Dunedin = Chocolate, Beer and Castles

(Quick note on photos: If you click on them they should open up in a new window at full size)

Well our apologies for the long gap between posts. We had an excellent weekend trip down to a place called Dunedin. Which is about a 3hr. trip south east of Omarama. Dunedin is home to Cadbury Chocolate shop and the Speights Brewery.
We stopped at the Botanical Gardens when we first got into town and walked around for about a half-hour. Saw some awesome parrots who chatted with us about everything from wanting a cup o' tea to saying hi to Polly. Just gorgeous animals.
11am was our Cadburys tour which, well you have to see it to believe it. Huge factory, chocolate EVERYWHERE and one ton of chocolate falling through the "waterfall" they have set up in one of the big towers. We got splattered, the walls got splattered, and it was super cool. 10% off in the shop because we were also doing the Brewery tour, and we bought some christmas presents (won't be chocolate, we can't mail that...) and a bunch of sugary sweetness.Next to the Speights pub for the best lunch I think I have ever had, seriously. Awesome service and a great meal all around, GO THERE if you are ever in Dunedin. It is at the bottom of the street from the tour/factory. (When I say "bottom" of the street, I mean pack your hiking shoes, this town in insane.)
Toured the factory and sampled about 6 different kinds of beer... as much as you can drink while the guy is talking... and learned all about, well, beer. Watched the Southern Man commercials (these should be on the Worlds Best Commercials, they are great, try and download them) and drank some more.After the tour we drove up to Larnach Castle, put our stuff in our room and had a nap. GORGEOUS ROOM. Booked dinner in the castle dining room, and it was great. 6 people ate with us, all around the big table as if we were family. A couple from England, a couple from Ireland, and a mother and daughter from England. They were quite impressed by our jobs, and our car.
Watched fireworks out the window for about an hour (from 930 to 1030), a day early for Guy Fawkes, but awesome all the same.We woke up and spent a couple hours touring the castle, mostly in the rain, and then headed downtown to shop. Fireworks, food and shampoo was pretty much the list, although we also picked up an alarm clock... pity we have one plug in our room and the heater also plugs in! Just prior to leaving town we stopped at Baldwin St. in Dunedin which is in the Guiness book of World Records as the steepest street in the world. After a hike up the steps. The burning in our legs told us that Guiness was probably right. The steepest part of the street had a 1:2.64 ratio. Meaning for every foot it travelled up it only went 2.64 ft fwd. So very near a 45 degree climb. For anyone who has experienced a winch launch imagine near that angle in your car driving up or down.On the drive home we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders on the coast. Of Which no one is really sure where they come from, and then the Elephant rocks further inland. Which are from old river beds of limestone that partially eroded away and the rest have remained, weird is really the only description for them.Got home to the town being under a blanket of cloud that stayed for about two days. This morning is the first time we've seen the sun since saturday (it's Wed) and it is fantastic. However the rain was also very nice. Now that we have some sun we'll actually be able to fire off our fireworks for the much celebrated Guy Fawkes Day. For those of you wondering who that is. A man in England rented out the cellars of the English Parliament buildings and loaded them with TNT trying to blow up the parliament building and the king of england. IF you'd like more you can google him or watch the movie V for Vendetta. which has a bit of history and is a great movie. So remember remember the fifth of November.

Cheers for now,

Ryan and Britt