New Zealand

It’s been an eventful few days, so we haven’t had much time to write.

January 1
We spent the day at Bondi Beach. We originally took the bus to go to one of the neighborhoods, but we weren’t sure where to get off. So we just rode the bus all the way to the coast. The beach was absolutely packed. It easily competes with Waikiki on its busiest day. Also, Paris Hilton heard we were in town, so she had a party at a club near the beach. We were going to drop by, but we were just too busy laying out.
The concierge recommended a restaurant at Darling Harbor, but it was forgettable. We did stroll along the harbor, which is packed with tourists.

January 2
Slept in, and then made our way to the Sydney Wildlife exhibit. We were supposed to go on a guided tour, but we missed the scheduled tour. Our itinerary said anytime between 9-5, but they were only doing a tour at 10 b/c of the holiday. We ended up walking through the exhibit ourselves, but it was not as interesting as the preserve we visited in Cains. We ate dinner at a better place in Darling Harbor. We did the seafood sampler for two, which had lobster, crab, mussels, oysters, fried fish, and lots of shrimp. We struck a good bargain where Sam ate the shrimp, mussels, and oysters, and I stuck to the crab and lobster.

January 3
Flew into Christchurch today. This was my first time driving on the left hand side. It’s proving easier than I expected. The hardest part is that I keep turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal. We were in late, so we went downtown for dinner. This time is holiday for New Zealand, so most restaurants and shops are closed. We found some Indian food that was decent, but not much exciting to report.

January 4
The seafood combo in Sydney turned out a poor decision. I told Sam I was interested in understanding New Zealand’s healthcare system. She obliged by eating bad oysters and spent the day in the ED. It was an odd experience in the ED. They really took their time (kind of slow, but we were lower acuity & it was the busiest ED in the south island), but our bill was like$200 for a trip to the ED. No $8 aspirin tablets.
I took room service, while Sam dined on Pedialyte and saltines.

January 5
Today we drove to Dunedin. Before we set off, we drove to Akaroa, which is a nice little harbor town. I liked it better than Christchurch as far as a vacation spot. Sam was felling much better, but the curvy mountain roads did not agree with her stomach. After that, we drove up the coast to Dunedin. We ate at our hotel, and Sam enjoyed a bowl of white rice. Our waitress gave us an odd look when the only Asian in the restaurant ordered a bowl of rice for dinner.

January 6
Today we explored the Ortago peninsula. We drove along the coast to the tip of the peninsula. It is a breeding ground for various albatrosses. They had actually migrated to Chile at this time as they cross the Pacific as part of their migratory flight. However, there were plenty of other birds, and after about 15 minutes, our car was painted a lovely white. There was a dirt road up to a wildlife tour from the center. Normally, we would pass, but we heard they had penguins. It turned out to be the best tour we’ve done so far. They took us on 8-wheeler off road vehicles around the sheep farm. At the bottom of the mountain, there was a rock with at least 50 sea lions. They just gave birth, so there were a dozen baby sea lions all over the rocks. Then, we drove to a special beach to see the yellow eyed penguins. They build their nests up in the rocks to avoid being eaten by the sea lions. The farm owners built a wooden tunnel down to the beach, and it had little peep holes to open and close. This allowed us to get within a foot of the penguins without disturbing their nests, and the tunnel offered them extra protection. The area (really, all of New Zealand) was a working sheep farm, so there were lots of little lambs around, too. After the tour, we went to Larnach Castle, which is the only castle in New Zealand. It was built in the late 1800’s by a banker, but then it sat in disrepair until 1967, when a couple bought it & restored it. Sam and I are now on the lookout for abandoned castles that we might turn for profit, so if you happen to find one, let us know.


We posted the new photos at snapfish (address in previous post).