Sunday Jan 11 Milford Sound to Dunedin

Deb here. After 3 days at sea we were finally going to dock today, so a lot of excitement! After a light breakfast at Windows Cafe we packed up our backpack to get ready. At 10 a.m. we attended Professor Plumb’s presentation on Middle Earth. Greg is quite a JRR Tolkien fan, and he presented a fun powerpoint showing the actual NZ locations where The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy were filmed. 

By the time this was over it was time to grab free shuttle tickets into Dunedin, which was scheduled for 1 p.m. We stopped at Discoveries Restaurant at 11:30 and had some brunch foods so we’d be well fed by the time we arrived in Dunedin. 

The boat docked at Port Chalmers, a port about 25 minutes away from the city center, so at 1 we hopped on the shuttle and off we went.

Since we’d visited Dunedin briefly in 2023 we didn’t feel the need to visit the historic train station or the nearby museum. Both are excellent, but we’d been there. Instead we struck out on a walk to find the Dunedin Gasworks Museum, about a half hour walk away. This turned out to be a great find. Who knew that starting in the 1860’s the city powered streetlights and later homes with coal gas? I’d never heard of such a thing and it was quite an undertaking. Apparently this museum is one of only a few in the world and happens to only be open on Sunday afternoons and run by volunteers. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, having an opportunity to talk with two engaging volunteers. Along with the massive old equipment, John even had a cup of coffee from a 1950’s coal gas powered coffee machine. All pretty cool.

From there it was on to the Chinese Garden, which turned out to be a beautiful oasis right in the heart of the city. Another “who knew” moment, learning that many Chinese had migrated to Dunedin in the 1850’s to work in the gold fields. Two good finds for our afternoon in town.

We were thirsty after our walking, so we found a pub right on The Octagon (the hub at the center of the city) and had a beer and cider. Back to the ship by late afternoon, followed by a tasty dinner at Discoveries Cafe seated with a lovely couple from Toronto, Australia (2 hours north of Sydney) and then a fun performance by the entertainment team in Cabaret Lounge at 9. 

Back to our cabin for reading and sleep by 10.