Dunners… Dunedin… Otago

Such hip folk Dunedin has! I sat in a coffee shop sipping on a long black enjoying the people watching that the Octagon area had to offer, before I decided to set off for the Otago Museum on Great King Street. The Otago Museum was incredibly well done. There was a bone and taxidermy section from the original museum built at the turn of the 19^th century. Obviously I enjoyed it immensely!

 

Up the museum stairwells, artifacts belonging to Sir Edmund Hillary, famous New Zealand mountaineer. He was the first to summit Mt. Everest and founded a trust that created schools in the Himalayan region. His mug that was utilized during his first summit was on display along with his final passport.

There was also a section on Maori history where the most bizarre séance-y thing was commencing. It was some sort of exchange between Chinese transplants in Dunedin and the local New Zealanders; upon further research I discovered that the Chinese have a long history in the Otago region as many came during the gold rush in the 1860s.

 

There was a history of the landscape, both land and sea, going back to the time of the dinosaurs. There were some moa fossils and reconstructions, both the giant moa [as its name indicates, it was HUGE] and the heavy-footed moa [which had extremely thick and sturdy leg bones]. A fully articulated leopard seal was on display next to its “taxidermied” pelt. Apparently she had died due to pneumonia, which was further exacerbated by her infected teeth that prevented her from feeding and receiving proper nutrition.  In total, I spent about three hours in the museum.

Then I toured around the University of Otago, making a quick detour to the Medical School. Apparently, family members were discussing this possibility, but I do not think I will be making a grand move to Dunedin for medical school, although I very much enjoyed the area. The idea of putting of school another year and taking another exam [the UMAT] simply does not appeal to me!

I decided to finish off my day with a Speight Brewery tour. A charming old Kiwi gentleman led the tour where we were able to see the original equipment that brewed Speight’s beer from the late 1800s all the way until 2013. Apparently the wife of the founder, James Speight, was a member of the temperance movement in Otago. Coincidence? He died in his 50s due to, yup you guessed it, sclerosis of the liver. He obviously enjoyed his product a little too much. Also, everyone seemed to find the smell of hops immensely displeasing, whereas I quite enjoyed it. Not that I want to wear it as a perfume or anything. Thankfully the tour ended with a tasting, and my dear old Kiwi chap was quite generous with the pourings! Although, he was quite emphatic about his preference for light beers over dark beers, and in mass quantities! He seemed quite tickled that such a young lady enjoyed her dark beer so much!

Then, the hunger set in, so I wandered back into the Octagon and a sign in the distance caught my attention, “Best Café”. Now, I had heard that this place had legendary fish and chips, so I decided it was a sign that I was meant to have some blue codfish with some delightfully salty chips. A fine way to finish of my Dunedin Day!

Meeting the Fam Day… to Arrowtown!

I started my day going for a run along Lake Wakatipu through a cute park and then up the Fernhill trail. The view was absolutely stunning regardless of the fact that it was a smidgeon overcast. I then head down the hill to run back to the hostel, making a detour into the Queenstown Gardens, running out on the peninsula next to the lake. I had to immediately stop and take photos, when I realized that the little pond in the gardens had water lilies. Unfortunately, it is heading into fall, so the lilies were not in bloom, but lily pads are still cool, so there! During winter time there is an ice skating rink in the gardens, so I immediately made the decision to come back to Queenstown in the winter to experience the region in all its wintry glory!

I hung out with the Haka Lodge staff, but most importantly I got lunch at Bob’s Weight with George [the hostel manager]. Mad Mary [one of the owners] asked George if I was his new “special lady”, and proceeded to harangue him for a bit. But, apparently this mild harassment is nothing in compared to what she is capable of. George told me a story of how a fellow once came in to order takeway for two, and Mary inquired if the extra food was a for a “special lady” who was still in his bed. And then, in full hearing of everyone in the small café, queried if he had “wrapped it” and then the position they had utilized. Apparently the guy, a local expat, turned tomato red, and before he could respond, she congratulated him a wonderful and successful night. Basically, I got off easy from Crazy Mary! But, she is one of the drawing factors of the café despite the food, which was AMAZING although gut-busting!

My Aunt Carole picked me up around 2pm to drive me Arrowtown, a mere 15-20minutes drive from Queenstown. We wandered around Arrowtown’s little downtown area, a cute lively spot! We stopped by Carole’s store and I met her business partner. Arrowtown is positively beautiful, nestled amongst the green hills. You can see Coronet Mountain, one of the major ski lodges in the area, from Carole and Gavin’s home [which is gorgeous, might I add, with windows to the floor]. You can see people paragliding from the top of the Coronet Peak in the distance!

Dinner rolled around [Gavin prepared the most delicious dal, with coriander/cilantro on the side for Ray] and the family started showing up. I heard many delightful stories about Auntie Marge [that’s my Nan] and heard hilarious stories about the Collett Diaspora. Copious quantities of red wine were consumed with merry company. Carole made an incredible poppy seed cake with orange glaze, and apparently one of the ingredients cannot be purchased in NZ, so Aunt Vivi brings it over with her! It was awesome to meet family, and I can tell Carole is doing her DARNDEST to get me to move… we will see how successful she is in the end! Due to the fact, that I have extended my trip, I think she is doing fairly successfully!

Dart River Adventures

Glenorchy, population 341, home of farmland and super close to the entrance of the Mount Aspiring National Park, aka gorgeous-ness! We ended up taking a bus over bumpy az roads to get into the national park, crossing the Arcadia Farm, which had been established prior to the formation of the national park. The owners of this farm make BOATLOADS of cashing by leasing out their property for $800 per day to film crews for movies and advertisements. LOTR, the X-Men/Wolverine franchise, and Milka Chocolate all have spent money to have Mt. Alfred and Mt. Earnslaw be in their film rolls. We learned about the local flora [matagouri tree needles were traditionally used for Maori tattoos] and we tasted the “pepper plant”. The scenery was drop-dead gorgeous [see photos, my words will not do it just, and frankly the photos do not even do it justice].

The sandflies were BLOODY AWFUL in the national park. Despite putting layers of insect repellent on, I still got bitten. I bonded with several other trampers [NZ for hikers] about our hatred for sandflies; apparently only the female of the species bites, and she needs a blood meal before she is able to lay her eggs. I met the most adorable couple from Manchester [English husband, a retired cardiologist, and Irish wife, a career-long nurse] who asked me all about my future plans for medical school. We discussed all the vaccine controversies [deciding that people who did not vaccinate are idiots] and they explained why younger people are actually more susceptible to altitude sickness [the older you get, the thicker your blood vessel walls are, which means less blood leakage].

The jet boat down the Dart River was exhilarating, although probably less adrenaline-pumping than other jet boat experiences. However, the scenery definitely made up for it. Plus, I am 90% sure that this is where the Fellowship of the Ring canoed down the river after finding their way to Galadriel and the Lothlorian, which I am so stoked about! Plus, I saw the Pass of Caradhras [where Saruman sends all sorts of enchantments to prevent the Fellowship from crossing, forcing them into the Mines of Moria]. Granted there was no snow, but still, PRETTY COOL! This was all in addition to traveling at speeds up to 95km/hr next to rock walls and doing 360 degree turns!

I got home in time for dinner, completely exhilarated by my day!

above/below are both Queenstown (not Glenorchy) at sunset

Queenstown Arrival

I continued my trend of chatting with my seat-mate on flights, and I was lucky enough to be next to a Queenstown native who advised me to skip the super obvious jet-boating and try one on the Dart River. Two short hours later I was on the Interconnect bus to the Queenstown City Centre where I easily located my hostel, but as it was only 9am in the morning, I was unable to check in.

 

I felt pretty tired and a little overwhelmed because I have not been alone in weeks, so I decided a long black coffee and a B&E [bacon and egg] pie would make me feel better. [I also accidentally stole a mocha thinking it was my order, so there was also that!]

I decided to do the Skyline Gondola and snap some good picks of the mountains and Lake Wakatipu. Stunning… see photos.

Now, no trip to NZ is complete without seeing a kiwi, even if it is not a kiwi in the wild, so I decided to head to the Kiwi Bird Preservation area to see some NZ flora and fauna. Kiwis are nocturnal birds and they are not a huge fan of noise, so I decided to poke my head in the Kiwi House before the feeding. And LO AND BEHOLD there was a KIWI! They are such tubby, waddley little things. [During the kiwi feeding there were some obnoxious children that were super loud and scared the kiwis away.] Right behind the Kiwi hut, there is a baby tuatara viewing area! It was so cool; they were SO CUTE! I was able to see the big daddy Tuatara when one of the ladies who worked at the conservation park pulled him out of his den. The weka was an intelligent bird that took apart its own enclosure to make its nest and the NZ falcon was absolutely gorgeous!

Finished off my day with a Fergburger [waited in line for 20 minutes to order and then another 25 to actually get my order] with my German roommate. We met a lovely Swiss couple in line who struggled intensely to pick a burger. I decided on the Sweet Bambi: a venison burger with Thai plum sauce, tomatoes, aioli, and lettuce. Oh, and the burger was as big as my face… and I ate all of it!

A nice walk around the lake and a visit to the Piano Man rounded out my evening! Absolutely delightful!