Starting the South Island - Dunedin

Picking me up from the airport, I met my friend David, a friendly British guy that I had met in Chile about four years ago and kept in touch with via email and soccer stories. He ended up meeting a girl from New Zealand that was living at the time in the UK, so he followed her down to Dunedin, where he's been for maybe about a year now. I'm not good with details. I do know that they are getting married at an amazing castle overlooking the bay and the beautiful green hills of the Otago peninsula - I think on January 3 of this upcoming year. David and Rachel were incredibly accommodating, providing me with a place to stay for a while, meanwhile making my plans and preparing a few things for the South Island. So, we met up for a long overdue drink and dinner, picking up Rachel along the way for another good meal of Indian food. A few days later, David even invited me to come along with his soccer/football (depends on which team member you ask) team for a road trip to one of their games an hour South of town. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to come along, and it was the kind of trip that brings to mind the old college roads trips, with the guys talking about girls, drinking, fighting and all that macho stuff while I sat back and enjoyed. When we arrived, the second team even needed a player, so I had my stuff ready and suited up, thanks to some extra gear that David provided me. Our game ended up in a 0-0 tie, with a few close chances, but I was never able to pull out a goal for us, though I was playing defense most of the game. Excuses, excuses - I still should have scored one. On the adjacent field, David and the team were in a close match that had caused a lot of trepidation and fright among some of the players, as they were matched up with a team two divisions ahead of them for what looked like it might be a beating. On the way down, we also heard that the team was a bunch of big rugby players, prone to fighting and other things, so that didn't help the impressions. Amazingly, David minded the nets, held the opponents to two goals, and they were able to pull out a last minute winner to prevail 3-2. Well done.

After the game, the mixed group of Scots, Kiwis, a few Brits and two Americans headed for the clubhouse where beer quickly flowed. Pints of empty bottles soon scattered the tables, and then the coach of the other team got up, made a speech about the game, thanked us for coming, named players of the game, then treated us to a nice little feast of finger foods, pizza, fried bits of goodness and more. I was amazed and delighted by the hospitality after the match, and the road trip was a great experience. Little did I know that it wasn't over. Before even leaving town, the 10 person bus stopped at the supermarket where we picked up a few cases of beer for the road. Everyone, except the driver of course, had a beer in hand as we departed the town, and the players didn't seem to stop the whole way home. If that weren't enough, about halfway back to Dunedin, we stopped at a tiny pub along the road for a few pitchers before trying to anger the locals with some cheesy music and then receiving a few parting words as we walked out the door. Next, we went to another player's house for his birthday party with some great BBQ food and more drinks. A few of the players were getting a little drunk by this point and feeling some effects of the sun from the game, though they ridiculed me and David for putting on sunscreen beforehand. True Southern Men don't do that kind of stuff, but that's alright...we're not from there. One of the more drunken players had some strange fascination with the American drinking game Quarters, so I had to teach him that, though there's not really much to it. Following all of this, most of the team went downtown for more drinks and partying, though I was tired and ready to head back, so I stopped by and jumped in bed while they continued to celebrate St. Patrick's Day until about 3 am that next morning.

Other than the match, I mostly just relaxed and enjoyed feeling like I was back home again. I can't thank David and Rachel enough for this great time that they invited me into their home. I wasted a few days relaxing, not having to worry about where to go and what to do every day, watching soccer on tv, using the internet without being timed, etc. It was a much appreciated break, and I really had a hard time getting myself on the road again. Speaking of the road, I had mentioned getting a campervan as a way to travel the country earlier, and it turned out that David was selling his, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to buy one that I knew (or hope) would be reliable and serviced. It's nothing spectacular to look at, but it's nice and simple and well-maintained - a 1989 Toyota van that used to be one of those ten passenger vans before the former owner ripped out all but the front seats and put a wooden stand with a mattress and mini table in the back, along with some privacy curtains (that don't quite cover the whole window, so I hope people don't mind the sight of my feet), with only about 65,000 miles on it and including cookware, a gas cooker, chilly bin (ice chest/cooler), sheets, etc. Once I leave Dunedin, this will be my mode of transport and lodging for most of the next month, and I'll take it across the ferry to the North Island, where I'll hopefully be able to sell it. A lot of people recommend this as a great way to see the country, and it's supposed to be fairly easy to sell at the end. Waiting until the last minute, as I always do, I had to rush around town to take care of a few things such as insurance and trying to get money to pay David on the last day, but it wasn't too bad, as David and Rachel had done much of the legwork for me.

In addition, after work, David took me around to a few of the local attractions including the University of 20,000 students, the world's steepest street and parts of the surrounding Otago peninsula. One night, we walked down the steep sand dunes for about 30 minutes to Sandfly Bay, one of the few places in the world to see yellow-eyed penguins. David had been there a few times before, and as we waited in the cold, windy booth that keep the penguins from being scared away by people, he recounted the other times of seeing numbers of penguins come surfing in and hopping their way along the shore and up the hills to their nests, though the ones that came out that day were scarce. In fact, we only saw two of them that had already made their way halfway up the hill and seemed to be staying there for the night. We also saw a few sea lions, one of which was sleeping on the beach, and it was a fun experience, though the quantity of wildlife left a bit to be desired. We also visited Tunnel Beach, a rocky area full of grasslands and cliffs where a wealthy landowner actually carved a huge tunnel through the cliffs down to the water to give beach access to his daughter. The beach wasn't all that big or impressive, but the cliffs certainly were worth the walk.

Once again, thank you to David and Rachel for being so nice and providing me with a place to stay and food and everything else. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

(Sandfly Bay, in search of yellow-eyed penguins and sea lions)

(The sleeping sea lion awoke for a few seconds, took a look around, then resumed looking much like a log laying on the beach)


(Walking down to Tunnel Beach, looking a little like England)

(Sitting, no longer walking, at the lookout above Tunnel Beach)

(The South side of Dunedin and the Pacific)

(The steepest street in the world - Baldwin Street)

(A nice, old looking building at the University)

(My campervan - transport and accommodation for the next month or so)