Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula... Southern South Island, NZ

We arrived in Dunedin after a rainy drive from Invercargill. The rain stopped when we got here, so we had a nice afternoon and early evening in Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula ----minutes away from Dunedin.

Dunedin is often said to be the best-preserved Victorian and Edwardian heritage city in the southern hemisphere. Dunedin was founded on the hard toil of whalers, gold miners and migrants from Scotland (Dunedin is the old Gaelic word for Edinburgh).

The breathtaking natural environment of the Otago Peninsula, a haven for wildlife with sandy beaches, sheltered bays and rugged hills captured our attention while on the lookout for a lunch spot. The magnificent views and multiple photo opportunities were the highlight of our day!

When we returned to Dunedin from our drive around the Otago Peninsula, it started drizzling. We decided to pursue an indoor activity to end our lovely day. If Julie had been with us we would have HAD to tour the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. She loves chocolate! Since it was late afternoon and we were ready for one of our favorite NZ beers, we decided to go on a tour of the Speights Brewery. In 1878, the Speights Brewery began its operation in Dunedin. Our tour guide was awesome! He provided us with an insight into the history and workings of the brewery and Dunedin, but also gave us some quirky facts about beer making in general. Check out barrel # 6 (really big). It's called a hog. The saying... "don't be a hog" comes from that barrel. We ended the day having dinner at the Speights Pub. My seafood chowder was great and Bob enjoyed his bangers and mash.

P.S. We arrived in Dunedin just in time to see Canada beat the U.S. in hockey at the Olympics. We're sorry to see the Olympics end as that was our nighttime entertainment.