The farewell

I flew back to Auckland to spend a few days there before heading back to the States. It was nice to be back in the "big city" and to see familiar faces. The weather was lovely, which was a pleasant surprise. I spent the first couple days with my Dutch friend Patty (who is now enjoying Bali!). She even gave me a much-needed haircut!

My last full day in Auckland was March 17, St. Patrick's Day. I was lucky enough to be celebrating with an Irish friend, Louise, and some other lively folk. We started the day off with a parade that went through the city center Saturday morning.

Wouldn't be an Irish celebration without a few green beers! 

Later that evening we headed down to the Viaduct to enjoy some fantastic Irish music.

Even the Germans and Americans got in on the Irish dancing!

We met up with some other friends for a fun night out. The guy on the right was the best (read: most random) DJ I've ever heard.

Farewell, New Zealand... it's been fun!

My plan from here is to spend a few weeks back in the States, celebrate my new goddaughter's baptism in New Jersey, spend time with my family, and then continue my travels next month. Look forward to continuing to share this journey with family and friends!

The Oamaru

From Dunedin, I decided to take a quick trip north to Oamaru, dubbed as New Zealand's only Victorian town. Built up by the gold rush in the 1800s, the town's old Victorian city center is currently being reinvigorated.

As Oamaru is homebase for New Zealand's steampunk movement (a genre about which I'd never heard before this trip), visitors will often see old steel and other steam engine equipment dotting the town's landscape. Below, a new steampunk museum opened in an abandoned Victorian building:

A view of the town from the pier.

The most unique swingset I've ever used. Seems like part of the whole steampunk thing.

After walking around town, I headed over to Whitestone Cheese headquarters, where I sampled some of the local cheese offerings and particularly enjoyed a mild blue cheese called Moeraki Bay. Yum!
After my visit to Oamaru, it was time to head back to Dunedin to catch the next day's flight to Auckland.

The Dunedin

The southern scenic route finally led us to the city of Dunedin (pronounced duh-NEE-den), the second largest city on the south island after Christchurch. In the 19th century, Dunedin was the country's biggest city (big gold rush town), though currently the population is around 120,000. Founded by Scottish settlers in the early 1800s, it's home to the first university in NZ, University of Otago.

We enjoyed sunny but chilly weather when we arrived, and booked a hostel that required climbing up one of the many hilly streets to reach it.

The view from the hostel overlooking the city:

Lots of churches in Dunedin. This one happened to get turned into high-end condominiums.

St. Paul's Cathedral, in the Octagon (center of town):

Dunedin Railway Station, opened in 1906. 

Interior of the railway station:

One day I trekked over to Baldwin Street, which holds the Guinness record of steepest street in the world with a grade of 35%.

At the foot of the street looking up:

Near the top looking down:

On my walk back to town from Baldwin Street, I saw this notice posted on a telephone pole. Haha!

Later that same day, I paid a visit to the lovely Dunedin Botanic Gardens. 

That Sunday, I visited New Zealand's oldest Orthodox Christian church, Archangel Michael. Founded in 1911 by Syrian immigrants, the parish had been without a priest for two years. I met the very new priest, a former Anglican who gave a wonderful homily for the commemoration of St. Gregory Palamas.

After spending a few days in the relative civilization of Dunedin, I was ready to take a short trip further up the coast. More to come soon!

The soul builder

I keep thinking back to a conversation I had in Nelson several weeks ago.

I met a Chinese woman around my age staying at the same hostel. We started talking about our backgrounds and our reasons for traveling. Turns out that not very many Chinese travel to New Zealand. In fact, from what she said, not many travel at all. Traveling is a luxury that most Chinese people do not have, as they are consumed with the basics of survival. My friend said that the emphasis there is placed on gaining wealth and importance in society.

When she told her friends she was going to travel, they were perplexed as to how this would help her achieve these goals.

They asked her, "Will you make a lot of money in New Zealand at your job?"

She said, "No, I'll only be working part time and casual jobs there."

They asked, "Well, will you find a rich New Zealand man to marry?"

She said, "No, that's not why I'm going."

They asked, "Well, then WHY are you going?"

Her answer: "To build my soul."


So simple, yet so profound. I mentioned this conversation to another friend, and we reflected on the immense luxury we have that we are not only able to travel, but to reflect upon the travel, and to reflect on ourselves and our lives in general. I am incredibly blessed to have this opportunity of travel and adventure, this opportunity to help build up my own soul. And I'm grateful to be able to share it with wonderful friends and family.

The Catlins part 2

The next day we started back on the road to finish our time in the Catlins. First stop, McLean Falls, a 22 meter waterfall on the Tautuku River. If you look closely in this first photo, you can see me kneeling at the foot of the falls.

Along the road, we enjoyed stunning views of the southern countryside.

We followed the signs for Jack's Blowhole, our next stop.

 After climbing the trail up a pretty large hill, we were rewarded with a lovely cliffside view at the top.

The trail to the blowhole runs right along the coast.

Don't really know who Jack is.

The best shot I could get down into the blowhole.

A swing on the beach? Thanks, I think I will!

The next part of the drive took us right along the ocean:

The little rental car that we drove around in:

Our final stop in the Catlins area was at Nugget Point, one of the most iconic landforms on the Otago coast.

At the end of the steep headland stands a lighthouse that was built in 1869.

Surrounding the cliff and lighthouse are rocky islets.

We caught a sea lion swimming in the foamy sea (unfortunately you can't see it in this photo).

The Catlins have been one of my favorite parts of New Zealand. The landscape is stunning, the views beautiful, the countryside quiet and low-key. After two days in this natural landscape, we returned to "city life" in Dunedin. More to come.