Tunnel Beach

This is it....the moment you've all been waiting for....the final chapter of my mom's visit to New Zealand. I know, I know. You guys just can't contain your excitement. You must be on the edge of your seats with anticipation! Just kidding! I'm using this post as an excuse to avoid my work for just a little bit longer (oops!).

For the last day that I was able to participate in my mom's visit, we made the trek over to Tunnel Beach, one of the most beautiful spots in Dunedin (or so I had been told). It took us a 15 minute walk to the bus stand, a 30ish minute bus ride, and another 20 minute or so walk to even reach the beginning of the trail! On the way over to the beach we were stopped by a local farmer. He asked us if we were headed over to Tunnel Beach, and proceeded to tell us the story behind the area.

John Cargill, who lived in Cargill Castle not far away, had used the beach as his own private beach. He had his daughters use the area for swimming and sunbathing to keep away from the common folk, and the men. Cargill had brought in Italian tunnelers to create tunnels from the Castle to the beach so that the girls could easily get to the beach. Unfortunately, one of his daughters is said to have drowned on the beach (which I have to say gave it a bit of an eerie feeling).

Looking down toward the beach

A rainbow after the rainy morning

One of the tunnels (I think) 

Another (possible) tunnel

Looking out to the water

Mom and I probably spent an hour (maybe more) taking in the breathtaking area. Even though it was a pretty cloudy day, the beach was still beautiful. After taking in the beach it was time to make the hike back up to the car park, possibly the steepest walk up a hill I had to make in a long time. Safe to say mom and I were pretty exhausted by the time we got to the top, and luckily a couple of other students stopped and gave us a ride back to town! Later that night mom and I went to Velvet Burger for their 2 for 1 Tuesday special. We each got a venison burger (I got the stag, portobello mushrooms, blue cheese, venison and salad with plum chutney and aioli and mom ordered the velvet burger, venison, salad, grilled pineapple with chilli mayo and velvet relish). A welcome hearty dinner after our walking that day. 

Mom's trip came to a close on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to accompany her on any trips that day because of my 9-5 class schedule (boo classes!). BUT Mom had a nice time touring Larnach Castle on the Otago Peninsula and we spent a quiet evening in my flat. She left around 8 am the next morning. I was sad to see her go, but she reminded me it's only another 6 weeks until I'm home!