Quality Street …

In case you were wondering, we did eventually get skiing. We had a fantastic day in chilly Mt. Hutt. Said to be the highest ski field in NZ, it was pretty much on the Baltic side of the temperature scale, but with fabulous snow, soft, powdery and pretty much perfect, we enjoyed it all. We ended up spending quite a few days in Christchurch and true to form, spent more of the time relaxing than seeing much of anything. We did manage to squeeze in a trip to Cathedral Square where we watched the chess champs of the future play giant chess, and even climbed the bell tower of Christchurch cathedral for the views across the city!

All too soon though (I really liked Christchurch) it was time to hit the road again. We headed south once more towards Dunedin (the Celtic name for Edinburgh apparently – not surprising when you arrive there and see the city is infused with everything Scottish).

We did manage to haul ourselves up Baldwin Street, reputedly the world’s steepest street. I have to say, I think it has Patrick St. beaten hands down. And to be fair, they seem to have done all the calculations … and it really is steep!!! see ….

but, we made it to the top anyway! Some of us celebrated a little more than others … not mentioning any names ….

One of the highlights of Dunedin for me was of course going to be the Cadbury’s factory! We took the shortened tour as we had the pesky luck to arrive at the weekend when of course the factory was closed. Despite the fact that the factory no longer actually produces the bars of chocolate seen on kiwi shelves (although it still plays a role in earlier parts of the manufacturing process) it is a must for others like me, so afflicted with a deep love and affection for chocolate!!! The experience begins with a self guided tour around the museum, where you learn about the origins of chocolate as a drink and a food, the history of Cadbury’s and of course the chocolate making process – all the time being assaulted by the most deliciously tasty smell of chocolate!!!!

The highlight is the chocolate waterfall. The purple (of course) dungaree clad guide brings you too the top of the (purple) chocolate silo and cue 30 seconds of cascading liquid chocolate. I felt like Charlie Bucket in Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory!!!

And what tour would be complete without the obligatory cheesy photo – and naturally I was more than happy to dork it up a notch and pose in the (purple) Cadbury’s truck ….. and did I mention the free chocolate …..?