The Bog and beyond

It was absolutely lovely having my parents in New Zealand for a little visit. They began their trip in Auckland, then flew down to Dunedin on Thursday, March 17, which happened to be St. Patty's Day. The plan was that I would go to my classes on Thursday then meet up with them in the afternoon. However, I began the day by dressing in shamrocks and heading to an Irish pub, The Bog, with my flatmates for breakfast and beer. As we were preparing to leave The Bog, however, I walked right into my parents as they were coming in! It was only about 11 am, but they too were in search of a beer and some breakfast, and they happened to choose the right place to go. My flatmates and I ended up staying and having another drink and basking in all of the drunk and green-clad people in the bar. Needless to say, it was a fantastic first encounter with them.

After leaving The Bog, my Kiwi host convinced me to skip all of my classes and spend time with my parents since we had a limited time together. So I did exactly that, and took them on a short trip to some of the noteworthy sites in Dunedin. First we went to Tunnel Beach, where the intense waves on the peninsula have eroded the sandstone to form large and picturesque tunnels. I also took them to Baldwin Street, and then we went to St. Clair Beach for dinner.

On Friday we headed to Queenstown, where we spent two nights, enjoyed some delicious meals, and even rode a gondola up to the top of a tall hill where the view was spectacular. As we were about to leave to go back down, my dad and I decided that we had to do the luge ride, which is similar to a go-cart track that goes about 800 meters downhill. Quite a silly little ride, but well worth it. We met up with my flatmate Sam and her parents for dinner at the Speight's Ale House, as they happened to be in Queenstown for the weekend too. Good food and great company, and a perfect end to our time in Queenstown.

On Sunday we headed out to Milford Sound for a cruise, which was absolutely beautiful. I've heard that Milford is typically quite rainy, but we lucked out and had a beautiful clear day. We then drove back to Te Anau for the night, which was a sleepy little town, but perfect for the time we spent there.

We got back into Dunedin yesterday, and my parents came over to dinner at my flat. My Kiwi host Abby had cooked some Silverside meat that her parents had given her, and we had roasted veggies, salad, and wine. It was a perfectly relaxed dinner, and it provided an opportunity for my parents to get to know my flatmates and friends better. It was the perfect end to our great weekend together.

I have my first assignments due this week, so time to get back into the student mindset. It was great to get away from Dunedin for a few days and explore other parts of the South Island with my parents, but I'm also glad to be back in my little flat!

Boulders & Beaches

I've loved exploring Dunedin, but there are loads of places nearby that I want to explore as well. Last Friday, my flatmate Sam and a couple other friends and I rented a car and drove to the Moeraki Boulders, which are about an hour drive away from Dunedin. We picked up a rental car and headed out at about 11 am, and stopped in a little town for breakfast/lunch/a break. It was a rainy day, but once we got to the boulders it was totally worth it. The beach was beautiful and the boulders are really cool. They were a lot smaller than I thought, but it's crazy because apparently they're a geologic mystery.  My Kiwi host thinks they look like dinosaur poop, but I think they look more like giant eggs. We decided to stop at the Evansdale Cheese Factory on the way home, and got to sample some deliciously fresh cheese. Overall, it was a nice little day trip, and a good way to escape Dunedin for a few hours.

On Saturday morning, I went to the Otago Farmer's Market at the train station. There were tons of booths with fresh fruit, baked goods, and other good things. I bought some nectarines, pears, and blackberries, along with a chocolate croissant. Delicious.

Yesterday (Sunday) Abby, Sam and I went out to St. Clair beach and we all got burgers at a local cafe before lounging on the beach. It was a beautiful day, and nice to relax in the sun. After heading back and sitting in the sun for awhile longer, Abby and I decided it was too hot, and that the best solution was to go for a swim in the freezing cold water at St. Clair. We drove back and jumped into the chilly salty water, and then dried off on the beach. So cold but absolutely necessary!

My parents made it to Auckland, and will be flying into Dunedin on Thursday morning! I'm looking forward to driving to Queenstown and Milford Sound with them this weekend!

First week & failed camping

The first week of classes went quite smoothly. After going to my sociology class and finding out that it was virtually the same class as one that I took last semester at Whitman, I decided to drop it and find another class. So now I'm taking a class called Introduction to Visual Culture, which is a bit less applicable to my major but undoubtedly more worth my time. I'm also taking a class called Maori Society, which has 250+ people in it. Only a slight adjustment from Whitman classes! I'm also taking a really bland history class called History of Australia and New Zealand. The professor basically reads his lectures from a piece of paper and only looks up occasionally. Ah well, hopefully I'll get something out of it.

My flatmates Sam, Rina, Michael and I were planning on going tramping (hiking) and camping on Friday night on a trail about 10 minutes away from our flat. We loaded up all of our gear into big hiking backpacks, strapped a tent onto my pack, and headed out. We got dropped off at the trail head around 6:45 pm and found out that camping was prohibited on the trail, but decided to try it out anyway. The trail was called Flagstaff Track, and wasn't too much of a hike, but more of a stroll up a gravel path. It was super windy, and when we got to the summit we were unsure of where to go to try to camp, so we kept walking for 20 minutes more before deciding to head home instead. We got picked up at around 8 pm, just before the sun set, and returned to our flat. Failure of a camping trip, but it was a funny little adventure.