the way. A perfect place for a weekly workout...

Afterwards I returned to the City Center and spend about an hour in Otago Museum. The famous Butterfly Exhibitions was closed unfortunately but it was still worth a visit. I had to hurry up though because I wanted to meet with Marcella again. She took a small break from her studies and together we walked to the Octagon. On the way she showed me the best spot to eat ice cream - and you could even get a scoop of pure cookie dough (not ice cream)!

Ein Faultier-Bär

Seelöwen sind ja riesig!

When she had to return I continued walking on my own, visited two cathedrals, the Settler's Museum and First Church. I decided to skip the Chinese gardens though because they cost entry and I had seen something like that before.

See the name "Luke di Somma" on the poster? He was my conductor in the Christchurch Youth Orchestra!

In the evening I had booked a ghost tour around the Northern Cemetery with HairRaiser Tours. For some reason all the other participants didn't show up though and I didn't want the friendly tour guide to have to work only for me. So I sent him home and said I'd join another of his tours the next day. So I returned to the hostel and spent many hours talking with the three hostel guys and playing the guitar.
The next day I ventured out of the city. The first stop was at Glenfalloch Gardens, which were nice but quite unimpressive. Larnach Castle was next on the list. The entry to house and garden was pretty expensive but I ventured in for this is the only castle in New Zealand! The audio guide was very informative and I enjoyed hearing stories about the family and the ghost that is still haunting the place.

Sandfly Bay was closed but I took a quick look over the barrier and it was worth it! I even saw some sea lions in the distance.

Port Chalmers was great as well! Although it's very small they have two 2nd hand shops and I must admit I spent some money in both of them... The owners were very friendly and with one of them I even talked for about an hour and she ended up giving me a pair of Paua earrings for free! From there I drove to Long Beach, where people like to boulder, and Doctor's Point before returning to the city at sundown.

That evening I actually did get to go on the ghost tour, only through the city though. There were only two other women and it was nice and personal. We heard many stories about unsolved murders and accidents as we walked through narrow dark alleys and climbed all the way down to a bunker beneath the library. I was the only one there that didn't believe in ghosts and I must say the atmosphere down there was quite spooky. In the end I didn't even have to pay for the tour because he had had a free evening because of me - so kind of him!
At midnight the guys actually succeeded to persuade to join them for a pub tour. Apparently Friday and Saturday evenings are always very wild in Dunedin and I believed it. The city was crawling with students. We went to a few different bars, even danced in a gay bar and then sang karaoke at another. When it closed at 3 am we caught some snacks at McDonald's before returning to the hostel. We stayed up till 6 am though and I was really glad I came along although I would be very tired in the morning.
After only three hours of sleep I had to wake up and pack my things. Martin, one of the Germans, actually made me some porridge for breakfast, it was delicious! I said goodbye to Fintan and Michael, who were still asleep, and hit the road again. I would have loved to stay another night to party but my remaining time in New Zealand had gotten short and there was still so much to see and do!
On my way south I took short walks to Horseshoe and McLeons Falls and the petrified forest at Curio Bay. What a nice road! I then had to hurry a little bit though to reach Bluff in time. There I took the ferry - well, the small boat they called ferry - at 4.30 pm over to Stewart Island, my next destination.