Day Eighty Seven Fairfield

Lockdown in New Zealand has been eased with a move to Alert Level 2 which means that I can travel further to exercise so today I went back to Fairfield to finish the streets that I had started walking three weeks ago. Today I walked 20 streets

1094. Hartley Street
1095. Park Lane
1096. St James Place
1097. Cockburn Street
1098. Fry Street
1099. Martin Road
1100. Fairplay Street
1101. Centennial Road
1102. Freyberg Road
1103. Coach Road
1104. Saddleview Place
1105. Sickels Street
1106. Robert Street
1107. Walton Park Avenue
1108. Hogan Place
1109. Estuary Crescent
1110. Blanc Avenue
1111. Edith Street
1112. Alfred Place

1113. Main Road

After walking the steep streets of North East Valley and Opoho over the last couple of weeks, the streets of Fairfield were a complete contrast as Fairfield is mainly flat.  There is not the same views in Fairfield, however the area is surrounded by some small hills with farmland and trees.

Part of my walk today, took me along the old road that was once the main road out of Dunedin before the Southern Motorway was built.  I have slowly been walking my way towards Saddle Hill. 

 

And this is the Southern Motorway which is now the main route out of the city.  I was out walking early in the morning before there was much traffic on the motorway.  During the week, this motorway can be very busy.

 

Built in 1904 this house was the former Coach and Horses Hotel and has been extensively renovated. While it is now a private home, it features many of the original fittings from it's former days as a hotel. 

On my walk today, I walked past the Fulton Hogan yard where there is this old mechanical loader/shovel.  Obviously not in use anymore, it is much smaller than modern machinery.  

Some of the street art that I walked past today was the wall of this building painted with some local wildlife and their habitat

And this bus shelter painted with art from children at the local school.  I am really enjoying seeing all the painted bus stops around the city. 

I walked past a number of interesting letterboxes today.  The most unusual is the old water pump one, the most fun is the yellow smiley one.  The small barrel is probably my favourite letterbox of the day.

Distance walked:  10.7  km         Walking time  1 hr 55 mins  

 

Total distance: 700.5 km        Total walking  131 hr 16 mins 

Day Eighty Six Normanby

Today I walked in an area where I grew up and knew the streets well. I walked 10 streets today.

1084. Echovale Avenue
1085. Tannadice Street
1086. Uxbridge Street
1087. Hillingdon Street
1088. Rolla Street
1089. Antrim Street
1090. Birchfield Avenue
1091. Pleasant Place
1092. Dryden Street
1093. Bonnington Street

 

I started my walk on Norwood Street before walking up North Road which gave me a good view down onto Norwood Street where I had just come from.

As I walked up North Road, I was able to look along Norwood Street towards Mt Cargill.  I would think the houses on Norwood Street would not have a lot of sun during the winter months as they are hemmed in with hills on both sides.

Once I walked up the hill, I then walked back down the hill.  As I have often done during my walking the streets of Dunedin, I was able to see how much green space Dunedin has. 

The amount of green surrounding the city was even more apparent to me as I was able to look over to Mt. Cargill which is the rounded hill in the distance.

 

Some of the streets I walked today had a good view down to the Cricket pitch at Chingford Park and the hills leading up to Pine Hill behind. 

An interesting thing I saw on my walk today was this wall which reminded me of the Sherlock Holmes dancing men code. 

 Today on my walk, I walked past this 'Sure to Rise' painted telephone cabinet.  'Sure to Rise' is associated with Edmunds baking powder and is part of our kiwi culture just like the Watties tomato sauce bottle, chocolate fish and monarch butterflies.

 

 I walked past this fence where the owner has put lots of NZ art.  I think this is something that I would like to do - if I had a fence that faced the street. 

 It wasn't just the fence that stood out but the owners have also made their letterbox interesting as well.

This has to be one of the most fun letterboxes I have seen on my challenge to walk every street in Dunedin.  Not only is it covered in tiles and moss but it has it's own pond complete with ducks. 

 

 

 Distance walked:  5.0  km         Walking time  58 mins  

 

Total distance: 689.8 km        Total walking  129 hr 21 mins 

Day Eighty Five Opoho

I took advantage of the spring weather and lengthening daylight hours by walking the streets of Opoho today.  I walked 14 streets.

1070. Signal Hill Road
1071. Grandview Crescent
1072. McGregor Street
1073. Colin Street
1074. Evans Street
1075. Warden Street
1076. Torridon Street
1077. Windsor Street
1078. Comely Bank
1079. Hatfield Street
1080. Balmoral Street
1081. Opoho Road
1082. Opoho Loop Road

1083.  Northfield Avenue

 

I started my walk at the top of Opoho at the Signal Hill Lookout.  This is a great place to be able to look over the city and for me, it was a fantastic place to be able to look out and know that I have walked every street that I could see. 

The Signal Hill Lookout also gives good views of the hills surrounding the harbour.  I have also walked every street that I can see on these hills.  There are still some streets further down the harbour that I need to walk but it is very satisfying to know that I have walked everything that I can see from here.

At the lookout is this stone taken from the rock that Edinburgh Castle in Scotland stands on.  Dunedin (Dùn Èideann) is the gaelic name for Edinburgh with many of the early settlers to the city coming from Scotland.  This stone was gifted to the city from Edinburgh in Scotland in 1941 during the city's centenary. 

As I walked down the hill from the lookout, views of the city in different directions opened up and again I have walked every street that I can see.  

The views of the city kept changing as I walked down the hill.  I was able to see city from different angles.  Dunedin is a very pretty city with it's hills and green areas.

It was great to be able to look down to North East Valley and over to Pine Hill.  I have been walking these streets in North East Valley during the last few days.  

 I walked past Tannock Glen today, it is one of Dunedin's hidden gardens.  Since 1975 the Dunedin Rhododendron Group have been planting and maintaining a selection of rare rhododendrons in this magical woodland garden.  It is well worth a visit during any time of year but particularly when the rhododendrons are in flower. 

During my walk today I walked past this lovely stone barn.  There were other stone buildings and fences nearby as well.  All the buildings look to be weatherproof and still in use. 

 

 

I saw different breeds of sheep on my walk today.  One set was most unusual with black and white markings while the other set were the more traditional white. 

 

Today I saw another couple of cute letterboxes. One is a cousin to the red one I saw yesterday and the other has the numbers in words. 

Distance walked:  7.8  km         Walking time  1 hr 31 mins  

 

Total distance: 684.8 km        Total walking  128 hr 23 mins 

Day Eighty Four North East Valley

I didn't realise there were so many streets in North East Valley.  This is my third day walking the streets of North East Valley and today I walked 18 streets.

1052. Arnold Street
1053. Carlton Street
1054. Queensberry Street
1055. Chester Street
1056. Bouverie Street
1057. Leicester Street
1058. Lucan Street
1059. Radnor Street
1060. Cardigan Street
1061. Rowan Street
1062. Montague Street
1063. Rhodes Terrace
1064. Dalkeith Street
1065. Beechworth Street
1066. Ainslee Place
1067. Afton Terrace
1068. Kelvin Road
1069. Watts Road

Today was another day walking the streets on the hill side of North East Valley.  Now that I have walked past Baldwin Street, the hills aren't quite as steep but unlike the streets before Baldwin Street, there are no walkways between the them so I am walking up and back down each street. 

The good thing about the streets on the hill side of the valley are that they continue to have a number of short, narrow streets off each steep street which gives me a chance for a view of the valley and Pine Hill. I have walked all of the streets that I could see.

It was great to be able to have views looking towards Mt Cargill and over the streets that I will be walking today.  Today I walked all of these streets. 

The further up the hill I walked the better the views became.  The houses in this area are rewarded with great views.  I was able to look over to the streets that I would be walking next.

Once I had walked back down the hill, I walked up the streets on the other side of North East Valley and looked back to where I had taken the above photo which is just above the bit of land with no houses, in the middle of this picture. 

I was also able to look up North East Valley where I have not walked yet.  This is where I am planning to walk next time. 

 

On my walk today I saw the Chingford Park Stables.  These stables were built in the 1870's from bluestone and were part of the private residence of P Neill.  The property was gifted to the people of Dunedin and includes sports fields, playground, Frisbee golf and archery.  The building is no longer used as a stables.

 I was able to look down onto the Palmers Quarry Gardens which is in the left of the middle of this picture.  The Quarry Gardens was an operating quarry until 1980 when it was closed and over the next decade tracks were created and planted out with rhododendrons and native plants.  The gardens are open to the public and I have walked all the streets around the gardens but this was the first time that I have been able to see it from this angle.

I was very happy to come across this friendly horse during my walk today. Sadly I did not have any apples or carrots to feed it.

Today on my walk, I saw a very happy letterbox and a colourful letterbox. 

Distance walked:  6.9  km         Walking time  1 hr 26 mins  

 

Total distance: 677.0 km        Total walking  126 hr 52 mins 

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