The World's Steepest Street

Like I mentioned in my previous post, our limited useful exploring time between naps combined with the constricted timetable we had for New Zealand as a whole meant that we didn't really have a whole lot of time to muck around while we were in Dunedin.

That said, I knew we couldn't leave my old home town without at least seeing one of the best tourist attractions in the country - particularly one designed in such a way that you can simply roll past it without making it an 'event' or even getting out of the car...

I know what you're thinking and you're exactly right. This tourist caper is exhausting!

OK, so I admit. We didn't go on the Monarch. We didn't visit the Albatross Colony, and we didn't see any Yellow Eyed Penguins - but I did turn left instead of right off the one way system to show Michelle Baldwin Street again, (on the way back to Mum's place for lunch of course).

So what is Baldwin Street you ask? Well, nothing really... unless you consider the fact that Baldwin Street is;

THE STEEPEST STREET IN THE WORLD!!!

That's right. You won't find one any steeper. I won't go on for fear of boring even myself, but for the Canadian's among; you this might be somewhat interesting, (for Kiwi's like me; I'd rather memorize the contents of a Jimmy's Mutton Pie). 


Alright, here. I'll save my breath and present you with what Wikipedia says about it all:

Baldwin Street in a suburban part of New Zealand's southern city of Dunedin, is considered the world's steepest residential street.^[1] It is located in the suburb of North East Valley, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) northeast of Dunedin's city centre.

A short straight street a little under 350 metres (1,150 ft) long, Baldwin Street runs east from the valley of the Lindsay Creek up the side of Signal Hill towards Opoho, rising from 30 m (98 ft) above sea level at its junction with North Road to 100 m (330 ft) above sea level at the top,^[2] an average slope of slightly more than 1:5. Its lower reaches are only moderately steep, and the surface is asphalt, but the upper reaches of this cul-de-sac are far steeper, and surfaced in concrete (200 m (660 ft) long), for ease of maintenance (bitumen—in either chip seal or asphalt—would flow down the slope on a warm day) and for safety in Dunedin's frosty winters. 

At its maximum, the slope of Baldwin Street is about 1:2.86 (19° or 35%). That is, for every 2.86 metres travelled horizontally, the elevation changes by 1 metre.

Wow! See what I mean. It's exciting. Actually, I think we should plan our next trip to include the annual JAFA Race!!!