Travel - Destination Dunedin (New Zealand)

What I love about travel is the feeling it gives you, it's almost a feeling of being reborn and as if you are given a new amazing kick start on life. It is true that when you travel that you get to know yourself better and you find a piece of you that you never knew was missing. You feel this empty feeling, yet bliss at the same time.  You look around at new surroundings and think how beautiful our world really is and all that you have been missing out on by not making travel an essential on the bucket list earlier. No matter what happens in life experience must always be a part of this journey; we can not always control everything, but as long as goals are set, actions are planned and taken we can actually make a lot of things happen for ourselves, even if we did not think it was possible at one stage. Everything is possible, as an idol of mine once said "nothing is impossible, the word itself says I'm possible" - Audrey Hepburn.  As the quote in the above picture states, the experience of travel is also for the experience you never had, the unknown that awaits you.

We take life and all we have for granted sometimes, we take a quick glance at our regular surroundings without much thought and forget to appreciate the history behind all that we are so blessed to have. The thing with travel is, there comes opportunity to appreciate history because as you see new objects, buildings and landscapes for the first time you are blown away and think wow I wish we had these beautiful historic artifacts in my town. You start taking pictures, and just stand there staring at the beauty that stands before you, you take it all in as much as you can, yet still remain speechless. I love the feeling of actually appreciating something, in that moment not only are you giving thanks by showing gratitude but you are also nourishing yourself with the goodness of the universe as you are inviting positive energy to consume you. Appreciation is one of the most beautiful feelings you can feel and it should be exhausted to the point where not only you feel its vibes, but the world around you feels it also.

I recently flew across to the South end of New Zealand (my home country) to visit my cousin in Dunedin, a beautiful little city I never thought to visit previously. It is mainly a city filled with University students, however when you get there it is not the student trashed city you may think it to be. The students walk the streets dressed in sports gear as it is more versatile for walking and rather than use a car to get from A to B they use walking as a main form of transport. Walking to get to your destination is very common in Dunedin as everything is so close together, one of the perks of a small city. I loved this casual vibe, but not only was it casual, everyone dressed in fashionable leggings and runners which made the sporty look of Dunedin very attractive to the eye. 

I visited so many beautiful places, many of which included a lot of history. The train station which hosts the weekly Saturday farmers market was a perfect host for the event. The train station building had great architecture inside and out, and despite its age every aspect was kept intact.

I love how the city takes such great pride in all the aged buildings and continues to keep them well maintained for future generations to enjoy. A great example was the Olveston Historic Home, one family only ever lived there back in the the early 1900's for roughly 60 years, when the last living family member (the daughter of the family) passed away in 1966 the home was left in the hands of the city of Dunedin and was turned into a museum in 1967 for the public to enjoy.

Little has changed within the home, therefore its significance is so cherish-able. Something that blew me away as I walked through the rooms of the house was that the house had three large kitchens, each for different stages of food preparation and clean up aftermath. Unfortunately pictures could not be taken within the house but I did find this photo online of one of the kitchens, in which you can see the oven and stove that was used by the Olveston family, well their servants would have been using them. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful home to anyone who has an appreciation and a lust for history, not to mention the home is filled with accent paintings, which is actually a tour in itself.

              

                   


I visited the University of Otago, the Cadbury factor, the Saint Clair beach, the city center several times and got to see beautiful churches from the outside, which I plan to see the inside of on my next visit, but with travel the sights are not all that attract the soul, food is one of the top attractions of course. I was very impressed with all the meals and foods I got to indulge in. The last meal I had in Dunedin was banoffee flavored gourmet pancakes that were to die for! Not to mention the Monday deal they had to offer, buy one get one free. I had so much to spare that the pancakes ended up flying back home with me and my father was lucky enough to have the rest, he was mind blown.  Being able to share those amazing pancakes and the experience it created for me with my father made me feel  really happy, the thought that I was giving them up didn't even bother me. You can find a whole range of different gourmet pancakes at Capers in Dunedin central, another place I highly recommend.

I loved my first experience of traveling alone, flying over the seas and visiting my beloved cousin after so long. I am very grateful for the wonderful experience I had, the time I had with my cousin and all the memories we created, which I can reminisce over by looking back through all the hundreds of photos and videos we took.

Travel as you can tell means so much more than a new experience, it affects all parts of your life and changes you for the better. 

I am so excited for my next journey, this time across to the other side of the world. I will be sure to blog about my experience, unfortunately this travel will take place in a years time exactly. I may blog about the planning up to it though.

I hope you all enjoyed (only a part of) my Dunedin experience that I have shared with you all and that it has tempted you to add it to a place to visit in the future.