Dunun Dunun Dunedin

The past 3 days have gone by in a flash! I don’t know how I’m going to top my adrenaline day post but give me time…we haven’t made it to Australia yet!

Wednesday, June 17 was a traveling day for us, getting on the bus around 7:45 a.m. and heading for Dunedin. I honestly was sad to leave Queenstown and the excitement that came with that city – it was definitely my favorite city of New Zealand. Nevertheless we boarded our bus, only to find out that this would be out second bus ride without heat. Why do we get so lucky?? Fortunately, this bus ride wasn’t an all-dayer like what we’re use to and by 12:30 p.m. we were rolling into Dunedin: our last stop in New Zealand.

Dunedin is actually one of the bigger cities on the southern island, as it is home to the University of Otago. The city has what they call the “Octagon” which is just as it sounds, a street in the shape of an octagon, lined with stores and restaurants. It is also home to the famous Cadbury factory – that’s right, home of the famous Cadbury eggs you get for Easter each year. Something that I found extremely interesting and vowed to walk up was that Dunedin is home to the steepest street in the world!

Thursday morning was a day of recovery. Recovery from our adventures in Queenstown, recovery from the bus ride, and recovery from going, going, going 24/7. A lot of us slept in and about mid-morning Amy, Emily, Liz, and I ventured out in search of a bakery our hostel host had told us all about. Man was it delicious! The thickest donut I’ve ever ate with melted chocolate chips on top and then a blueberry muffin with blueberry filling in the bottom. Best $5.50 I’ve spent here.

Around 1 p.m. we all boarded a bus to our first and only required excursion in Dunedin: the Elm Wildlife Tours. With the rain just beginning and the wind from the sea blowing at full force, it made for a very cold afternoon. We first visited the Royal Albatross Center where we were able to see not 1 but 3 Albatross flying. Looking like an oversized Seagull with a wingspan of, on average, 3 meters, what’s so unique about this bird is that it uses the wind to fly. With no flapping motion, it will glide across strong winds to go find food for it’s babies. Taking a full year to have a baby (including finding it’s mate, nesting, laying the egg, hatching, and taking care of the baby) this bird has an average of 1 egg every 3 years. Apparently we were extremely lucky with our viewing, seeing as though our guide said that often times the group will stand there for 45 minutes and be lucky if they see 1 bird fly for 10 seconds.

Our next stop was to see the New Zealand Fur Seal. Huddled up against the side of the cliff due to the crashing waves of the sea, these little bundles of fur were adorable. We learned that when each mother seal is pregnant, she will have her baby and just 8 days later will mate and become pregnant again. She will nurse her first baby for about 8 months, take a month off, and then have her next baby and begin the cycle over again. Moral of the story, it’s rough being a mother fur seal.

Our last stop was the beach area where we found Hooker Sealions and Yellow-Eyed Penguins. What was so awesome, despite the cold and not being able to feel our toes or fingers, was that we were able to get up close and personal with these animals in their natural habitat. We were literally meters away from the sea lions as they frolicked and played with one another on the beach. We had a penguin walk right in front of us while making our way down the beach. We had sheep still up on the hill side, right next to the penguins and sea lions. It was crazy to think we were in the middle of all of this nature and the animals didn’t pay us a bit of attention.

As the sun began to go down, we started our journey back up the massive hill. What I forgot to mention was that this excursion was not only one filled of nature, but one filled of exercise! To see the seals we ventured down a very steep hill, only to climb back up it to the bus. Being at the top of the hill gave us a beautiful view of the water and the beach, however to get to beach, penguins, and sea lions, we had to ventured down an even bigger, steeper hill and, you guessed it, climb it once we were ready to leave. On the way back up the last hill, I was not only ready to get to warmth, but I was tired of going slow, therefore I ran/jogged up the remainder of it. Definitely my workout for the day as my lungs were burning with fresh, cold air, and my legs were burning from the incline. Totally worth it though seeing as though it probably burned off that delicious donut and muffin I ate that morning!

To end our night, we had pies for dinner. Contrary to what you’re probably thinking, these were no fruit pies but rather mini pies filled with meat, cheese, and veggies; a popular food choice in New Zealand. We did end with our choice of chocolate cake or apple pie. We all ventured back to our 2 rooms we were separated in between and A.J. and Leigh came into each room to talk about the trip thus far. We had a heart to heart, talking about anything and everything and a lot of things were put into perspective that night.

At one of our first meetings for this trip, A.J. and Leigh talked of the most rewarding things one could obtain from this trip. They said some people will go through each excursion and be in the moment the whole trip, however when it comes to an end, they’ll remember how fun everything is but then go back to their normal lives, unchanged. On the opposite end of the spectrum, they mentioned how some will have that “Ah” moment where everything clicks and they finally get out of their own box/head and step into someone else’s world – see someone else’s perspective of life. Being in this beautiful country and around things that are different from what I’m use to has definitely been an eye opener, however what’s really hit home is being around these 9 girls and getting to know each of them in their unique, own way.

Our last day in Dunedin was spent exploring the city. We began our morning by taking Leigh, A.J., and the rest of the remainder of the girls back to the amazing bakery we had found the morning before. We came back to the hostel and had our traditional family breakfast together and then around noon, Liz and I went out, in search of the “World Steepest Street”. After trying to read the map and walking for about 2 1/2 miles, we finally found Baldwin Street and man were they not kidding. We began our hike up, laughing and carrying on. As we continued, the sweat began to come and the glutes began to feel the burn. As we neared the finish line, just meters from the top, I fell to my knees and began to crawl, telling myself I was NOT giving up! Finally, victory was ours and we reached the top of the mountain!!

Okay so a little to a lot of that might have been exaggerated just a bit. In fact, once we reached the top, I couldn’t stop and kept going.

We caught our breathes while sitting on a bench with a, as the kiwis say, “Sweet as” mural on it. The view from the top was nothing short of amazing and made the hike that much more worth it.

We made our way back down the street, literally having to lean back to keep our balance, and we picked up our certificates to prove our accomplishment. We headed back to the hostel and picked up Erika to go have a late lunch. Having various restaurants to choose from on the Octagon, we decided on Mac’s Brewbar and I had some delicious beer-battered onion rings.

Our last stop was the famous Cadbury factory. Due to cleaning this time of year we were unable to tour the factory, but don’t worry, I got plenty of goodies to bring back.

For supper, we had Pita Pit, a pita chain thats very popular in NZ and for dessert we had Tip Tip ice-cream – another fan favorite amongst the kiwis. We ended our night by doing laundry, packing, and weighing our suitcases to make sure we could board the plane tomorrow. It’s hard to believe that next time I post, it’ll be from Australia!

Much Love,

Kaitlyn