February 17
Dunedin
After a good night’s sleep, I managed to do some work and, just as important, to organise some accommodation in both Alexandra and Omakau to fit around my walking plans. It even sounded as if the motel owner in Alexandra might be prepared to collect me from wherever my walking grinds to a halt.
There is an open air art exhibition and sale on in the town centre today, featuring work by many of Dunedin’s leading artists. I joined the crowd, which was busy inspecting the work, much of which was of a very high standard. I managed to restrain myself from buying anything but lots of the others were buying as well as looking.
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This being Dunedin, the weather was dull and miserable. It wasn’t actually raining although it looked as if it might start to at any time. After a coffee in a café, I spotted a few nice buildings and the murals and chessboard in the Octagon, the central square.
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I wandered along the main street which gradually changes from being a commercial centre, with the usual banks and smart chain shops, into a student centre with wall to wall cafes and restaurants, representing every ethnic cuisine known both to mankind and to the environmental health department.
Left: George Street - every ethnic cuisine ... |
Knox Church is built in the local gothic style but is unusual in that the nave is sloping, giving it a theatrical property. It is often used for concerts. I met Pete for lunch in a nice enough café on George Street which was more used by parents than students.
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After lunch, I walked the short distance to the Otago Museum to see a special exhibition on Sir Edmund Hillary. This was most impressive and covered both his career as an explorer and his career as an educator and supporter of the Sherpas.
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By the time I emerged, it really was raining but only lightly. Having just missed the half hourly bus, I decided to walk home up one of the steep hills which characterizes Dunedin. I went up one hill, round a corner and up another, and another and another. I passed some through the woods of the town belt, saw some fine old houses and finally reached home, slightly damp and a little tired. The exercise must have done me good. In the evening I transported Pete to his brass band rehearsal and went to visit Paul for a gossip while I waited. After collecting Pete again we went, with several others from the band, to a local pub for a beer.
Right: Interesting old buildings |
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| Next Day |