From Oamaru to Dunedin, the long way.

Saturday, 28th Dec

After awaking, Jane and I decided to walk through the Ōamaru Botanical Gardens before the boys got up. The gardens were lovely, if a little strange, and there were several different areas to look at. It was a pleasant way to pass time while waiting for the local cafes to open. 

The drive to Dunedin was going to be our longest time on the road, so we decided that we would take a more scenic route via Middlemarch - an important location in Grant history. We went south to see the Moeraki Boulders, which the boys were not impressed by. We got some nice photos, but after the playground experience of the Clay Cliffs and Elephant Rocks, the Moeraki Boulders just didn’t provide the requisite entertainment.

We had a drink at the cafe, but were keen to get back on the road and were soon turning north west towards Dunback. Before long, we were driving up a beautiful road with hillocks and outcrops of rock - I’m sure that these would have reminded our ancestors of their Scottish Highland home.

We then proceeded past the Macraes gold mine, a huge and somewhat unexpected hole in the ground, and watched as giant machines moved about the mine pit. We passed a few ambitious cyclists on the way up the hill. It was a lovely journey around the curves of the valley back down towards Middlemarch.

This must have been our hottest day yet, with the sun streaming down on us in the car. We stopped at the local cafe for a late lunch before they shut up shop, and then we made our way back towards the local museum where an enthusiastic curator was more than happy to help me discover my heritage. The books about settlement in the Strath Taieri Gorge were very helpful. George Grant was a judge and trustee of the original Strath Taieri Agricultural & Pastoral Society and was followed by his son, Samuel Barclay Grant. We also discovered that George was buried at the local ceremony. We quickly went through the museum and learnt about the history of the railway in the valley and the Hyde Rail Disaster of 1943.

Following this, we went to the Middlemarch ceremony to find George Grant’s gravesite. This was more difficult than expected. He was not in the correct location (according to the official Cemetery Register), so we were wandering to a different plot, row and site; but eventually we found a homemade sign with his name and year of death on it. It looked suspiciously like the job was done by Hector Grant. (It was his block capital writing on Nebulite aluminium window offcuts).

By this stage, we were all very hot and we agreed that we would get moving to our Dunedin accommodation so that we could settle in. The drive down the hills and through to Mosgiel was easy. {We passed the cyclists on the way down a second time). We continued to Anderson’s Bay and unpacked the car. There was no rest for the wicked though - we needed to go and see the gravesites of some of Jane’s family in the local cemetery. It was fascinating to see how closely her family was situated to her Uncle Keith’s family grave. The outlook in the park over the ocean was beautiful.

 It was only natural to continue this and go down to St Kilda’s beach, and go shopping for some more supplies.

Once we got back to our accommodation, we made and ate dinner and watched the Auckland FC convincingly win their football game against the Central Coast Mariners - maintaining their position at the top of the league.

Another full day of excitement completed, and anticipation for what was to follow tomorrow.