The Chaotic Crafter: Dunedin, Cromwell, Wanaka and back to Oamaru

Dunedin Train Station

New Year's Day James' guests departed after an early breakfast and with several free days in front of them the guys decided we should beat a hasty exit and see some more of the island than Oamaru. We were on the road to Dunedin by 10:30 am and were in Dunedin in time for lunch. We ate at a Turkish sandwich shop operated by friends of the James'. We had hummus and so-so dolmas (tough and tasteless) but our sandwiches were delicious. I had a lamb doner which had sliced lamb and vegetables folded into a pita sandwich. Very messy to eat but totally yummy. Needed a bath afterwards. After lunch we dropped our bags at the lodge we were staying in for the night, Fletcher Lodge, owned by friends of the James'. We had a cup of tea and then headed to the train station for a four hour ride on the Taieri Gorge Railroad. The scenery was beautiful (would have been even more spectacular if the day had been less gloomy) but I had trouble understanding the commentary, and I'm sure my mother heard none of it. Unfortunately, there's only a single track so once we got to the end of the line the locomotive transferred to the other end of the train and we traveled all the way back to Dunedin. We had dinner at a very nice restaurant with a great view of the water called Pier 24. I think I ordered the fish and chips (of course, it was called something fancier than that). Being a National Holiday restaurants levied a 15% surcharge (the few that were actually open for business). After dinner we went straight to the lodge and fell into bed. This lodge had televisions in the guest rooms but no i-pod charging dock. Mom and I shared a room with a king size bed and went to sleep almost immediately upon hitting the sheets.