Day 14 - Depart Queenstown for Dunedin & Tour around Dunedin City
is time to indulge in the world of Cadbury Chocolate and have a look on how NZ's student city looks like... yep! yep! allow me to bring to around NZ's student city and home of Cadbury Chocolate in NZ, Dunedin! well, is my fav city in NZ's south island so far. considering it has my fav chocolate (i'm a chocoholic as a well-known fact!) & oso the city's surrounding and environment. buildings in the city r full of the old heritage style which i simply love it very much. as to if is up to ur liking, have a look at the photos and judge for urself ba... (i realise my words and description seems to cut down from part 1 to 2 to 3 to 4... running out of words to say cos is so hard to write so many things all at once in juz a few entries and i am lazy to spread it out. heehee...)
tat's me! upon arrival @ Dunedin, juz checked in to the YHA backpacker & found tat they dun have bunk beds here! woohoo~!!! dun really like to sleep on bunk beds as in the upper deck. is so much hassle to climb up and down & i act sprained my ankle when trying to jump down the bunk bed in midst of darkness when the person below me act place her bags in front of the ladder. how am i suppose to step down when her bags r blocking my way? mmm... had to try to be superwoman and took a leap. so "crack"! wat u expect from a person who juz woke up from her sleep, feeling all tired and blur leh? haha...
tat's YHA Backpacker in Dunedin. nice environment, juz a bit far away from city centre and is up a very long long slope so everyday is exercise for me before dinner! heehee... oh ya! i come to realise there is a cat in every YHA tat i went to. the YHA cat! mmm... dun ask me y cos i din ask abt it though i was quite curious too. i wanna take photos of them but they r juz so lazy... sleep whole day... winter hibernating ah!
The First Church in Dunedin. private property which cover over quite a large area with a very big front yard... serene environment... quite a lovely place to have a wedding in. heehee... can be compared to St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney... let me bring u thru an imaginary wedding in tis church with lovely and grand interior layout...
girls, imagine u walking down this aisle in ur most beautiful look and wedding gown... guys, imagine ur lifetime partner coming towards u from this aisle...
both of u and all the pple present listening to the wedding march played thru these pipes from the organ or piano... "deng.. deng deng.. deng.."
with all ur family, relatives, friends and loved ones seated on these benches, witnessing and giving both of u the blessing to an everlasting marriage...
under the witness of God, the Pastor, ladies and gentlemen present, both of u exchange ur wedding vows at tis platform... promise to stay faithful to each other and love each other unconditionally.. promise to go thru all happiness and down times together... finally... saying "I Do" to bring on the new chapter of life shared by 2 of u... is imaginary but how does all tat sound? heehee... (sidenote here: i juz finished watching Grey's Anatomy Season 3 and was influenced by an episode towards the end. in it, Dr Burt actually said something tat was rather impactful. "u muz be SURE and FIRM to walk down tat aisle towards ur lifetime partner... u muz not be only HOFEFUL and WISH FOR to go down tat aisle towards ur lifetime partner...")
Me @ the driveway of the First Church... i tink i look kinda shag here ah... of cos ah! after 1 week of non-stop action in Queenstown and i am into the 3rd week in NZ here... :D travelling can be quite tiring at times but i still enjoyed it very much... nutting else other than travelling can provide me with opportunity to see, hear, know and learn more & give me tat sense of satisfaction and happiness... (sidenote: i am a travel freak, i juz love to travel!!! & stop saying tat i am rich! i am not! i juz choose not to like shopping as a hobby or interest, i juz choose not to like & invest on branded goods but i chose to invest all money tat i have & save on travelling.. so u... u... & u... whoever u r, STOP saying tat i am rich. i travelled alot does NOT equal to i am rich...)
the Octagon... city centre in Dunedin... lots of youngsters gathered around this area to chill out & go for movie...
apparently, my stitch photo taking skill failed for tis photo... is Dunedin's railway station, voted the top 200 buildings in the world to pay a visit to & is the only one building in the southern hemisphere (dunno how accurate tis info r lah... juz believe it ba... haha... cos is really a beautiful building..)
city downtown area...is not those very city-liked city such as Spore... there is a sense of heritage and olden style along the streets...
juz a small one.. tis is Dunedin's casino.. dun ask me abt the interior cos i juz happened to pass by & took a photo without going in...
how do pple in the olden days run for life when there is fire breakout? see tat stairs located outside the building... tat's the emergency exit! heehee... anyway, tat is Mercure Hotel in Dunedin.. pretty cool to be located at an old heritage building..
is only abt evening time in NZ & i can see the moon so round and clearly over the building's roof top! haha... is not computer effect ah!
tis is the Medical School of University of Otago... the uni is located in the city.. is a city campus. the land area of the whole campus is spreaded out... rather messy... so is not my type of campus. i prefer condusive environment located at a corner of the city or country without having to divide the campus in between main roads. yes... for tis i am saying i dun prefer SMU as in the new campus. i prefer NTU or NUS or old SMU campus & my very own uni, UQ!
tis is the company tat my bro is working in so tis photo is actually for him & is also becos of tis company, i can actually made it to NZ. cos half of my tour expenses r earned from Chrysler Singapore. heehee...
Chrysler's PT Cruiser!!! 3rd on my list of dream cars... but is so so expensive wor...Day 15 - 2nd day in Dunedin: Trip to Larnach Castle
the only castle in NZ. how can i miss, rite? for someone who like old heritage building. but the cost to go on a tour for this castle is abt NZD45 ah! is exp sia!!! i am not going to spend this kind of money (cos i am rather broke at tat time after the happening week in Queenstown!!!). so i try to find ways and means to get to the castle in a cheaper way. apparently, there is wor... heehee... take a public bus from the bus stop round the corner of my backpacker and alight at the foothill of the castle and do some walking for abt 1 and a half hr. did i mention some? hmmm... i really tot some but how come so long leh? ans seen in the following picture...
see the 1st sentence on the board... Larnach Castle 3km!!!! gosh... is 3km ah... longer than 2.4km run sia... & is UPHILL!!! so on tat faithful morning, i walked uphill for 3km... of cos not at one go, i will not make it at the end lor... i have to do some self entertainment along the way to keep me going..
tips: try to turn around and look at the scenary behind u when u r climbing such long slope... cos u nv noe wat is the magnificient view behind u, encouraging u to go ahead, carry on and u r doing fine!!! see tis view here... is abt 1/4 way up the hill... heehee... sense of fulfillment @ level 1 when i see tis...
i have a tiring look here ah... hair kinda messy but cannot help it leh. is half way thru, i'm perspiring & cold wind is blowing...
oh ya... there r no proper walking track along the road as usually pple drive up to the castle. who would "drive" a bus 11 up to the castle leh? not usual move. so for such winding road, i have to walk at the left side at times, move to the rite at other times. when a car is coming, i have to stop and let it pass thru on those narrow sections. @ tis point, i'm juz a bit higher than mid point..
grasslands by the side of the road... farms in the middle of the grassland..
along the way, i found quite a few companions. 1st grp will be the "moo-moo"... Cattles! heehee...
then i met Junwei (Yi Lao Ma)'s cousin along the way.. very clever boy, pose and let me take photo... hahaha... Jun, ur cousin leh!!
see tis cutie pie here? Shiying (xiaoyang)'s cousin.. she oso very clever. eating grass halfway, saw me stopped by taking photos, immediately stood straight up and looked at me.. whahaha...
okiedokie! almost there... at tis point, i am juz 1 km away from the castle! woohoo~~!!! sense of fulfillment @ Level 6!
Larnach Castle! here it is... sense of fulfillment @ Level 10! mmm... not as magnificient i tot it will be but i am still contented. the security guide who was selling the ticket was actually quite amazed on how i went all the way up by walking. he even told those cars tat went up abt a girl walking all way up & pointed to me. mmm.. thanks for his compliment & "recognition" ah. aiyyyooo...
The castle's front garden.. is forbidden to take any photos in side the castle. i can have a brief description. rem all those fairy tales stories we read, those movies or shows abt olden days, those interior decoration of the houses r pretty much the same. is very grand, very well decorated. sophisticated and delicate designs for the rooms, hall way, stairways and many more... & the materials used to construct the castle r from all over the world. so it is an "internationally" built castle! heehee... well, from the history guide abt the castle, is kinda sad to hear the tragic ending of the castle's 1st owner, Mr Larnach who actually shot himself at the end and his children juz left him one by one. haiz... rich family, reputable family oso a complicated family..
Me @ Larnach Castle... tis is after the tour around the surrounding... there r so many different gardens... ermmm... kinda luan ah..
the Castle tower... let's have a view over the waters... see if we can spot Dunedin's city from there..
the stairway leading up to the tower is very narrow and dark... kinda creepy & there was tis little gal who was so afraid and din dare to climb up at all. cried and cried so the parents had to head back down. poor gal...
view is really not bad... overseeing the ocean & the rest of Otago Peninsula...
tis is the opp side which is where Dunedin City is located at..Day 16 - 3rd Day in Dunedin... Cadbury Factory Tour
Welcome to the world of Chocolate.. Cadbury Chocolate... the one and only Cadbury Chocolate factory in NZ. yum! yum! for a chocoholic like me, touring a chocolate factory is so shuang ah... esp when they give us free chocolate bars during the tour. woohoo~~!!! this factory is kinda diff from the one in Tassie. they produce diff type of chocolates and tis factory is much better. of cos within the premises, i cannot take any photos, is for privacy reason. tis factory produce many many diff kind of chocolate. and there r some favours which r only sold in NZ. such as the desserts' series of chocolate, the Lemon Cheesecake & Banoffie (banana in chocolate). well, here is the only place i shopped and bought something from in NZ. i spent abt NZD52 on chocolates. not for myself only lor. i bought for all my frens in Australia and some for pple in Spore and my beloved cousins & of cos myself! some favours tat we dun get it back home, so is kinda worth it ah. i'm not the one carrying back anyway... hahaha... is currently lying in my fridge in Toa Payoh.. pple, pls go and claim ur chocolates if i have ask u to. for those whom din had a claim to make, paiseh ah! i was kinda out of budget then. i will compensate when i get back spore the next time round!
outside of the factory itself... see the cow's backside... heehee... cute leh... 
see these cute workers @ work... welcome once again to the Cadbury world of Chocolates!
Cadbury actually produce their Easter bunny chocolate abt 1 yr before the following Easter.. so Easter bunny for next year's easter r all ready and lying in the warehouse of the factory... i wanna take tis HUGE easter bunny chocolate back home!!
Cadbury workers @ work..
tis is the chocolate making procedures with the different steps shown. from grounding of cocoa beans to adding milk and other ingredients to shaping and moulding the chocolate... is a tedious procedure sia! so we muz treasure every piece of chocolate and learn to appreciate and enjoy them! hahaha... ask me if u dunno how to cos i am a chocolate freak! :D
more procedures show case...
thousands & thousands of Toberlone Chocolate... woohoo~~!!!! hahaha... they r fake ones lah! juz for show case..
Distance of various location from NZ... wow... South Pole is abt 5000km away wor..
gloomy day... i saw the beach, the sea @ St Clair Beach but i din see the sun! i only saw the rain & feel the wind... mmm... even the wave is so strong & hitting so hard on the wall. the wave is so strong tat it went beyond the heights of the railing & splashed on pple standing along the walkway. haha... all wet sia! not me though... lucky ah...
Baldwin Street... this is the world's steepest street... is really very steep... i walked all the way up to the top.. super tiring sia!
the gradient of the slope is abt 1 in 2.86.. & is so steep tat when cars drive down on the slope is really dashing down... houses along the side of the roads r slanted according to the steepness of the slope..
tis is the view from the top of the slope...
tis is the view of how the slope looked like...
before we leave Dunedin, a stop @ Baldwin Street... with my roomie @ the YHA, Mayumi from Japan
at the bottom of the street... World's Steepest Street is in NZ, Baldwin Street!
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