Dunedin: My favorite big city in New Zealand

We are getting close to the end of our trip! Located on the east coast, Dunedin was the last city on our must-see list. Although I mentioned once that I was not a fan of big cities, I have to say, I was close to changing my mind when we first arrived...

After a long morning of driving, we had finally made it to the 2^nd largest city on the South Island. At first, it looked very much like Seattle- big gray buildings and huge confusing roads. But as we followed our GPS towards the city centre, we were met with this:

Dunedin Town Hall and St Paul's Cathedral

Known as the Edinburgh of New Zealand due of its Scottish heritage, Dunedin is characterized by its historic buildings and we were blown away by the amazing architecture we found in and around the city centre.

Robert Burns statue (a Scottish poet) in front of Dunedin Town Hall, and the First Church of Otago

Dunedin Railway Station (the 2nd most photographed building in the Southern Hemisphere, after the Sydney Opera House)

Law Courts across the street from the railway station

To add even more character to this interesting city, Dunedin's city centre isn't even a square, as you might expect, but an octagon. “The Octagon” is surrounded by interesting buildings (as seen above) and a number of busy cafes:

It is naturally a lively area, but seems to be a particularly popular hangout spot for college students. This makes sense, as the University of Otago (New Zealand's first university) is nearby.

When it came to deciding what to do here, we had to consider both our limited funds and our limited energy (By this point in the trip, we were all but spent, figuratively and literally speaking). Should we visit Larnach Castle (the only castle in New Zealand) or see the yellow-eyed penguins on the Otago Peninsula? Museum or Art Gallery? Beer tour (Speights Brewery) or chocolate tour (Cadbury World)? And then there were the many beaches to choose from...

When it came down to it, the castle was too expensive and the penguins were too far. We'd seen many museums, art galleries, and beaches already during our time here in New Zealand. I'm not much of a beer drinker and, if you can believe it, Andy is a bigger chocoholic than I am. In a nutshell, we went with Cadbury World!

From what we read online, Cadbury World is a must-see for any chocolate lover. The tour is very informative and includes free samples! One fan likened the experience to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory (complete with chocolate waterfall). With a description like that, how could we resist?!

Check back to see if our experience lived up to all the hype!