Dunedin

Angela Walker discovers Dunedin's future is as golden as its past.

"Thought you said you were going to Dunedin," a colleague said one Monday in November. "How come you got a suntan?"

Actually, I was probably as surprised as he was. I never really got that "I Am Dunedin" slogan the city's marketing types came up with a few years ago. I always thought "You Should've Been Here Yesterday" was a more obvious fit.

But for the four days of our visit in mid-November, when sun poured like honey over the city, every day was yesterday.

This was our first holiday in Dunedin as a family and came after yet another rugby season played out to the same old argument.

I support Otago and my husband refuses to understand why. "It's my home side," I explain. "But you live in Auckland," he says. "But that doesn't mean it's home," I reply. No one wins, just like Otago.

November also marked a halfway point in my life: I'd spent as long living away from Otago as I'd spent living there. So could my hometown still feel like home? We flew in over the harbour and southern beaches and I knew the answer before we stepped off the plane.

We stayed at the Esplanade Motel and Apartments, right by the beach at St Clair. Our apartment, converted from a home built in 1915, wore witches-hat turrets over its big bay windows - architectural flourishes somewhat rare in today's generally box-like accommodation - and the sound of the waves pounding on the sea wall was a constant.

A breakfast ritual established itself without plan; grab takeaway espressos from one of the cafes around the corner: the bustling Esplanade restaurant (serving a steady stream of pizzas and pasta); a chi-chi cake shop and two great eateries, Salt and Starfish, both of which would sit comfortably at Auckland's Viaduct. We'd sit at the beachfront and watch the ever-present surfers in their head-to-toe wetsuits disappear in and out of the waves like sea lions.

As we drove up and down its hills and around its harbour, I was ashamed of all those yearnings I'd been having for a Gold Coast holiday. What on earth had I been thinking? I don't even like Surfers Paradise. Dunedin may be small but it carries all the trappings of a real city: history, culture, some great and grand architecture, beautiful landscape, good food and great shops. It's got real beaches too.

I'm proud (and relieved) to say my pre-schoolers also loved Dunedin. To two Thomas the Tank Engine devotees, a trip on the Taieri Gorge Railway was the Island of Sodor come to life. The butterflies of the Tropical Forest at Otago Museum were wondrous, and Cadbury World miraculously held my four-year-old's attention - possibly thanks to the generous goodie bag they kept stocking on the way. Even the botanic gardens, with their umbrella-shaped tearoom (sadly less kitsch than I remembered) and banks of majestic rhododendrons like a Karl Maugham painting come to life, proved an entertaining diversion.

Some of the city's more famous drawcards went by the wayside: Larnoch's Castle and Olveston - rowdy boys and antiques not being the perfect mix - and the Speight's Factory tour - rowdy boys and beer not being the perfect mix.

We were supposed to be in Dunedin as tourists but I'd sworn we'd make time to visit some of my places. On one side of the harbour was Anderson's Bay - my old family home and schools, and my old piano teacher's house (notable for the fact it was just down the road from where the Bain family were killed).

On the other side was Roslyn, where just 200m separated the houses where my grandfather was born, lived his whole life then died. From the site of the cake shop I'd visit with my grandmother, and the pubs where the Dunedin Sound formed the soundtrack to my misspent youth - memories were running like threads through the streets and blanketing the hills. It was as comforting and familiar as a mother's hug.

We made a pilgrimage to Aramoana (we always called it the Spit), the tiny seaside village at the head of the Otago Harbour. I watched my children run down the sand dunes I'd run down years earlier and at last the dark spectre of David Gray's evil rampage was washed away by the sunshine. For nearly a century my mother's family had made annual treks down the harbour; in the early days by tug, in our time by the winding but beautiful road, down past the formerly shabby but now rather chic Port Chalmers and Carey's Bay.

Like most of the other cribs there, a long drop out the back and a tin bathtub in front of the fire served as a bathroom; unlike the others, we also had a harmonium, which in the early days was dragged out on to the sandhills each Christmas to be played by my great- grandmother. Decades later, her great-grandchildren thumped away away on it, its wheezing, reedy tones like nothing we'd ever heard on 4ZB.

When I left Dunedin 20 years ago, rows of shops lay empty, jobs were scarce and its southern spirit seemed sapped. Now the city feels proud and content, happy to do what it does well and not concerned with trying to be what it's not. It seems to be working: international visitors are drawn in large numbers by the city's eco-tourism and the old Chief Post Office, which looks like it belongs in Batman's Gotham City, is rumoured to be the next New Zealand site for a major international hotel chain.

If you ask me, Dunedin's future deserves to be as golden as the nuggets which financed its heyday as New Zealand's richest and largest city in the 1860s and 70s. OK, its rugby team does need work, but there is always next year.

WHAT TO DO:

The Taieri Gorge Railway:

There's just so much that's right about this. From the Edwardian grandeur of the Dunedin railway station to the just-right sandwiches from the dining car, from the staggeringly good landscapes to, yes, of course, the train. The 116km return journey from Dunedin to Pukerangi takes in 10 tunnels and more than a dozen viaducts, with construction dating back to the 1870s. It's no wonder 77,000 people a year are all-aboard for what is now recognised as one of the world's great train trips. www.taieri.co.nz

Ph (03) 4774449

Discovery World Tropical Forest:

Come face-to-face with hundreds of butterflies in this three-storey tall slice of the rainforest, complete with its own waterfall and glass swing bridge. It's hot (about 30[Degree] C) so dress light - you won't want to leave in a hurry. Discovery World also offers loads of fun hands-on experiences for children - big and small. At Otago Museum, www.otagomuseum.govt.nz

Ph (03) 4747474

The beaches

Honestly! Head north along the harbour road to Aramoana, about a 25-minute drive from the city centre, which has not one but two glorious beaches. Or head south on the coast road to Taeiri Mouth (about 30 minutes drive). Once you pass Brighton (good for a fish and chip stop) the beach stretches continuously for miles and there's plenty of places to pull over and take a walk on the golden ribbon of sand.

Otago Farmers' Market

If this had been around when I lived in Dunedin, I might never have left. Authentically French crepes (I recommend the raw sugar and lemon juice), hot bacon rolls, freshly made whitebait fritter sandwiches, organic fruit and veg, buckets of crimson peonies, great coffee, picture-perfect cupcakes and so much more. Every Saturday morning in the carpark by the railway station.

Cadbury World:

When I was a child, coming here on school visits was the highlight of the academic year. Now Cadbury World, with its one and only chocolate waterfall, is one of the city's tourism drawcards - our group was made up of chocolate lovers from four continents. Worth visiting for the smell alone - and the goody bag that'll be bulging with Cadbury treats by the end of the tour. Make sure you book ahead (especially during school holidays). www.cadburyworld.co.nz

Ph 0800 223287

Fleur's Place:

An hour's drive north of Dunedin is this slice of seaside - and seafood - heaven. With the Pacific on one side and the small fishing village of Moeraki on the other, sit and watch the boats chug by and eat some of the best fish and seafood you're likely to find anywhere. Recommended: the Moeraki blue cod wrapped in smoked bacon; whitebait omelette; mussels (especially smoked) and the kai moana platter. The service can be patchy, especially on a busy day, but if you have to wait, just sit back and enjoy the view. Cuisine named it in its list of the 100 best things in New Zealand. I'd put it in my top 10. Reservations recommended. www.fleursplace.com

Ph (03) 4395980

Where to stay:

Entry level

Forrester Lodge: Self-contained motel units close to most major sports venues and the entrance to the Otago Peninsula. www.forresterlodge.co.nz

Mid range

Esplanade Motels and Apartments: Overlooking the white sands of the fabulous St Clair beachfront. Five minutes drive from Dunedin's central business district. www.esplanade.co.nz

High end

Kaimata Retreat: A stunningly remote eco-retreat nestled on hills overlooking the Southern Pacific Ocean at Kaimata (Cape Saunders) on the Otago Peninsula. www.kaimataNZ.com

Angela Walker was hosted by Tourism Dunedin.

- © Fairfax NZ News