Dunedin Days

We took a small trip to drive to Dunedin. Dunedin is a
fairly large city of about 120,000 people 5 hours south of
Christchurch and is home to Otago University. Two of the
really big "highlights" of our trip were going to be touring
the Cadbury Chocolate factory and the Speights Brewery.
I think all of us found them a little disappointing, especially
for the amount one had to pay to take the tours. At least
I can say that I've been there, done that, but I wouldn't
make a special trip to see either one, unless I was already
in Dunedin. They did have a really nice train station
(supposedly the most photographed building in New Zealand)
and the city was really nice though. It reminded me of a cross
between San Francisco and Seattle.

I think the highlight of the trip though was staying at this great
backpackers in Port Chalmers, just north of Dunedin called
Billy Brown's http://www.billybrowns.co.nz/
It's a cozy, but very nice backpacker accommodation about
20 minutes north of Dunedin on a working sheep farm.
All around the place are green meadows and water from
the bay and lots and lots of sheep. We'd definitely stay there
again.

On the way home, we visited the Moeraki Boulders. These
are natural rock formations along the Pacific Ocean that
formed millions of years ago when the whole area was
under a shallow sea. It was a slight walk to see them,
but definitely worth it. It was also nice to get out of the
car and stretch our legs a bit.