I blew through Dunedin, due to poor planning on my part (and also not knowing that it was so lovely). It reminded me quite a bit of Kingston, Ontario, a place that I love, what with its older architecture and overall charm. But, I only had about 8 waking hours to spend in Dunedin before running for the bus to Queenstown, so I made the best of it.
Thus, how to spend eight great hours in Dunedin:
Late evening: Find nice hostel. Central Backpackers was better than some fancier hotels that I’ve stayed in. Plus they had a huge, clean kitchen, female-only dorms and a friendly cat! On the downside, none of the doors are numbered, so you have a few “what’s behind door number one?” moments before the cat rolls its eyes at you and points you in the right direction. Hit the sack to prepare for an early morning.
Crack of dawn: Hunt for great breakfast. I had some delicious meals in Dunedin, including some late-night Chinese at the Noodle Hut, brekkie at The Perc and a HUGE lasagna for lunch at Pot Pourri, a vegetarian (!) restaurant.
Early morning: Go for tour of Cadbury’s factory. Find it by following the smell of melting Dairy Milk. Get a discount on it by clipping coupons from those annoying tourist magazines you find at the airport. Pay close attention to video at beginning of tour as it contains a lot of trivia answers that you’ll be tested with later on. Collect samples as reward for knowing all the answers. Eat samples for second breakfast.
Late morning: Window shop to see the work of local artists and visit the Dunedin Art Gallery for neat cards and free WiFi. Or, sit outside in the Octagon and use the free WiFi there and simultaneously people watch/listen to crazies preach about our impending doom. Eat more Cadbury’s samples.
Lunchtime: Eat lunch, which will likely contain pumpkin as every meal in New Zealand seems to have it. Walk around admiring architecture before heading to the bus station.
The end.
Tripping 'Round The World 