March 30, 2015
Day 6 was the start of an adventure. Today I had done some research on things to do before we left Christchurch.
I was quite anxious to ride the Christchurch Gondola which traverses to side of Mount Pleasant and promises spectacular views.
Unfortunately I was not prepared for the extreme case of vertigo I was going to suffer as a result of being stuck in a small tin can going up the side of a very steep mountain.
Almost at the top of the mountain the gondola stopped and started rocking. Fearing death was imminent I made peace with my surroundings. Thankfully a few minutes later the gondola continued up the hill. It took a hamburger at the top and quite a bit of time before I was ready to go back down.
After the thrill of the gondola we went to Riccarton Road at Church Corner which is full of chinese shops and restaurants. We had lunch in a small chinese restaurant and Crystal went off to explore some of the shops.
An hour or so shopping later we jumped in the car and decided it was time to head to Dunedin. We made a quick tour around Christchurch to see some more of the city before jumping back onto Highway 1 and going south.
A short time later we were well and truly out of Christchurch and back into farmland. Until we hit the coast line the drive felt like it was going to go on forever without getting anywhere.
By the time we reached Timaru I was well and truly over driving. We stopped for a while and had some food just to break up the trip. Not long after we stopped it started getting dark and with a bit over 2 hours of driving left I wasn’t sure how we’d go.
Thankfully some of the views in the area kept me awake but not enough motivation was found to stop and take photos in the dark.
The last 15 minutes of driving into Dunedin down Mount Cargill was a struggle and with the steep grade and many turns it was getting difficult with trucks catching up and getting frustrated behind a slow car.
We easily found our bed for the night at Dunedin Holiday Park which was located just out of town in St Kilda. The accomodation wasn’t what I was expecting after the great cabin in Picton but it was comfortable enough. The room was large with a double bed and 2 singles. The shower was quite small with no water pressure and there was a share kitchen open between the cabins.
A quick drive down the road to Wendys yielded both dinner and a fact: Dunedin Wendys is the southern most Wendys on earth. Wow!
After all the driving I was anxious to sleep and it didnt take long with the lights out to do just that.
Tomorrow we will drive south and explore Southland which is the southern area of the south island before heading up to Queenstown.
Here’s a fun fact: Dunedin has the worlds steepest street, which is Baldwin Street with a slope of roughly 19°. For more info check out WIkipedia over here > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_Street