Travellers making the short hop across the ditch next year will make their way to New Zealand’s ‘Capital of Quirk’: Dunedin.
The South Island city has blown away its reputation as a cold student town after a surge of hipster cafes, laneway bars, street art and quirky experiences. The city welcomed a new stadium in 2011 complete with a transparent roof that locks in the atmosphere for not only New Zealand’s beloved rugby matches, but A-list celebrity acts like Ed Sheeran and Pink (to name just two). The new Warehouse Precinct boasts a beguiling combination of hip eateries, vibrant street art and start-up businesses,breathing new life into an area that was once the headquarters of Australasia’s largest companies during the Otago gold rush. Within the precinct, travellers will find Urbn Vino – a project that brings Central Otago’s famed vineyards to a city based winery and Moiety Restaurant with its tasting menus deserving of serious international accolades. At the Dunedin Museum of Natural Mystery, travellers will meet one of the city’s many creative characters. Mural artists and sculptor, Bruce Mahalski has created a private museum in an old city villa displaying his life-time collection of skulls, bones and artefacts that have been made into art pieces. For more quirk, visitors can take part in a prison escape – quite literally. Built in 1896 and closed just 11 years ago, the prison is now open to visitors searching for something different.
Once in the shadows of Wellington and Christchurch, Dunedin has a sense of confidence as it infects visitors with its individuality, unpretentious sophistication and sense of child-like freedom and fun.
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