Robert (New Zealand) - The Blessings of Our Fathers

The trip down to Dunedin and the Catlins was cold, but good. We made our way south slowly, stopping at various boulder fields, and eating lunch at a nice seafood place which was a bit more expensive than we had bargained for. Near Dunedin we hit a rain storm which turned to sleet then snow, unfortunately the snow had stopped by the time we got to the city. In Dunedin we stayed at a backpacker hostel just south of the city center for the first couple days. The place was cool and drafty and laid out in a kind of awkward way, but it was cheap and had free internet. On my birthday Susan and I got up early and bought breakfast pastries at a bakery. We spent the day driving and walking around the Otago Peninsula. We tried to get in to New Zealand's only castle, but they charged $10 just to go to a place where you could see it. Being touristy with no money is a sad sad thing. We did get to see some amazing skies though. Dinner was at a little hole-in-the-wall place, and then out for a few pints at the bars.

We drove two hours south the next day to spend a night in The Catlins, a coastal region on the south of the South Island. We set up in a remote campsite, visited a few waterfalls, and made toasted tuna and cheese sandwiches as the sun set. It was a cold night so we huddled in the tent, drinking wine, talking about how we admired our parents, and having dance parties to keep warm. The stars were amazing though. The Milky Way stretched from one horizon to the other.

In the morning we hurried back to Dunedin so Bryan, Susan, and Liz could go an a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate factory and I could start hitching back to Christchurch. Sunrise over the frost and mist covered hills was beautiful. The others dropped me off on the side of the highway north of Dunedin and we said our goodbyes. Hitching was far more successful this time around than when I tried in Manapouri. Busy highway+backpack+"ChCh" sign=much better situation. I got picked up within two minutes of being dropped off by a great Scottish immigrant not much older than me who was great conversation and gave me a tour of Omaru before dropping me off to visit his parents in town. I then got picked up by a CRAZY woman who ranted to me for an hour about various conspiracy theories including the New Zealand Department of Conservation poisoning people, Marijuana casing paranoid schizophrenia, and 7/11 (I believe she meant 9/11) being a US government action. After she dropped me off in Timaru I caught a ride the rest of the way with a gangster/bro looking fellow. We didn't really talk much, just sat in awkward silence listening to Eminem and bad rock music for an hour and a half.

Back in Christchurch I crashed on Sophie's floor for a night and watched Howel's Moving Castle and Run Fatboy Run. In the morning I went to pick up my father from the airport. We spent the morning walking around the hills on the coast east of Christchurch. In the afternoon he met with Jay to start getting his feet on the ground for next year's New Zealand program. Dinner was at a nice pizza place called "The Ruptured Duck" with the program leaders and their kids.

My father and I then started making our way up north. We stayed two nights in Kaikoura, ate good Thai food, went on Albatross Encounter, and visited the seal colony. Albatross Encounter is run by the same people who did the swimming with dolphins tours. On the albatross trip they take you out in a small boat and chum the water. Wandering albatross will come up and land in the water just a few feet away from you. Very cool experience. We got up early in the dark and drove up to Picton to catch the Interislander ferry up to Wellington. The highway runs along the coast and sunrise over the ocean was amazing.

Right now we're in Wellington, staying in the same hostel the group stayed in when we were here, just a couple doors down from our old rooms actually (it's a really big hostel). Wellington is actually a really nice city. I wish the program had been able to spend more time here. It's been strange sort of retracing the programs travels backwards as we head back up to Auckland for me to fly back to the states. It's kind of a nice way to end my time here. Tomorrow we keep heading north. We have two days to get to Auckland for my flight. We haven't really decided what we'll do or where we'll go on the way yet. It will be nice to wander.

I guess this is my last post from New Zealand. I hope the rest of you are having pleasant ends to your programs as well.

Slan


Things I have been appreciating:
-Bryan beat-boxing in time with Liz's snoring.
-Watching waves roll in when the surf is rough.
-Snow on the mountains.
-Arden (just turned two) who Liz always said acts like she's drunk, sitting at the bar at The Ruptured Duck.
-Sunrises.
-The nightly routine my father and I have developed of having a nice meal out and then going to a bar for a pint.
-Leaving a cool experience and still looking forward to what's ahead.