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Julie's Magical Mystery Tour: Dunedin Road Trip, South Island

Lizi and I took off for our "Big Adventure" down to Dunedin and the Catlins. It was a gorgeous drive, looking out onto the Canterbury Plains to our right. We stopped off in Timaru, and had lunch at a very nice cafe across from Caroline Bay -- a very lovely area.

Further along, we stopped to see the Moeraki Boulders but, not having planned too carefully, arrived at high tide. No doubt they're far more impressive (not to mention plentiful) at low tide, but we both did (quite humorously) manage to beat the waves well enough to clamper up on a boulder to take a few pictures.

Even though we were stopping at every secondhand place along the way, we amazingly arrived in Dunedin by early evening. Coming into Dunedin was fantastic. We were going around curves through the hills, when suddenly we turn a corner and could see Dunedin below, with a gorgeous border of ocean. A beautiful looking city, with houses perched on the hillsides, and the fascinating Octagon in the middle. The Octagon is the focal point of the city, with, among other things, cafes, restaurants, a municipal building with a clock tower, and a park with a statue of Robert Burns. And yes, eight main streets come together there. We had a wonderful dinner at Ra Bar on the Octagon, and a great night of local music, checking out a few of the area pubs, including Refuel (at the University of Otago) and Arc Bar.

The next day, I had another serious bout of NZ indie music shopping, this time at the legendary Records Records. Any Kevin Smith fan who has attempted to track down those elusive Say Yes to Apes releases knows all about Records Records. Thanks to Kathy Bull a.k.a. Francisca (of Look Blue Go Purple), I walked out of there a bit poorer, but very, very happy. [sekrit message to Roi: you better be there next time I show up!] All during my whirlwind tour of New Zealand, I'd be making note of those places I definitely need to spend more time in. Dunedin is definitely one of those places.

Canterbury Plains
Canterbury Plains

Caroline Bay, Timaru
The Bay Hill, across from Caroline Bay, Timaru

Port of Lyttleton
Caroline Bay, Timaru

Julie & Lizi in Timaru
Julie & Lizi in Timaru

Moeraki Boulders
Moeraki Boulders

Moeraki Coastline, near boulders
Moeraki coastline, near boulders

Records Records & Stuart Street, Dunedin
Records Records & Stuart Street, Dunedin

Records Records, Dunedin
The World Famous Records Records in Dunedin
Francisca Griffin aka Kathy Bull, formerly of Look Blue Go Purple, filling in for Roi, who was in Australia at the time...

Houses on hillside in Dunedin
Houses on hillside in Dunedin