KERRE MCIVOR

WHAT JOY! KERRE EXPERIENCES SOME AMAZING SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but one of the best things about my job is being able to get around the country and visit so many New Zealand cities and towns.

Over the years, thanks to jobs in TV and occasionally radio, and being a fixture on the MC and after-dinner speaking circuit, I’ve had the privilege of visiting just about every region of New Zealand – and even better, getting to meet the people who make these places home. I know from chatting to people on talkback that there are some North Islanders who have never visited the south and some Mainlanders who’ve never ventured over Cook Strait.

For some, it’s a lack of opportunity, but others told me they’d rather go overseas than tour the country. I know that depending on where you’re living, it costs more to trip around New Zealand than it does to dash across the ditch, but oh, those people don’t know what they’re missing!

Last week, I was in Dunedin for three days, MCing the iD Dunedin Emerging Designers International Fashion Show. I’ve been to Dunedin a number of times with friends for iD Fashion Week and its always such fun.

Dunedin put on a couple of DunnerStunners – glorious autumn days of clear blue skies and hot dry days, and cooler comfortable nights. Apparently, it had been raining right up until the day I arrived and it started raining after I left – but I don’t believe it. I’ve never had a miserable day in Dunedin.

MCing the shows was such a treat. The young designers were graduate students from design schools all over the world, and their outfits were bold, brilliant and breathtaking. The models were absolutely gorgeous and full of energy and fun, and the production of the show went to new heights.

Up until this year, the show had been staged in the old Railway Station. This was the first show in the Town Hall and although it was different, it was a more intimate show – and definitely not as cold as sitting in the station! I loved being a part of it over the two nights and I also loved having my days free.

The morning after the first show, I ventured out of my hotel and a woman walking by called out, “Great show last night!” We got talking and she told me it was her first Dunedin fashion show. She’d just moved to the city from Christchurch with her son and was loving life in her new home.

I asked her to recommend a good coffee shop and she walked me to her own favourite, as it was on her way to work. She was lovely and an example of the sort of people you meet whenever you travel south.

It was such a gorgeous day, I decided a visit to St Clair was in order, so I took a taxi out to the beach and walked the length of it – past St Kilda and up to the cliffs, before walking back. Watching the wee puppies learning how to fetch, the old dogs chasing seagulls, breathing in the sea air and welcoming the warmth of the sun on my face was to know pure joy.

And then to discover the Best Café just capped off the trip. It’s been around since 1932 and no wonder – it serves the best seafood in town, if not the country! It’s a hark back to the ‘70s with its décor and its menu – all formica and vinyl and your choice of malt vinegar or Worcestershire sauce. None of that fancy schmancy foam on your oysters. Just lemon, vinegar and a side plate of white bread and butter. The crumbed blue cod came with chips cooked in beef dripping, a side of tangy coleslaw, one slice of beetroot and a wedge of tomato. Utter perfection! It’s worth travelling to Dunedin just to have lunch at the Best Café. Thanks for the hospitality and the gorgeous weather, Dunedin – I’ll be back next year.