Dunedin

Any place you travel to or visit, where you stay is a very big part of the experience. In Dunedin, the house was a destination in itself. We booked it on Airbnb and were wondering what it would be like as there were hardly any reviews, but the pictures were so amazing that we thought of giving it a try. And oh, it is the best place we have stayed at.

This is a home of Amanda Shanley, a ceramic designer and stands low on a small hill. In Dunedin, having a house on a hill does not look uncommon, but what you do to the house can totally change everything. There was a special kind of warmth in this house, particularly since unlike other Airbnb houses this one was being lived in.

This article very nicely explains the house with pictures.

Amanda had invited us to our ceramic studio. It was interesting for the kids to see how she made mugs and bows.

Cadbury factory

A fun place to go if you are with kids. There is one point on the tour where they take you into a silo, all the way up and then start a chocolate waterfall. The look on the faces of Thing 1 and Thing 2 were unforgettable.

Albatross colony

This place is about 40–60 minute drive from the city. It was kind of a disappointment to go all the way there and see albatross from far and from a binocular. Anyways, it was good for the kids to know a bit more about the birds. We saw the seals there and that was quite a treat!

Pipe bands

I didn’t know that bag-pipe bands were so popular in New Zealand. We got to see the pipe band competition at the Octagon. And Octagon needs a mention as well, since pretty much everything in Dunedin is at or just around the Octagon.

Bus stands

I don’t know if this was only on Portebello road, but all the bus-stops all the way to the albatross colony, were painted in interesting themes.