Do you know the movie Charlie and the chocolate factory? Based on Royald Dahl’s tale. Originally filmed in 70s and re-created by Tim Button. Why do I suddenly talk about a movie in the travel blog? Well, did you ever want to know, if the factory is real? I certainly did. I found quite the perfect version of Willy Wonka’s factory in Dunedin New Zealand.
I chose to stay in Dunedin because it is the city of education. But I was also very curious about the chocolate factory tour. You can reserve the tour at the information center. If you are a student and have an ‘international student’s ID’ then you can get a discount...
I was walking down the street to the factory, and when I turned around the corner I saw purple flags with chocolate on it. It feels quite magical. Just like the magic castle, believe it or not. From the lounge they did a wonderful job. They get you interested about chocolate and about the making process. Doll elfs are there! Like Oompa-Loompas in the movie. Take some time in the rounge and shop. There’s so much to see...
A tour group is about 10 people. After a brief orientation, the tour begins. An amazing thing is, they give a bag of chocolate to visitors. Different kind of chocolates for everyone. So you can learn, see and taste all the things at the same time.
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The whole factory is filled with information about chocolates, obviously. The procedure of chocolate making, where the ingredients come from, machines they use, storage room and everything. And the smell! Amazing.. However You can’t take pictures of the inside of the factory. Just the lounge and the shops are allowed to photograph.
It’s a tip maybe just for me, because I’ve never been to a chocolate factory and I quite didn’t like chocolate before. So when I first entered this place I just couldn’t believe what I saw. There’s just so many different chocolates with every taste in many shapes.
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At the end of the tour, we experienced an extra ordinary thing. Do you remember what Willy Wonka said in the movie, the waterfall is the most important part of the factory, because it mixes ingredients together and makes chocolate fluffy? We got to see the fall in here as well. Not the actual river and Grand Canyon-ly fall. They made this chocolate-fall for visitors like us. It happens in a really short period. Worth it!
Fun fact: In the storage room, for all the chocolate, the cooling device for air conditioning is never used. It’s not they are saving money. It’s because they don’t need it. The huge roof works as a cooling device and brings in the room a perfect atmosphere. Thermodynamics and fluid dynamics are applied here. (well, what doesn’t?) Altogether, Dunedin has the perfect atmosphere for making chocolate, they said. So the founder of this factory choses Dunedin. Therefore they don’t need to do any special measure to store. Isn’t it amazing?
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I bought a chocolate flavor pen, a chocolate flavor fridge magnet and a BUNCH of chocolates in the factory shop. The best one is “Daily milk Desserts-Lemon Cheese cake”. Chocolate with cake in it! Chocolate flavor pen is quite magical. Makes me want to taste more. 🙂.
Try it when you visit Dunedin, New Zealand.
