Reaching the most Southern Point

The weekend of Friday July 27th my flatmates and I took a trip to the Southern point of NZ's South island through the Catlins. This amazing trip started off a little late with us not leaving our flat until around 2pm on the Friday afternoon (Thursday night got the best of some of us). But we got KFC, all was well and we were off to the Catlins in Mary (cars name)!

Due to the delayed departure, we only stopped at one spot on the Friday night. It was along the coastline of the Catlins overlooking the Pacific ocean. Over the course of this whole trip you will come to understand that my flatmate (Laura) and I are just goofs that love to climb up and around stuff, and I don't know why we do it, it just always seems to end up happening. And Nugget point was where it all began climbing into a so called "fort in the woods" which wasn't that exciting once we climbed into it and coming out of it I rolled my ankle pretty bad (had to happen first day at the first place eh). Aside from the small mishap Nugget Point was beautiful.

Our Kiwi hosts family actually lived just passed the Catlins and them being the most amazing people seemed more than welcome to have us stay their for the night! It was a great night spent with them watching friday night rugby (Just switch out the rugby for hockey and your back in Canada) and it was an early night because we had a big schedule for the weekend.

Unfortunatley I don't think any of us set alarms to wake up early on Saturday morning so we all slept in but it  was not too late to leave without having my first home cooked NZ breakfast. It might have been the best part of the trip smelling the cooked bacon and eggs being (It is just so expensive I thought I would have to kill a pig myself to ever eat it here). It was definitely a great idea to stay there, I never really wanted to leave after eating the bacon!










The first stop on our Saturday adventure was Stirling point which is the lowest road point in NZ. There is a sign that shows how far other major cities are around the world from that specific spot. And I don't know by but I decided that swinging from the sign was a good decision (came out to be a great pic). This was also the first spot I used my recently purchased tripod! (We named her Tina).

Not too far from Stirling point was the Bluff lookout, which was an unreal place and fortunately for us it was a clear day so we could see for miles. A really cool thing that you usually cannot see is Stuart Island which is just off the coast and being the beautiful day that it was we saw the whole side of the island! Then it was back to Mary to the next destination.

This next unplanned stop was probably one of the best and most random spots we could have stopped. My American flatmate and I being complete tourists were definitely not used to seeing the huge groups of sheep in the fields along the road. So we convinced our Kiwi host to pull over to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere beside a field that had just a ton of sheep. Sure enough we B-lined out of Mary hopped the fence and chased after those sheep. I was really surprised that they were so quick in avoiding us two crazy tourists chasing after them but then again I'm sure we are not the first tourists to attempt to try and catch a sheep. This was actually the birth of Jordan's "JamWich Shop" that is actually run out of the trunk of Mary (huge menu - loaf of bread and jar of strawberry jam, you can be as creative as you want).

 Our following stop was at the Petrified forest and we all thought we were lost becasue it was on a coastline with no trees anywhere.? Turned out to be the right place and due to some sort of volcanic mud flow all the trees were fossilized into the ground and you can still see them today. You can also see a very rare species of penguins here, but I guess that they are so rare we didn't get to see any (we were really hoping to get a pet for our flat).

A tree in the Petrified Forest

10 meter distance from the so called
penguins

Lake Wilkie walk was after the Petrified forest and it literally took us 20 minutes to do the entire trail. The highlight of this adventure was that there was a fallen tree in the path and of course we had to climb it! Being the most unintelligent one of the group I went up first, and with them all yelling at me to keep going because they wanted to get higher on the tree I got stuck... I ended up having to jump off because I couldn't just slide back down the tree. Ill never do that again; well never be the first to do it!

Just 5 minutes down the road from Lake Wilkie was the Mclean falls and they were definitely  a site to see! Walking into them we passed a whole bunch of different rivers and waterfalls so we expected something big at the end. And we were not disappointed! They were amazing BUT of course we couldn't just stand there, we had to climb! So we converted to Kiwi (took our shoes off and walked barefoot) (Our Kiwi hosts boyfriend who came with us on the trip did all the trails barefoot!) and climbed beside the waterfall. I ended up taking a little spill at the top that was recorded, I'm considering sending it to Americas Funniest Home Videos. At this point it seemed the sun was setting so we decided to head out.


Heading into town to look for a hostel to stay the night, we came across the Florence Hill Lookout which had the fastest cow that Laura and I had ever seen! Aside from the cow that was equally wide as it was long, the view was spectacular! It overlooked the beach where we watched this poor guy getting eaten up by waves trying to surf.









At this point I think everyone was starving! (well I know I was starving) so we head towards a small town and stopped a small gas station/market/restaurant where we bought a hot dog (it was actually a Pogo but Kiwis call it a hot dog) and chips. It was the saltiest and greatest fast food I had ever tasted. There was nowhere to stay within that town so we had to drive to the next town (Owaka) and we finally found a hostel (after stopping at the grocery store to pick up peanut butter and chocolate of course).   We spent the whole night watching the Olympics.

I actually woke up Sunday morning around 7:30 to catch the sunrise in Owaka. I went for a run around the town, tried to find a good spot to watch it and I ended up hopping a fence and ran up a hill to watch the sunrise. It was just an amazing site to see coming over the mountains. I only wish my $100 Fuji Film camera took better shots.












Getting back to the hostel we cooked breakfast, watched some Olympics and then we were off again! Our first stop was at the Purakaunui Falls. At this point I think we had seen enough waterfalls for one weekend but we still had to walk around it! And walking back from the falls Laura did find a tree she could fit in, that was impressive.

Chilling in the tree

The second stop was Cannibal Bay (I don't know why its called that I only know that we could possibly see sea lions there) and we walked long and far on a mission to see any wildlife and the only thing we saw was a mutilated seal. And of course we still ended up climbing the sides of some awesome rock faces!






Our next stop was a life-changing experience for me! At the Tunnel Hill Historic Reserve (its really just a tunnel built for a railroad track) is where I had my FIRST EVER PB&J sandwich! For anyone who knows me back home, this is a big deal! I really just needed a change up, so Jordans "JamWich Shop" expanded their menus to include PB&Js. After one I was instantly hooked and have been eating them ever since. After the sandwich we walked through the tunnel and it was a little anti-climatic so Laura and I decided to climb over the tunnel (it was safe dont worry mom) and we thought that over the hill would be where the entrance was. We were wrong and got lost in a bunch of hills, had to dodge some electric fences and jump some swampy rivers, but we did finally make it back! (I blame the PB&J for getting us lost). After that scare we decided it would be a good idea to start heading back home!


Overall this was an amazing first weekend of actually travelling around New Zealand, climbing stuff and seeing what the country side looked like. Cant wait to see the rest of NZ

Dunedin Adventure Recap

If you hadn't noticed the I have started this blog a month late and am going off memory from all the events that have already happened. So this next post is of all the adventures that I have been on around Dunedin in the last month!

- Conquering the Worlds Steepest Street

Isn't it convenient that the worlds steepest street is located less than 3km away from my flat! So being an ambitious XC runner and not even seeing the street beforehand I decided to go for a run in that area one day to become the "Master of Hill-workouts." Reaching Baldwin street I didn't think it looked that bad at all! I felt that 350m long street would be an easy peasy stroll up to the top. Having only ran a few times since I have been here and not being a huge fan of hill workouts anyways, it hit me around 300m why no one else was running the worlds steepest street. But with only 50m to go and so many tourists standing around I couldn't disappoint them and myself. I conquered the worlds steepest street!













                                                     - Cadbury Factory

I find it very funny that before I came here all my mom could talk about was the Cadbury Factory and how if she came to visit we would have to do the Cadbury factory tour. I don't think either of us realized that it was a 5 minute walk from my flat. I actually ended up doing the tour with my flatmate and to be honest I was a little disappointed with our tour of a chocolate factory (we didn't need a golden ticket to get in, no one fell in a chocolate river, no one turned into a blueberry). But it did full-fill one of my hopes. Leaving the chocolate factory I was so sick of eating chocolate I said "I will never eat chocolate again." I knew that wasn't true so I did buy three massive chocolate bars.

- Tunnel Beach
Don't you love how last minute sporadic plans are always the best! One day walking back from the gym, I got home and my flatmate was running out the door yelling "Jordan! Lets go we're heading to Tunnel Beach!" I stink, I'm exhausted, and it was freezing out... I told her to give me two minutes to change my socks. Tunnel beach is around a 10min drive from Dunedin and it was amazing. It was quite a trek down to the cliffs and the beach but it was well worth it. There is a tunnel heading to the beach (clever name) and the Kiwi we were with explained how they dug the tunnel out with spoons. Unfortunately this poor girl that we were with believed him. The tide was high when we got to the beach so as the tide went out we climbed onto the rocks to see how far we could get without getting wet. Some of us we're luckier than others. We were all so focused on jumping on the rocks that we really didn't notice that a storm was rolling in. So the walk back up to the car wasn't the best

Arriving at 519A Leith St. Dunedin

Landing in Dunedin July 2nd 2012 (Was in the air for Canada Day) was actually the coldest I have seen New Zealand since I have been here. Getting off the plane to frost was not the best first impression that NZ cold have given me... BUT being very jet-lagged and super excited to see where I would be leaving, I barely felt the cold. I took a taxi bus with a bunch of American internationals that were all studying at Otago as well. I had no idea at the time but these would be the people that I would become really close friends with! 

Arriving at my flat on Leith street was one of the funniest experiences I have had since I've been here. So I haven't slept in forever, been wearing the same clothes since I left Canada and haven't eaten for two days and when my flatmate answered the door for the first time, I knew he was in worse shape than I was. The poor guy had one crazy night before I got there and was literally the color green when I showed up. But that was totally fine, I was actually kind of upset that I missed that night! We bonded over "How I Met your Mother" and he has definitely been one of my best mates since I've been here!

Before

After

He took a few of us internationals into town that afternoon to get groceries and look around. My first meal in New Zealand was butter chicken, basmati, and an L&P (NZ drink) from a food court in the mall. It gets me hungry just thinking about how good it was. 

The following night my other flatmate arrived while I was sleeping, and the next morning she left before I woke up. She was living with me for a day and a half before I had finally met her! And the kicker was that we met at a random party down the road from our house, I thought that she was making the whole thing up. The story was verified and have actually become super close friends (although I still think she is trouble).

Otago Campus

One Big Happy Family

That Saturday we had "a large gathering" with all of our future friends! Little did we know that the the majority of internationals would show up for it and the place was jammed. Haven't had a party like it since.

Finally the next week the whole 519A family had arrived! Our last kiwi host arrived early that week and we instantly became a tight knit famjam. 

How the Adventure Begins

My journey starts waking up Saturday June 30th from an extremely restless sleep. Knowing that I would be leaving that day for an entire year not seeing friends or family was a little nerve racking. It was an extremely stressful morning, full of multiple lists to prevent me from forgetting anything (still forgot a bunch). Saying goodbye to one of my super close friends that morning was when it really hit me that it was actually happening. Fortunately for them, they had purposely left before "it got emotional"

Ofcourse it was a family trip to the airport, with the rents and Aunt. Arriving at the chaotic YYZ airport was an experience in itself. Air Canada's computers were down so all the passengers flying Air Canada that day were required to line up and wait to be told when they were to check in for their flight. It was an absolute disaster BUT worked out in my favour. When our flight finally got called to check-in they had explained to us that since their system was down they were not charging for overweight luggage! Score! My 60lb bag was free from extra charges.

And then it came time to say goodbye to the rents... Now I never thought in a million years that it would be that hard to say goodbye to parents! I guess I'm just a little "Moma's Boy"

Flight #1 - Toronto to San Francisco: Easy Peasy 5 hour flight, watched two movies and it was practically over. Then the next 7 hour layover was even better in the SanFran airport! I think I got through at least two seasons of entourage just sitting there.

Flight #2 - San Francisco to Auckland: This dreadful 11 hour flight was on the biggest plane I have ever seen in my life! Unfortunately not being the wisest person ever, I didn't take anything to knock me out for the flight, so it was more like 5 movies, and a couple episodes of Community before that flight was over... It wasn't my most favorite flying experience. Arriving in Auckland was just as brutal as the flight. I had less than 30 minutes to get off the massive plane, get my luggage, clear customs (which were really concerned about my  "used running shoes"), and board another plane. Sure enough by the time I passed customs an airline attendant explained to me that I had missed my flight by 15 minutes. Little did she know that it was delayed another 25 minutes and as I walked onto the plane we were getting ready to take off

Flight #3 - Auckland to Dunedin: Last flight, super short, had three seats at the back of the plane all to myself and we were flying over mountains the entire time. It was a great flight!

We Drink to the Health of the Cardinal Puff

Let me first start by explaining that this was probably one of the best nights I have ever had in my life. For a going away party the majority of my closest friends all drove up (some driving further than others - sorry Millar and Madison) to Beaverton, Ontario to have one last wild night before I head off, and oh did the Brock Badgers make it get out of hand!

This adventure all starts with me arriving back into Toronto from a week trip in Mexico (that trip is an entire story in itself). But long story short, our flight got delayed until the morning of my going away party so I arrived in Toronto Saturday morning and the Shindig was Saturday night. So having no sleep in three days and seeing that my main man Morgan's was 2 for 1 at Duty Free in the airport I was all ready to go!

My amazing Aunt Sharon and Uncle Wim were kind enough to let 15 of my closest hooligan friends come up for a night to their beautiful home on the lake. We set up tents on their front yard and got straight to the swimming and drinking. They always have children up to their place so their shed was full of just the craziest water toys and of course we had to bring them out! (I think we had more fun on them that any child would).




Dinner was an amazing BBQ and tons of food that everybody brought (I'd have to say Amanda's Skor bars were my favorite part). And after dinner we did one last freezing cold swim while the sun was setting (Doesn't compare to New Zealand cold).

Team BRYAN

   

Sure enough after that swim was the start to a one wild night full of shenanigans! Started with Survivor flip-cup (Team BRYAN won, it was a good effort on Steven though). But the highlight of the night was Cardinal Puff. This was a drinking game my Uncle Wim came out and showed us and I believe he said they played it while he was in the military. All I can say is that it is a dangerous and horrific game that should never be played again. 

After Cardinal Puff people dispersed everywhere; some making human pyramids, some in the hot tub and others moving inside where it was safe. It was Chua's Birthday as well and my Aunt not thinking of the consequences handed me a bottle of   champagne to celebrate his birthday. Within 10 seconds of me having that bottle poor Chua was covered from head to toe in champagne. 

With the night winding down, many started to migrate to tents and literally just dropped wherever they pleased within the tents. I won't name any names, but others thought it would be funny to run around collapsing all the tents. Sure enough this resulted in almost everyone moving inside and sleeping where-ever they could find a spot in my Aunts house. My poor Aunt and Uncle had to wake up to Canada's future doctors, teachers, and accountants passed out all around their house.

Breakfast is where some emotions started coming out... Melissa and Amanda being the amazing girls that they are brought me "going-away gifts" and man they were awesome. They gave me Molson Canadian tall-boys, home-made maple syrup, mix-tapes with Canadian artists and they even wrote a song for me! Now those are two special friends. 

The clean-up wasnt hard at all because all the tents were practically destroyed already. And then it was to the goodbyes, I hate the goodbyes. But as I recently just heard "Its not Goodbye, its I'll see you later" 

I will always remember that night as one of the best nights with my closest friends and I cannot wait for another chance to get a little crazy with them again.