Day Eighty Three Steepest Street in the World

Dunedin is home to the world's steepest street and today was a bit of a milestone as I got to walk Baldwin Street.   I walked 26 streets today.

1026. Blacks Road
1027. Gillespie Street
1028. Royston Street
1029. Marquis Street
1030 Balfour Street
1031. Mowat Street
1032. Farquharson Street
1033. Roxburgh Street
1034. Grey Street
1035. James Street
1036. Longworth Street
1037. Primrose Bank
1038. Dalmeny Street
1039. Calder Avenue
1040. Buchanan Street
1041. Baldwin Street
1042. Felix Street
1043. Pentland Street
1044. Coburn Avenue
1045. Selwyn Street
1046. Paisley Avenue
1047. Calverley Street
1048. Lazar Street
1049. Carr Street
1050. Scone Avenue
1051. Jura Street

Today was another day where I was walking up and down the streets on the hill side of North East Valley. I started my walk up Blacks Road which goes from North East Valley up to Opoho and is very steep. 

The only good thing about Blacks Road is that it has a number of short streets off it which were a good opportunity for a bit of a rest and time to catch my breath. These streets also gave me a chance to see the view of North East Valley open up below me.

Of course what goes up must also go down and that was the story for most of my walk today.  The streets became steeper the closer I got to Baldwin Street.  Some of the streets are sealed with concrete because asphalt  or chip seal would melt and flow down the hill on a warm day and also for safety in Dunedin's frosty winters.

Baldwin Street has been measured and confirmed as the steepest street in the world.  While the bottom part of Baldwin Street has a gentle gradient, the upper part is very steep with a gradient of 1:2.86 which means that for every 2.86m traveled it climbs 1m in height. 

For those who make it to the top of Baldwin Street, there is a seat to sit and rest while admiring the view.  

 And once I was back at the bottom of Baldwin Street, I was able to look back up the hill, knowing that I had completed the steepest streets in world.

 

During my walk today, I walked past the North East Valley School gates which are a war memorial which commemorates former school pupils who were killed during the wars.  The soldier on the top was taken down many years ago as an earthquake risk and in 2007 it was returned to the top of gates.

Just along the road from the war memorial gates is the North East Valley Post Office which was built in 1914 and was in operation until 1988.  In more recent years the building has been a coffee shop. 

 As Baldwin Street is the steepest street in the world, it is a popular street to walk up by tourists and locals.  Often you can see people running up the street.  At the top of the street, there are these plaques commemorating some of the more unusual ways of getting up the streets. 

This photo shows how steep Baldwin Street.  The house is not built on an angle but this photo is taken to make the street look flat. 

I saw some more great street art on my walk today.

On my walk today, I saw two unusual letterboxes.  This cute red one and the other is propped up by an old chair. 

Distance walked:  9.0  km         Walking time  1 hr 48 mins  

 

Total distance: 670.1 km        Total walking  125 hr 26 mins 

Day Eighty Two North East Valley

 Lockdown continues and I am still confined to walking the streets closest to home.  I walked 12 streets today.

1014. Glendening Avenue
1015. Chambers Street
1016. Craigleigh Street
1017. Logie Street
1018. Randolph Street
1019. Dee Street
1020. Taine Street
1021. Maybank Street
1022. Montrose Street
1023. Frame Street
1024. Islington Street
1025. Mechanic Street

Today I was walking on the hill side of North East Valley and luckily (for me) most of the streets had walkways between the top of them which saved me a lot of walking up and down hills. 

 

This is one of those walkways.  They are narrow but save a lot of time by joining the top of streets together.   

Some of the streets that I walked up today were very narrow and steep.  So narrow that there is very little room for a vehicles to pass

In some streets, the cars are allowed to park on the footpath as the street is too narrow.

Other streets that I walked up today were very wide, especially considering how narrow some of the other streets are. 

This elevation chart shows the hills that I went up and down today.

North East Valley is home to some great street art and today I walked past this beautifully wrapped building. 

Spring is definitely in the air and I enjoyed seeing all the colourful flowers starting to come out. 

Distance walked:  4.2  km         Walking time  58 mins  

 

Total distance: 661.1 km        Total walking  123 hr 38 mins 

Day Eighty One Dalmore

Today my walk was shorter than the last couple of days as I continue to walk around the streets close to home.  I walked 8 streets today

1006. Fea Street
1007. Ramsay Street
1008. Bank Street
1009. Clifford Street
1010. Orbell Street
1011. Falkirk Street
1012. Fortune Street
1013. Franklin Street

This is State Highway One, the main road into Dunedin from the North and is usually a very busy road.  This morning as I walked beside the road, it was deserted with only the occasional truck going up or down.  This is what lockdown looks like. 

My walk today was similar to yesterday in that I walked down the hill, only to turn around and walk back up a different street. The streets I walked today are on the steep side of Pine Hill that gave me good views of Opoho.  I have not walked any streets in Opoho yet.

Once at the bottom of the hill, I walked alongside another quiet street that is normally very busy.  The last time I was in this area walking was back in April when the trees were covered in their Autumn leaves.  

 One of the quick ways up the hill is via the steps off Bank Street. These steps are a good workout and meant that I gained height very quickly. 

Once at the top of the stairs, the views start to open out again.  I enjoyed a rest at the top of the stairs to get my breath back. 

 

The last few streets were steep and I was glad to get to the top.  The good thing about stopping for a break on my way up these steep streets is looking at the view and knowing that I have walked every street that I can see.  

 

One of the more unusual things I saw today during my walk was a chicken walking along the footpath.  It didn't seem concerned to be out on the street or that I walked close by.  

Distance walked:  3.9  km         Walking time  48 mins  

 

Total distance: 656.9 km        Total walking  122 hr 40 mins 

Day Eighty Liberton

I enjoyed my walk in the sunshine around the streets close to home today.  I walked 20 streets

986. Raleigh Street
987. Hillary Street 
988. Dover Street
989. Lowe Street
990. Tasman Street
991. Tensing Street
992. Egmont Street
993. Allenby Avenue
994. Blundell Street
995. Hislop Street
996. Wilkinson Street
997. Truby King Crescent
998. Pryde Street
999. Croydon Street
1000. Barclay Street
1001. Buccleugh Street
1002. Glencairn Street
1003. Gladstone Road
1004. Forrester Avenue
1005. Newhaven Street

 

 It was a frosty start to the morning and I walked gingerly around the streets that were still in the shade.The first group of streets I walked around are all named after mountains and climbers.  Hillary Street and Tensing Street being the most obvious along with Lowe Street for climbing Mount Everest. Tasman and Egmont are New Zealand mountains and Dover is a mountain in Antarctica.

Many of the streets in Liberton have great views.  Some of the streets have good views of Flagstaff and look towards where I was walking yesterday.

Streets on the other side of the hill have great views looking towards the city.  After stopping to admire the view, I walked down the hill to then walk back up to where I started.

The further down the hill I walked, the views changed to looking towards Opoho and North East Valley.  The road also became very narrow as it grew steeper the nearer I got to the bottom.

The residents of these houses have very steep sections/gardens and very little parking but the views they get are outstanding. These are streets that I have not walked yet.

Of course what goes down must also go up and some of the up was quite steep but as I walked up the hill, I was reward with more great views.   This is looking towards Opoho and are streets that I have not walked yet.

The higher I walked up the hill, the views changed and I was able see over to the Dunedin Botanical Gardens with a glimpse of the harbour and Waverley beyond.

And as I neared the crest of the hill, the view changed back to Flagstaff.  The weather is beautiful and the views have been fantastic today. 

I stopped to have a look at the Dalmore Reserve which has been turned into a community vegetable garden.  The garden is a little overgrown after the winter but it does have great views of the city.

One of the more sad things that I have walked past during my challenge of walking every street in Dunedin is this wooden seat which has a fantastic view of the city.  The seat is dedicated to baby Mae. 

Today I walked past three interesting letterboxes.  One is an ordinary letterbox that is painted like a house while another has used a large piece of interesting wood to cleverly create a letterbox and the third letterbox has been decorated with mosaic tiles.

 

 

The ultimate in recycling is this used chain to make the house number on the fence.

The Pine Hill bus stop has been beautifully painted with scenes of the early Pine Hill School. The scenes are taken from old photographs of the school and have been faithfully replicated in the bus stop.

 

Distance walked:  11.2  km         Walking time  2 hr 10 mins  

 

Total distance: 653.0 km        Total walking  121 hr 52 mins