I just left Dunedin yesterday and I had a blast there. When I arrived Ashleigh had to take an exam that afternoon, so we went into town for lunch, then she went back to study while I explored some more. When I returned to her house she was still studying so I relaxed and soon she went to take her test. After dinner we went out to this great lookout area and I could see all of Dunedin including all of the stars. It was a great way to end the evening. The next morning we decided that we wanted to go out for the day and we planned a trip to the CADBURY FACTORY! It was Halloween that day and it was really fun to get to the factory because every time we stopped I got to fill my bag with more candy, trick or treat style! That night was Halloween so we went shopping for costumes after we returned and we both pulled together some great things. Going into the $2 store was our best bet, so we headed off in that direction and I bought an apron and Ashleigh got a construction neon yellow vest. We went to the toy store next where we found a tool belt for Ashleigh and a spatula for me. The costumes were almost complete and once we added the final touches of a workers helmet from the attic and a hair net from the Cadbury tour we were ready to go.
After the wonderfully yummy smelling factory and costume shopping, we went over to Baldwin street, which is the steepest street in the world! I climbed up the stairs along the side of the road and man was it steep! It was not any steeper than most stairs cases in Wellington, but for a road it was incredible. After walking down the hill again we got to the bottom and Ash pointed out that there were certificates that you could buy saying that you walked up Baldwin street, which I thought was ridiculously funny. (There were many azn's doing solo-peace-sign-pictures and I am sure that they bought certificates because that's that they do.) Walking back was great, but long, as we walked through the botanical gardens and covered what felt like half of the city. We then ate dinner and started to dress up! We went first to a party at a near by flat where we found the news 4 anchor team (from Anchorman) including Veronica, an ewok (or however you spell it), Alice from Wonderland, Ace Ventura and several other colorful characters. It was a great time meeting everyone and one guy's mother was there as well. She was dressed up as an "Ice Queen" which consisted of her in a skirt and top wearing a tin foil crown and wand. I ended up meeting someone from my school who I had only known by reputation, which was hysterical, and we were soon off to Mars Bar to play laser tag and mini golf. On the way to the bar we encountered a group of Kiwi's and they dumped beer on Noah. He was extremely drunk so he reciprocated by going to punch the kid, which started a whole street brawl. This was a little tricky to break up since most of the party was wasted and the few who weren't were female, but after about 20 minutes of talking we dragged the boys away and off to the bar we were. The laser tag was great fun, it was two stories, and mini golf was a good time as well. I saw a few people that I had met during orientation, but soon Ashleigh and I were getting sleepy and the crowd was moving on to the next party, so we split off.
On my final day in Dunedin I was alone since Ashleigh had to catch a flight and left at 11:30 am. I decided to take the bus out to the peninsula since I was told that there was a penguin and albatross colony there. I soon realized that the bus didn't go out far enough and that it would have been an extra 11 km to get to see anything but some random birds. So I sat on a bench for an hour then took the bus back again. This worked out alright, but I was quite disappointed that even the closest thing, the Aquarium, was 2 km away. None the less it was pretty and I got to take a few pictures of the area. I was soon back in Dunedin and needed to get my own shuttle. Overall it was a great Halloween weekend! I loved Dunedin and I am very glad that I had a tour guide to show me about!
I am now at my new home for the week the Olsen's. I am wwoofing with them in the Catlins, which is a beautiful area. I am not sure what all I will be doing for work, but I am sure that it will involve the garden. They have a lovely small home which reminds me of my camp out on Lake Winnipesaukee, I am staying in their son's old bedroom and I have a great lookout over the ocean. They are close to the ocean and behind the house on the other side are tons of trails going into the rain forest. I can not wait to explore the area with their help. Last night I met Mable, who is their 91 year old neighbor which they watch Midsomer Murder with every Saturday night. We had a delicious vegetarian meal of spinach, potatoes, chick peas and a bunch of flavouring. I will have to get used to not eating meat, but I do not think that will be very difficult, especially for just one week. I have to get going to work now, but will soon have many more stories to tell I am sure!
No comments:
Post a Comment