Dunedin, the depressing land of weird optometrists

Mayhap it looks ok as I start my picture collage of Dunedin. The first item of interest is a church in the main square of town called the Octagon on the only day that there was any decent light. I've been bundled in 4-5 layers the entire time I've been here and still my back stays cold. It doesn't help that it's gushing down rain intermittently and buildings have no insulation or heating.

Dunedin was touted as a cafe culture town with 20,000 students roaming its streets. I expected to find philosophy-entrenched coffee shops where I'd while away my final days in the south island before heading off to the rollercoaster ride that Auckland is.

Instead, I've arrived to find shop after shop closed- out of business or just not open, Friday night with nary a soul in sight and a papable lack of philosophy. Oh well. It is a good way to jump off the south island, as I'll be leaving at the buttcrack of dawn tomorrow- 7:20AM. No wonder that flight was so cheap.

Inside the Dunedin Railway station. Beauty of a building.

Right next door to the fourth generation optometrist...

Peter Dick. Yes. FOURTH generation. And the girl who I am couch surfing with, Hannah, wrote the last radio ads for this special man. Go for the optom profession!

Finally, here's two girls who I passed going the opposite direction on the Raikura Track on Stewart Island. Wanda (dark hair) is from Chicago and Alexandra (blonde) is from Boston. We ran into each other in Invercargill and again in Dunedin. Ended up about 4-5 days together and leaving with plans to meet again at Burning Man in Nevada at the end of August.