Dunedin is a name that comes from Scottish Gaelic, meaning “fort of Edin” or Edinburgh. It’s the second most populous city in New Zealand’s South Island and it really has a lot of fascinating places to see and eat at. I was very excited to start out my day at Dunedin.
Dunedin: The 8 Things You Can Do for a 2 Day Visit
Day 1
1. Breakfast at Vogel St Kitchen
I started my first day in Dunedin with breakfast and coffee at a place called Vogel St. Kitchen. It was a pretty small, intimate café and there were already some customers sitting and enjoying their meals by the time that I arrived.
The counter looked really crowded and the menu was written on a blackboard. There was a very homely vibe to the place.
I had ordered some salmon and Eggs Benedict. It came with some sundried tomatoes and a green sauce that I had never had before. It was quite tasty.
Then I was still hungry and needed energy for the big day ahead. So I ordered some mushrooms on toast and it was topped with cheese.
I finished off the meal with a small cappuccino which was presented in a very pretty manner.
As soon as I was finished with breakfast, I set out for the day. Obviously my first stop was the stunning and well-known St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral. I had read that the first church that had been constructed on the site was built in 1862. But it was badly constructed and there was a lot of debate about building a new cathedral.
Finally, the new St. Paul’s Cathedral was built in 1915. It was a Gothic style church and I saw that it had gorgeous architecture. Many of the old buildings in Dunedin were very grand and elaborate. The cathedral had huge towers and large stained glass windows.
I went inside St. Paul’s Cathedral and found it mostly empty. It was just as beautiful inside as it was on the outside.
The stained glass windows left me in awe. The colors were all so clear and bright and I could trace the story of Christ through the paintings. The sun was shining through the colored glass. It gave the cathedral an ethereal look.
Then I went to another famous church in Dunedin, the First Church of Otago.
The architecture of the First Church was more unusual than the architecture of the cathedral. It was considered the most impressive one of New Zealand’s nineteenth century churches. There were so many turrets and towers everywhere!
I couldn’t go inside the First Church of Otago. But I walked all around it and took pictures.
The original First Church had been built of wood and had burned in a fire. Many other structures had been built but the modern church that now stood on Bell Hill was built in 1873. A lot of people had criticized how expensive it had been to build the church.
The fourth place on my list was the Queens Gardens. This was a very simple park in the Warehouse Precinct. The most important part of the Queens Gardens was the Dunedin Cenotaph. This tall, eight sided structure was built in 1924 and it was the city’s main war memorial. It was built in memory of the people who had died in the First World War.
There were several benches in the park and it was a nice place to sit. I sat down for a bit and enjoyed the last of the winter afternoon sun.
Evening was starting to fall and there were a lot of cars on the street. There were some interesting looking buildings around the Queens Gardens. Dunedin really had the most marvelous architecture.
5. Evening Climb at Baldwin Street – The World’s Steepest Street in Dunedin
After the Queens Gardens, I decided to go to another unique place in Dunedin. This was Baldwin Street, which was officially the steepest street in the world. It climbed up a hillside and there were houses on either side of it. As I stood at the bottom and looked up, I realized it was really very steep.
There were steps on the side of the street to make it easier to climb.
The people of Dunedin were extremely proud of this record and had displayed signs about Baldwin Street being the steepest street in the world.
The view from the top was really brilliant. I could see the sun setting behind the distant hills and the cars at the bottom looked tiny. I could also people struggling up the hill. I wondered how the locals had managed to build houses along this street.
Day 2
6. Breakfast at Vanguard Specialty Café
I started my second day at Dunedin with another heavy breakfast. This time, I went to Vanguard Specialty Café. The café was especially known for its coffee but the food was also supposed to be very good. I really liked how many plants they had inside the café and how bright and well-lit it was. There were big windows all around me.
I had ordered a smashed avocado and toast. It was also topped with greens and thick pieces of tofu. There was a lot of flavor and texture in the dish.
The Turkish eggs had just the right combination of spice, creaminess and tartness. The eggs had been poached to just the right degree and the toast was crisp and golden brown in color. The sauce and spiced butter was so tasty!
I had also ordered a cappuccino. The barista had drawn a cute heart on top. The coffee was very good and it gave me the burst of energy I needed for another day of sightseeing. Soon I was ready to set out.
My first stop on the second day was Larnach Castle. What I found funny about Larnach Castle was that it was a mock castle. It was built in the early 1870s by an entrepreneur and politician called William Larnach. He wanted to live in a grand house that looked like a castle. He asked the famous New Zealand architect, R. A. Lawson, to build him a Gothic Revival style mansion. There was even a ballroom inside and it was known as one of the most haunted buildings in New Zealand.
I just loved the gardens at Larnach Castle. There were arbors and lots of trees, as well as fountains and pools. It was one of the best gardens in New Zealand.
The view from the gardens was incredible. The ocean was visible, as were the neighboring hills and villages.
The castle was open to visitors.
I walked around the covered verandahs and corridors.
It was really pretty. I knew that it was often used as a filming location and it had been decorated in an old-fashioned way that was suitable.
There was even a museum with some old wedding dresses and other artifacts that once belonged to the Larnach family.
Larnach Castle also had a gift shop where visitors could pick up a souvenir. There were mugs, caps, bags and bottles.
Finally, I went to Dunedin’s Railway Station. This had been built during the height of the Gold Rush. It was built in a strange Renaissance style, which was different from the rest of the Gothic buildings in Dunedin. The railway station had been completed in 1906 and it was a tourist site.
I had to take a picture of the beautiful façade of the station.
It was just as grand and impressive on the inside.
Even the windows had stained glass panels. It almost looked like a church or a palace because it was so elaborate!
Finally, I reached the platforms. There was a high glass ceiling above my head and a big clock helped visitors keep track of the time.
Graffiti had been scribbled on the floor of the platform.
Several trains were waiting to leave the station. One of the train carriages looked so charming and vintage that I simply had to take pictures of it.
