Dunedin - Home

At the end of March we flew 'home' to New Zealand to visit my family over Easter holidays.

First stop was Dunedin, my home town / 'furosato' / 'turangawaewae'.     Dunedin looked terrific in the glorious sunny late-autumn weather which held for most of our stay.   This was a welcome change from the overcast and cold winds that I half-expected.

It felt great to be back in the neighborhood where I grew up.  It was just as beautiful as I remembered it.    Granddad is writing a book about the history of the area, which was once known as the 'Cattle Market Reserve', tracing the history of the grand houses and the various families that lived in them.

When I lived in our house,  Dad never told me that a previous owner had shot himself dead in the house and left a bullet-hole in the wall.   I guess I'd have worried about ghosts.

The house was looking terrific despite its 100+ years.  Granddad had improved since I left by adding a 2 car garage and a 'tai-chi court' outside the front door (which also provides space to unload the shopping).  Grandad is also proud of his new Daikin heat-pump.

Hannah made herself at home and happily set to work on my old toys and lego.   It was great to be able to relax and catch-up with Granny and Grandad and the local goings-on.

This is a photo of the sunset from the dining room.  Complete with UFO.

On Monday night, Granny and Grandad took us out for dinner at Plato's,  a really terrific seafood restaurant by the harbour.   This easily matched anywhere we've eaten at in Hong Kong.  It was the finest seafood meal I've had many years, perhaps since having lobster in Paris in 1990.

Rika enjoyed her half-dozen bluff oysters so much she ordered a second round.   And Hannah enjoyed her cake.

The next day we went for a walk to the parks where I used to play as a child.  First Mornington Park and the local shops to buy a Jellytip ice-cream.   On a fine day Dunedin and its surrounding hills looks magnificent.

Otago Harbour from Mornington Park

The air in NZ is very clear and generally low humidity so visibility is normally extremely good,  and colors are very bright in the strong sunlight.

Mt Cargill and Leith Valley from Mornington Park

But the shops at Mornington seemed more folorn and run-down than I remembered.   I got the sense of an area in decline commercially.

Roslyn and Swampy Summit from Mornington Park

But is it is still a great place for kids.  Hannah enjoyed playing on the swings.

This is the sports-field where I tried, and failed, to learn to play soccer, despite having a former Yugoslav international for a coach.  (I never watched soccer on TV and had no idea about the skills and tactics I should be developing).

Next we went for a walk with Granny and Grandad through the forest at Unity Park.  This is a nice park although nearby bowling club and the tennis club have both closed since I left.

Granddad took Hannah on a nature walk.

And we collected chestnuts from the garden and played 'conkers', like I did in Scotland when I was Hannah's age.

In the background of the photo is a bird-feeder which attracts a steady stream of Tuis and Fantails to the garden.  We also see a lot of Wood-Pidgeons.   There generally seemed to be a lot more birdsong than I remembered.   

Otago Boys High School

We often drove past my old school OBHS.  Where I'm grateful to have received a sound 'old-school' grounding in what they call STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths).  Although possibly at the expense of the LAME subjects (Languages, Arts, Music, English).   To be fair, I did take languages, but I didn't apply myself, largely because I just couldn't envisage ever being able to use it.  At that time I couldn't envisage ever traveling to a non-english-speaking country, much less living in one.    Which I now rather regret, since I've spent most  of my life overseas, and have since tried to learn several languages as an adult (French, Japanese, and Spanish, plus a little Chinese, Italian and Thai,  on top of the German and Latin I studied at school).  

St Paul's Cathedral and Dunedin Town Hall

On Tuesday night we went down into town to the Regent Theatre for a contemporary dance and music production called Rotunda.

Regent Theatre

The show marked the centenary of the Galipoli landings in WW1,  and was a collaboration between the NZ Dance Company and the NZ Army Band.   (website link)

I'd been rather skeptical when Granny described the show to me, and Im glad to say it exceeded expectations.   Id forgotten how beautiful brass can sound when played well.    And the dance?  Well let me start by saying that I usually find contemporary dance quite uneven with long stretches of familiar moves,  and then occasional sublime moments when the dance expresses something profound about life better than any other art-form.  

Rotunda was similar.  A fair amount of  'The knee', 'I just came out of a well' and 'Why is you head in my hand?'  (see  Contemporary Eric link).  But also a number of beautiful moments, particularly a very touching duet between a soldier and his wounded buddy.

Overall I think the Rotunda team handled a tricky theme very deftly and with a lot of originality, and created a striking and occasionally moving piece.  It is a shame the crowd at the Dunedin was rather small - it deserved a bigger audience.  

And then, all too soon, our stay in Dunedin was over and we were flying-out to Christchurch.