Another early morning, another early bus. Our driver was good today and told us lots about the areas we passed through. We stopped in Arrowtown, which was a gold mining town way back when, but they passed laws to prevent new style buildings or demolishing old ones, so it still looks like an old town from a Western movie. Couple stops after that for breakfast and ice cream and about five hours after we began, we were in Dunedin. This city was originally a Scottish settlement and has a really cool feel to it. We checked in to the hostel, where we met up with Bhamini (who had gone to Dunedin earlier than the rest of us) and her, Enrico, Brennan and myself headed to the Cadbury factory for our tour we booked onto (Sarah's money and new card from Visa hadn't shown up yet and she didn't want us to have to pay for her so she stayed at the hostel to try and sort out her money issues). We got to the factory and were greeted with chocolate right at the check-in desk. Paid our money and wandered in the entry area, which had a little history of the company, photos, packaging, commercials, etc. We also got to eat a cocoa bean (note, that was cocoa, not coca) which tasted awful; something along the lines of a coffee bean. Then we filed into a little theatre area, where we were given hairnets and snoots (hairnets for the face/beard for guys) and a welcome bag wth a chocolate bar in it. We munched our bars while watching an animated video about Cadbury (the bar they gave us was marshmallow covered in chocolate...not the best, but apparently wildly popular in NZ). Then we had to take off everything loose (watches, chains, hats, sunglasses, etc) and put them in a locker and the tour began. The guide led us through the factory and told us how the chocolate was made, showed us the production lines and asked trivia questions for chocolate bar prizes (surprise, surprise). We were led into a huge purple Cadbury silo where we watched one tonne of liquid chocolate fall 5 stories down into a huge funnel then into a storage container. Apparently they clean this out once a year and feed the chocolate to pigs. Then we got to try chocolate shots, which was like a thick chocolate liquid that we ate with spoons. It was so rich that one shot worth was more than enough. Passed by workers making giant eggs for Easter (already!) and finished the tour with some more chocolate bars. I felt sick after and I think everyone else did too. The chocolate we got was all the weird, crappy kinds. Marshmallow bars and Turkish Delights and flavored stuff, etc. took a toll on the stomach. Anyways, quite a cool tour overall (although I was disappointed we didn't see any oompa loompas or a Willy Wonka impersonator) and we headed back in the direction of the hostel with a bag each of chocolate bars that would have to be consumed at a later date.
Along the way we stopped at the Dunedin train station, which is an old, impressive looking building and took some photos. Apparently the building is the second most photographed in the Southern hemisphere (after the Sydney Opera House), but we've also heard that claim about the Skytower in Auckland and the museum in Rotorua, so they need to get their facts straight. We carried on and came to the oldest church in Dunedin, which is a spectacular, huge, gothic-style cathedral and took some photos of that, then sat inside the quiet interior for a couple minutes. There was a little history room behind the altar about the founders and building of the church, but it wasn't very interesting. We continued on and ran into Sarah and accompanied her to Western Union, where she had been wired some cash, thereby alleviating her money concerns (temporarily, at least) and allowing her to relax for the first time in a couple days. Then we went shopping for groceries! Picked up some tasty stuff and witnessed a big commotion as two junkies with a little baby were escorted out by police after making a scene following a woman making a comment about the child. Dinner and a show. We headed back to the hostel and made dinner. Brennan and I had fusilli pasta with a basil sauce and added diced red pepper and tomato that I grilled in red wine. I know, like five star dining in the comfort of a hostel. Supper was delicious (obviously) and it was accompanied by wine (obviously). Each of us had our own bottle that we enjoyed over the course of a couple hours until they all ran dry. A new girl from Scotland joined our festivities for the evening and filled in the spot that Dan formerly occupied. After the wine was out, we took up a collection and Brennan and I walked back to the grocery store and picked up a couple more bottles. We returned, those bottles were consumed and many laughs were had. I fell asleep on the couch or the floor or something and the others carried on a while longer before going to bed. I woke up shortly thereafter and migrated back to the room as well. I didn't want to miss out on sleeping in a non bunk bed, as I had one of the two regular beds in the room, instead of the usual, old, squeaky bunk beds. Hit the pillow and out like a light. Brennan came back much later in the morning after apparently falling asleep in the TV room. Wine is a cruel mistress.
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