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Round the World

Spent a couple of days in Dunedin but didn’t manage to catch up with Janna as her work arrangements clashed with when I had to leave to fly to Sydney. Did manage to go and see the blue and yellow penguins at the tip of the Otago peninsula but didn’t see any albatrosses returning to the nest.

Yellow Penguin, Dunedin, New Zealand

Dunedin itself is a nice enough town to be in but was a little quiet when I was there as all the students were on holiday. Caught the Stray bus from Dunedin up to Christchurch yesterday and had a last night out in New Zealand.

Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand

Moving on……

Catching a flight out to Sydney this afternoon so here are a few last thoughts on New Zealand :

Its awfully familiar to a Briton that has spent time in the quieter parts of our country. The scenery is similar, the people speak English without a strong accent, they drive on the proper side of the road, you can get a decent cup of tea….. it makes it nice and easy to visit, it just doesn’t feel like you’ve come far.

There is a staggering amount of stuff to see and do here from incredible walks round the coast and over volcanoes, sub tropical to sub antartic flora & fauna and all sorts of silly activities like bungee, zorbing, river rafting, skiing….. The place is fantastically well set up for backpackers with a huge range of cheap hostels, bus tours and activities. I highly enjoyed my time on the Stray bus and want to thank Spike the driver, plus John, Ola & Pia for making it such a laugh.

Cheap food here is good, especially the gourmet burgers and asian food, but more expensive restaurants have disappointed. Good wine is cheap here and it nice to see a country drinking it own brands of beer, brewed locally, even if they are a little sweet.

I’ve had a great time here and could easily have stayed for much longer, but its not challenging enough, there is a world to see so its time to move on. I suspect I’ll be back.

Stuart Street, Dunedin, New Zealand
A final image of Dunedin for my brother……

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