so, spent the first night in NZ in jail..

i'm not joking. but fortunately we were sprung the next day. haha, fooled you! but in all honesty, we did spend our first night in a jail, though it stopped functioning as a proper jail in 1999 and was promptly converted to a hostel. a very nice one, i'll add. probably one of the best i've stayed in (tho the best will always be reserved for ginger monkey in zdiar, slovakia). anyway, it was an experience. next day, walked around christchurch for a bit, not a full tour of the city - but we were on a mission - to find hats! the sun is so strong here, that even on a cloudy day we're likely to get burned. after hunting through the dozens, literally, of tramping and outdoor stores that line the streets of chch, we were successful. next up was finding a supermarket, which we also were successful at doing. yay for things going well.

back at the hostel, i really started to realize how lucky we were to have a personal car around. we didn't have to worry about how much we were carrying - just throw it in the trunk or the back seat! it really makes things a lot easier. began our long journey (about 4-5 hrs) south from chch to dunedin, although we made plenty of stops along the way to break up the trip. one of our first was called bushy beach scenic reserve, where we staked out penguins for several hours. both the guide book and a lady at a rest stop told us we should be able to catch them coming ashore, which happens around 2 hrs prior to sunset. so we waited. and waited. and waited.

where the hell were these penguins!

but since we had already waited for so long, i knew (as did theresa & stephanie) that if we were to leave, that is when the penguins would appear. luckily we had a bit of a shelter to cover us from the misty rain and wind. and low and behold, 2 appeared! not as dramatic as i was picturing in my head - this mass exodus of penguins coming out of the ocean. but still. and we caught glimpse of a seal as well. whoopee. somewhat disappointed we made our way back to the car, but stopped off at one more point, and glad we did, because one little penguin managed to climb up all the rock and was just strutting for the visitors. that made my day. so cute, and so close. okay, we are now satisfied.

back in the car, made another stop off at moeraki boulders, which were very otherworldly. out of no where on this remote beach, round rocks (that LP quite accurately describes as marbles scattered about) just appear. so of course we took our obligatory photos standing on top. i found the easiest one to reach, and stephanie definitely found the hardest. but very cool, and very hard to describe!

back on the road, arrived in dunedin somewhat late. however, since it is still light out until like 2200, you forget how late it actually is. and one thing we are quickly discovering is that things close early. even on a saturday night, we tried to make it to a restaurant LP said was open "lunch til late", it closed by 2100. actually they took the sign in as we approached it. tried a few more stops and finally found an indian restaurant that was still open. and i had the most delish lamb korma i've ever had. and had i not filled up so quickly i probably would have ate it all, but at least i had lunch for the next day. finally back to our hostel (called "backpackers on top" - wonder why they say "inappropriate for children" HA!) for a good nights sleep. or at least theresa & i crashed; steph managed to make it out with friends who were in town and only got about 3 hrs or so of rest. she was definitely a trooper the next day!

next AM, walked around dunedin and made our way out to the peninsula. stupid cold weather! we all had shorts on initially, but after making our way to the cafe (steph really needed some coffee) down the street

we soon realized we would have to go back and change into pants. too windy. quick change and then toured around. first headed down to the tunnel beach. got a little lost since we didn't have the most accurate map. actually, we had about 4 maps that were all half good, so combined we got where we needed to go. got our first close up of sheep that we see everywhere. actually we thought one might be dead until at the last minute he wiggled his ear, as if he knew were were concerned. the walkway said 20mins down & 40 up, but it was exaggerating a bit. the vistas were spectacular, farm land on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. so gorgeous.

our next stop was a sandy beach. too sandy, we soon figured out. b/c of the winds, we pretty much got stuck in a sandstorm. and despite our best efforts to just enjoy it, the pain of sand all over wasn't worth it. but our next stop led us to a playground, which was fun. and apparently the only areas you can swim in are right next to a "life rescue station". i guess if you're going to brave the surf, that's the place to do it. funny tho, they put out flags to mark where you can and cannot swim; and the swim flags only allowed you about 20ft. so good luck!

made our way back into town, since we had places to be! the cadbury chocolate factory - cadbury world - does tours, so of course we had to do that. though the main drawing point (besides free chocolate) was the chocolate waterfall. which was somewhat disappointing also. i was literally expecting willy wonka. and instead we got a ton of chocolate dropped at once in a giant silo. ah well, still funny.

walked back into town to check out the octagon, the central area of dunedin, lined with shops and cafes. stopped briefly for coffee for steph (who was still hanging in there despite no sleep) and had probably the strangest encounter we will have on the trip. were invited over to another table by 3 guys who were from ireland and scotland and were already sitting at the table with 2 suspiciously young girls. who knew, though maybe they just looked young like i do. well, actually they were only 16. and the guys were at least in their early 30s. classy. the girls left a bit after we arrived, and then we were left to manage the following awkward conversation. two of the guys seemed relatively normal, asking us where we were from, what we were doing here, etc. talked about the weather. the city of dunedin. normal, small talk. then the third chimed in. and though i will leave out the details (what happens in NZ stays in NZ, or at least this part of the trip does) let's just say that the conversation went along the lines of how well endowed we three were and how good we were at a certain skill set. somewhat entertaining at first, then just incredibly painful and awkward to sit through. luckily that third guy left - either to get another drink for his drunk ass, or to use the facilities - and that was our way out. pleasure meeting you. goodbye. and run!

back to the hostel, b/c we didn't want to run into them again, and ate our leftover indian food. yummy! then headed our for our speights brewery tour, which was by far one of the best i've been on. the guide keithe was a hoot, and though we were stuck on a tour of about 12 other americans, 2 couples from australia, and few other randoms, it was good times. the americans were students that were going to be studying in australia, and i guess were traveling before their studies began. and they weren't too obnoxious, thankfully. the best part of the tour is that the final 1/2 hour they give you free range of the tap. so i tried at least a couple sips of each of the 6 beers offered, and drank a full 2 quarter pints. and it's so funny to think that this is their "cheap" beer, that uni students drink. certainly beats our beast or bud light any day!

headed over to the speights alehouse for some very good chips (french fries, to the rest of you), paired with sweet chili and sour cream. very tasty. and of course, we got a proper pint. i tried their pilsner, since they didn't have it at the tasting earlier. very good. we had a great time in dunedin. what a day. filled with chocolate and beer. what more could we want?