It was with deep regret that we said goodbye to Queenstown and made our way through miles and miles of fertile farmland to Dunedin. Dunedin has a very Scottish theme and some wonderful architecture. The home of the University of Otago it also has a very lively social scene.
On arrival, we headed for the town centre and made our way to Speight's Brewery to book a tour for the following day. These brewery tours are very popular but we were lucky enough to snaffle the last two places on the tour. Sparky being a real ale fan and me being a fan of any type of alcohol, this tour was right up our street. Probably one of the oldest working gravity breweries left in the world Speights really is the 'Pride of the South.' After our tour we had a quick beer tasting session (which explains my lack of photos of Speights) then we headed for the railway station to board the train to take us through the Taieri Gorge.
Dunedin railway station is one of the best examples of railway architecture in the world. Designed by George Troup, it was opened in 1906 and earned the designer the nickname of 'Gingerbread George.' It's a lovely building and with stained glass windows, mosaic tiled staircase and wrought iron balustrades it has a very grand feel about it.
We caught our train and travelled through the Taieri Gorge. This is the longest private railway in New Zealand and runs for about 60km. Lovingly restored and maintained by the Otago Excursion Train Trust after the public raised over $1 million to buy the line, the Taieri Gorge Railway is one of the areas leading tourist attractions. Work originally started on the railway in 1879 as a means of linking the Dunedin region in the East with Cromwell in the West. It was finally completed in 1921 and when you see the terrain that this railway covers it's an absolute miracle of engineering. The Taieri Gorge stretch of the railway crosses some very rugged areas and with the construction and restoration of the huge wooden bridges up to 47m above the Taieri River, it fair makes your stomach churn. The river is so inaccessible on foot that there is said to be massive trout in there which die of old age because nobody can get down there to fish it.
I bet Staggers would try.
Here are some pics, Dunedin railway station, Taieri river, the surrounding terrain and one of the impressive bridges taken from the train.
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