When we say ‘Farewell Dunedin’ - it was a very slow and relaxing farewell - given that this blog entry covers 6 weeks. We were as surprised as anyone to see how much time had passed as we packed up our ever expanding luggage and prepared to venture out to Mosgiel and then into the wilds of Wingatui.

Having said ‘see you later’ to Joan on 20 May we spent a few days pottering about the house - including a few hours finally making lime marmalade from the kilo of limes we brought down from Nelson. We like to do ‘firsts’ when we can, obviously nothing extreme, we made fig jam in Spain and this was our first marmalade - the sweet success was sub’lime’.

Having tried it’s best to freeze Joan solid, Dunedin put on a spurt of hot weather in late, late Autumn and we took the opportunity for a drive out to the peninsula. We stocked up on free-range eggs and enjoyed a picnic near the beach (would have been on the beach... but a very low tide you know...)

We fell into a routine - surprisingly easy to do but probably a reflection of our nomadic lifestyle - when we find something good, we stick like glue. We took the recommendation of our owners and drove via at least 4 other Fish and Chip shops to visit their favourite one - the highly recommended Takeaways on Marlowe in St Kilda. Wow. That became a weekly calendar entry, usually on a Wednesday night, because by the time Thursday thorugh Sunday rolled around they were so busy that ringing ahead wasn’t just clever - it was 100% necessary. We also looked on in interest as their $14 hamburgers regularly walked out the door. Despite people crying poor and decrying the parlous state of Dunedin’s souped-up real estate market, there’s always people flinging money at $5 coffees, avocado on toast and, as it turns out, mega burgers. We decided early in the piece that it did’t matter how good they were, $14 for a takeaway burger was never, ever going to happen. However, a burger sounded pretty good so on Queen’s Birthday weekend so we headed down to the Soho Kitchen, our Malaysian/Chinese takeaway joint on the corner, and gave their $4.60 burgers a go. Brilliant! For under $12 we both had a burger and chips and sat in the sun on the St Clair promenade, watching the waves crash ashore.

Winter arrived right alongside June 1 and a viciously cold snap hit Otago. It certainly reminded us that unless you’re in a mansion like Olveston House (centrally heated, etc) then a) old is cold and b) Dunedin was not only settled by Scots who didn’t mind freezing, but who seemingly considered it not only a virtue, but an objective. Fr-fr-fr-freezing! We took a drive to visit the owners of our next housesit in Wingatui and were very impressed indeed with their 3 year old, double glazed, insulated, carpeted home with a whiz-bang fire. Mind you - we almost melted during the visit as a result of wearing up to 5 layers of merino. During the worst of the cold snap I was even wearing merino long johns and a top under my PJs. And a hat - just to get to sleep. Cold!

The cold snap drove us indoors for a short while and we investigated Dunedin’s Public Art Gallery. Not having had any art for far too long, we weren’t expecting much - just a wander about in the warmth and a few pretty daubs to look at. Little did we realise it holds one of the best art collections in NZ and boasts the country’s only Monet - one of our all time favourite artists. There were actually quite a few glorious works and many of our favourite painters, particularly in the European collection - but also a stunning Sidney Nolan representing Australia. It turns out, in the late 1800s, Dunedin was keen to be a proper city and well regarded by it’s wealthy new European immigrants (and people even thinking of coming), so a public subscription was set up, raising nearly £500, and as many quality works of the time were bought as humanly possible. Bequests have continued to fill out the collection and we had a splendid time getting our art fix. We enjoyed the outing to the gallery and a wander around the city even more so because, for no apparent reason, the parking meters were switched to ‘free parking’ for the Tuesday after Queen’s Birthday weekend.

Once we realised our city time was essentially unlimited we grabbed $1 coffees from Metro Mart, snaffled a sausage roll, visited our ethnic & Indian supermarket for a stock up of frozen parathas. We discovered these tasty morsels on a breakfast buffet in a hotel in Dubai years ago - and they were probably freshly made. We went on to find the frozen version in Langkawi, Malaysia which has a significant Indian community - and we became addicted. Having not seen them for a few years, we were ecstatic to find them in the international supermarket in District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City last Christmas and now, ‘lo and behold, in a wonderful Indian supermarket in Dunedin. The owner of the place was hugely excited to hear we’d visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar during our trip to India - he actually felt like he should kiss our feet as they had walked the blessed path around the sacred pool in the middle of the temple complex. Goodness. Mind you, the gentleman did have his TV tuned to the reading of the book live from the Golden Temple - he was a very devout Sikh. We became regular clients over the course of our stay in Dunedin and made sure we had a decent stack of parathas to bring out to Wingatui with us.

We have been getting down to St Clair beach most evenings for a few laps of the promenade and definitely enjoyed being near the ocean. We eventually ventured into the next suburb, St Kilda and ventured up to John Wilson Ocean Drive - quite a mouthful and quite an amazing walk. It’s a road that runs along the top of the dunes and has a golf course along the other side. It’s only open to traffic for a few hours a day and not at all on weekends - so makes for a fantastic spot for a leg stretch with loads of fresh air and lots of cute dogs to watch. The first night we did the walk it seemed very easy indeed - even the uphill stretch. It was only when we reached Lawyers Head and turned around for the return walk that we realised we’d had a massive tail wind for the first half of the walk. The headwind on the return walk to the car was exhausting. Lucky we made it back to the car actually. It went on to become one of our favourite outings and we did the walk every day for the last couple of weeks of our Dunedin stay. Somedays it was freezing, other days almost tropical - but always lovely to be right on the ocean and out in the fresh (though sometimes freezing) air.

We drove out to the peninsula several times during our stay in Dunedin but realised we’d been neglecting the other side of the harbour and in early June we packed our lunch and thermos and decided to investigate Aramoana beach. It was a super mid-week drive and the road hugged the water’s edge for most of the trip. We enjoyed the scenery along the way and then took a walk through the Domain, the Gordon Johnston Arboretum and the saltmarsh walk (pictured). We were pretty impressed with Aramoana before we even made it down to the beach and discovered Keyhole Rock, The Mole/sea wall with 4 seals basking in the sun and then, even more wild life, a couple of sea lions relaxing on the beach. Impressed to say the very least.

We have visited everything free that there is to see in Dunedin - our usual haunts include the Railway station farmers’ market on a Saturday, a stockup of fresh apples and a marrow for our regular roast dinners. We wander around town for a couple of hours with a $1 coffee and that would be our Saturday. Sunday however is a whole different ballgame - free parking throughout Dunedin. We spent one Sunday afternoon visiting the Otago Settlers Museum - which was incredible - so much better than we expected and we even got to ride a penny farthing bicycle. It was hugely enjoyable seeing the development of Otago from the very earliest European settlement - there was even a section of everyday appliances through the decades... quite a few horrendous old bits of kit that I actually remember using. We spent another Sunday visiting the Otago Museum - more of a natural history place - and particularly enjoyed the ‘Animal Attic’. In the original part of the musuem this was a true Victorian taxidermy experience - stuffed everythings - it was great to see things we’d never otherwise see, but still, sad, to see a pair of lions that escaped an Otago zoo and had to be put down for public safety. They’d even tried to get back into their cages (which had been left unlocked accidentally). They couldn’t manage to get back in and the local constabulary decided to shoot them for the safety of the public. Our final jaunt during our Dunedin stay was a scenic drive up the winding road to the Signal Hill lookout - it was an astounding view and put Dunedin’s sprawl and and rural areas into perspective. We enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine then visited the Botanic Gardens to feed the ducks (and had an Alfred Hitchcock moment with the pidgeons - they were everywhere!)

In any event we finally finished our time in Dunedin, did a massive packing session and headed out to Mosgiel (and then even further) to Wingatui - home of the Otago Racing Club - right next door to our new digs. First time we’ve ever lived smack bang next to a race track...