Down to Dunedin

After another week of school, it was time for me to once again head off to see more of the country - this time I headed South to Dunedin. An early Friday morning bus ride got me to Dunedin around 230 in the afternoon, where I was collected by Sarah and Hannah in their Toyota Corona (those exist?). We headed off to a hostel that they had found for us for one night - apparently there was a big Canterbury vs. Otago rugby game that none of us knew about, so it was a pretty busy place! We got all organized, figured out what we wanted to to the next day. Hannah had seen an ad for a joint tour of the brewery and Cadbury world that was a STEAL, so we planned on doing that. However, when I asked about it at reception, we ended up deciding to do the brewery tour RIGHT now so we could potentially watch the 'big' rugby game the next day! So, we ditched what we were doing, and literally jogged the few blocks over to Speight's Brewery - barged into the tour a little late but HEY its fine. We got a 90 minute tour of the brewery, which is one of the only gravity-powered breweries left in the region, meaning all the ingredients are taken up to the top floor, and distributed through pipes etc. to their respective floors for their part in the brewing process. After a tour of the 7 FLOORS of this Brewery, we had a free 20 minute period in the 'sampling room' to try out the 6 beers that are brewed by Speight's: YES. We were very efficient with our sampling time. Not naming names, but Sarah scored 2 glasses... Needless to say, between the 3 of us and the 4 glasses we acquired, we got some good samples of their beer. It was a GREAT way to spend $20. After the tour, it was definitely time for dinner, so we hopped into a happening bar upon glancing at the 'specials' board. Pumpkin, kumara, spinach and feta phyllo wrap with a fresh salad? YUP sold. We got the TASTIEST dinners and ended up joining a couple from our brewery tour at their table because it was just THAT busy. After dinner, feeling super great and about ready for a nap, we walked around for a bit before deciding it would be a great night for a movie. We opted for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which was really good! After a rowdy night out (at the movies), we tucked in to get ready for our actual full day in Dunedin. Upon waking, we checked with reception and gladly found out we were ok to stay one more night! Yay! After some breakfast, we thought about figuring out how to get out to the Otago Peninsula to check out some wildlife. Namely, penguins and seals! Unfortunately, buses are pretty limited on weekends, it was pretty chilly out, and the rental car was being a piece (battery was acting up, needed to get it boosted for the 3rd time). We waited in the car for a while to wait for the booster man to show up, playing tunes, solitaire, and typing up blogposts. After he arrived and sorted things out, we were advised to keep the car running for 30 mins - so that's what we did. Afterward, unfortunately the weather still hadn't improved, so we bundled up and headed for the train station to check out the Saturday farmer's market! Ended up grabbing some classic meat pies for lunch - not too bad! After checking things out for a bit, we couldn't avoid the giant looming purple Cadbury's building any longer... Time for a chocolate factory tour! It was awesome, the workers even were wearing purple overalls! I felt like we were at Willy Wonka's. We got plenty of free chocolate, and ended up buying 2 Cadbury's treats that are exclusive to NZ: Pebbles (essentially Smarties) and Jaffas (chocolate covered with a hard orange coating). I have to say JUST chocolate is my favourite - that candy just gets in the way of the awesomeness. After our chocolate time, we headed back to the hostel to drop off some groceries we bought for dinner, and headed off to check out the world's steepest street - Baldwin Street. It is official - even has signs and a gift shop! After trekking up the hill and watching others attempt to DRIVE up (would not do that) we took some photos and ran up parts of the hill. It was quite a bit of a walk from town and where we were staying, which was perfect for after the chocolate factory. By the time we got back, it was time for homemade tacos! DELICIOUS. Kitchen was a bit of a gong show in the hostel, but we made it work. After our dinner, we all felt like going to bed, but made ourselves hop over to the pub the receptionist had recommended we watch the rugby game at - we ended up seeing the last half, with Sarah attempting to explain to us what was going on... People were pretty into it. After the rugby game, a live band came on literally BESIDE us, and we ended up moving to the back where there was a giant screen with another game on - becoming rugby fanatics! Hah. After a few more Speight's' (we are connoisseurs now), we headed to bed, our plan to check out the Peninsula in the morning before I caught my bus back to Christchurch. Alas, the car had other plans. We woke in the morning to find it dead AGAIN, so Sarah called the rental company and the mechanic and sorted it out - after an hour of waiting, the guy finally showed up and ended up replacing the battery, but really didn't figure out what was wrong. Anyways, we got the car running and headed out to the Peninsula! We drove into the entrance of Lanarch Castle, found out it was about $40 each, and drove out again (budgets!) and ended going to Sanfly Bay, a serious wildlife spot on the South side of the Peninsula. South side of Peninsula means the WIND IS FROM THE ANTARCTIC. I kid you not. It was COLD. Maybe cause we only have warm-ish weather clothes, but STILL. We did not wander far, as it was a long walk to the point, but checked out the lookout and the beach, maybe saw seals in the distance, and headed back to the car as it was time for me to go! Caught the bus, and ended up back in Christchurch just in time to start another week of classes! Photos soon! Keep up to date with the other two too. They are up to some pretty sweet stuff!