Robin’s Birthday Surprise - Dunedin day 2

 We probably should have taken the hint when the Parkrun volunteer, himself wearing a kneebrace, who was delivering the First Timers briefing this morning,  described it as ‘an arse of a course!’ That should have been our cue to pop straight into the Botanic Gardens cafe and order a coffee. 

However, having successfully navigated our way there on a local bus, lured by the thought of a beautiful Parkrun set in a Botanic Garden, just like home, we took his words with a grain of salt and lined up with 295 other participants. 

Initially lulled into a false sense of security by two short laps of the lower gardens area, we then crossed the footbridge over the Waters of Leith and began our ascent towards the lookout. And what an ascent it was; steep gravel paths wound through established trees still cloaked in their autumn colours, up steep hills and graduated steps to the lookout area, which it seems was a false summit, as we continued to climb, before heading down the precipitous home strait back to the foot bridge, the finish line just beyond the duck pond, tantalisingly in sight … but wait, we had to do it all again before we could cross that footbridge … the same vertical climbs, the same spectacular views, the same aching calves, and then finally, at the bottom for the second time, we could cross the bridge and sprint (not really!) for the finish line. As someone breathlessly said when we walked by, ‘That was a long five kilometres.’  















It was however, a picturesque parkrun, and we really did appreciate the coffee and cake in the cafe overlooking the gardens afterwards!  There was no need, we unanimously decided, to go and tackle the ‘steepest street in the world’ Dunedin’s very own Baldwin st, after that; we’ll leave that one for another time!  

Revived by our coffee and cake, the memory of steep hills seemingly forgotten, we walked the 3 kms back into town, via the impressive Otago university campus, and the filthy bottle and can ridden streets and front yards of the University housing area, an unfortunate contrast. 



Back at the ever-impressive Dunedin Railway Station we checked out the local farmers market, complete with cup libraries, and a tantalising variety of fresh produce, purchasing a couple of bagels to take back to the hotel for lunch. 


We needed to be back at the station by 2:30 for today’s surprise component. We were to catch a train, a different one to the one we came down on yesterday, back up the coast to the Arc Brewery, where we had vouchers for two drinks and food truck burgers for dinner, all of which was delicious and very enjoyable. A short wait for a slightly delayed train in the cold and now dark evening, ensued, but we were soon back on board and walking to our hotel for a relaxing evening in. 





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