Kia Ora, Y'all!: Dunedin

I thought my devoted readers may want to see a few pictures of our town to better appreciate our new Kiwi lifestyle. Although I was there in January 2007 as a tourist with NO CLUE I'd be moving there in a little more than a year, I got a really good vibe from the place. The atmosphere is very Athens-like in that it is a similar size and a college town, it's very young and creative, and there are lots of cool little shops and restaurants and bars. It is not very Athens-like, as you will see, in terms of geography. On the drive from the airport into the city, I thought, "This must be what Ireland is like," because of it's greenness and rolling hills and sheep. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have never been to Ireland, so this is just a guess.) I later learned that Dunedin was settled by the Scots and "Dunedin" is the Gaelic name for Edinburgh ... that works too, I guess.

I should add that while Chris took the first pictures seven pictures in the last couple of weeks, I stole the rest from the Web because the Dunedin pics I took during the visit last year turned out pretty crappy. If these are your pictures and you want to sue me, know that 1) I know a lot of really ferocious IP lawyers and 2) I am happy to give you credit. Or I can just take them down and borrow photos from someone else who's not so uptight. So let's be friends. Okay?

Okay, so this isn't actually a sign from Dunedin, but something Chris saw when he was visiting Oamaru, about an hour north of Dunedin. Obviously, I still had to include it.

This is the main road near our house, looking out of town

Main road on walk toward campus (I think?)

Little shopping village near our house. Note the roundabout ... these things terrify me, even when I'm driving on the right and know where I'm going, and they are EVERYWHERE in NZ. Kiwi pedestrians, here I come!!!

Coffee shop walking distance from our house. Remind me to tell you about NZ coffee later. It's really good.

Beach picture Chris took while he was on a run. I think it's about 3-4 miles out of town.

Another beach picture Chris took on his run. See what I mean about thinking this is Ireland?

A little known fact to most Yanks, but Dunedin is home to the steepest street in the world. I'm told there is some dispute with San Francisco over this claim, but of course I am going to side with my new hometown.

Impressively steep. You'll get a good glut workout, here.

Visitors center in the Octagon, which is Dunedin's town center (centre?). I can't find a good picture of the whole Octagon, which is pretty cool, but I'll post one when I find it.