Day 74

Day 74 was a pretty big day. We woke up and did our cleaning then we ate some banana pancakes ("pretend like it's the weekend, now..." - a little Jack Johnson) made by our friend Smith. After brunch we got cleaned up, got some coffee and said goodbye to our friend Claire who is moving up to the North Island.

It was a beautiful day so we decided to head out to the seal colony and do the peninsula walk. We walked along the coast and enjoyed the scenery (note the snow covered peaks).



























Once we got to the seal colony we headed up the hill to the top of the cliffs. From the top we had a great view of the mountains, the ocean and the seal colony below. It was a fabulous day.

The walk goes around the peninsula on top of the cliffs through cow paddocks and grasslands.

Below is a beautiful view of Whaler's Bay. This area is known for having whales close to land and was one of the prime whaling locations in New Zealand during the 19th century.

So many beautiful views during the walk. This is looking southwest from the peninsula. Kaikoura is northwest from the peninsula.

There was also cool geology along the walk. The water is very shallow in places and just skims over the rock surface below.

At the end of the walk we came across some Maori carvings along the South Bay entrance to the peninsula walk.

We finished the walk by heading back across the peninsula further west through South Bay and back into Kaikoura. It was a very beautiful day and an incredible walk, even though we didn't get to see any whales today.

Days 67 - 73

Days 67-73,

We pretty much stuck to the routine throughout these days. We did do a few things out of the ordinary so, I will list some of the more exciting (or not so exciting) things we did.

Day 67-68 we got and lost a job. It was probably a good thing it didn't work out.

Day 69 we went to the used bookstore and bought a few books.

Day 70 (May 1) was actually a pretty exciting day. We called Mom (Betty) to wish her a happy birthday. We also went up to Blenheim with our friends Smith (from South Carolina) and Claire (from Ireland) to get out of town and do a little shopping. It was a beautiful 1.5 hour drive North up the coast. While in Blenheim we made our first visit to a Warehouse. Warehouse is the New Zealand version of a Walmart or Target. It is probably a little more like a Walmart because it is a little ghetto, well not ghetto in Blenheim, but you know what I mean, it is not high class like Target, but it does have a lot of cheap stuff! We did a little shopping, then got a quick beer and some chips before heading back down to Kaikoura. It was good to get out of town and a really nice trip with great people!

Day 71 was our first day off from cleaning. We work 2 hours a day 6 days a week, so it is nice to get a day off. We didn't really do much with our day off, just more of the job hunting, reading, etc. In the evening we had a really nice dinner and a few beers with our cleaning friends and one of their friends who used to be a cleaner here at Dusky Lodge. He was a really cool guy and we had some great deep discussions over a few Speights.

Day 72 we took an afternoon nap!

Day 73 Andrea found out she got a job at Hislops Cafe. Hislops is a really cool organic restaurant/cafe that is just a few blocks down the street.

Days 64, 65 and 66

Day 64 (April 25th - Annika's Birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! :)

Another day in Kaikoura. So, we have only been here three days, but already have a routine. We wake up, clean, take a shower, have lunch, then we either a) read, b) watch a movie, c) walk around town, or d) look for jobs, next we have some dinner, then we either read or watch a movie. We may change it up now an then, but that is pretty much what we do every day.

So today we woke up, cleaned, took a shower, ate lunch, walked around town, did some internet stuff, looked for jobs, had dinner and then watched a movie.


Day 65

Today was one of those days that we did something a little different.

We got up a little early today to call our niece Annika to wish her a very happy birthday. We are 17 hours ahead, so it is still the 25th back in the Minnesota. It was great to talk to her. We miss all our nieces (Caitlin, Annika, Kiera) and nephews (Conor, Tanner) so very much...and our parents and brothers and sisters and friends and extended families and coworker friends and (anyone else we may have missed)!

Now back to the routine; we cleaned and showered and ate lunch and watched a movie and...

walked out to the Seal Colony! Whoa, something new. It was a beautiful day and we needed to get out of the hostel, so we decided to walk down to the seal colony at the end of the peninsula. It is a very nice 5-6 mile round trip walk along the coast. Along the way we stopped at the Kaikoura Veteran's Memorial Park.

Those are whale bone arches.













We also stopped a few times along the way to take photes of the ocean and the mountains.


























Kaikoura is an incredibly beautiful spot.













The picture below is some reminants of a building from some of the first European settlers in Kaikoura.













We (Andrea) also took some cool artsy photos.













A fluffy lamb with little horns.













Incredible scenery!













After walking for awhile enjoying the beautiful scenery we ran into this...













a sleepy seal. The road is very close to the beach and the fur seals like to lay in the little area of grass/shrubs between the beach and road so we got very close to a few of the seals. They were sleeping or relaxing and would just ignore all the humans. It was neat to see them so close.

It was starting to get dark, so after a few minutes watching the seals we decided to head back to the hostel. Along the way we got to see a really beautiful sunset.



























What a great break from our routine.




Day 66
Back to the routine. We woke up, cleaned the hostel, took a shower, had lunch, Andrea had a meeting about a job, did some reading, went to the gocery store (awesome), watched some movies, had some fish and chips, then read a little more before going to bed. Sweet as.

Days 61, 62 and 63

Day 61,

We got up early today to head up the coast to Kaikoura. We had a meeting about a job up in Kaikoura so we couldn't stay any more nights in Christchurch. We met the bus just after 8:00 and started our journey up the coast. It was a beautiful drive along the pacific ocean. We arrived in Kaikoura a little before lunch and checked into our hostel.

We had a bite to eat, then headed up to our meeting with the owners of a small hostel who needed a manager for a few months. It was a good meeting, but unfortunately the job didn't work out. The job market is tight and people really like to take advantage of backpackers, same with this position, so it is probably a good thing it didn't work.

After the meeting we went to the grocery store and made a little dinner. It was a nice dinner and we met up with a friend from Canada who we hadn't seen since our first few days in Auckland. It was great to catch up with her.

After dinner we took it easy and went to bed early because we have a big morning tomorrow!


Day 62,

So I bet you are wondering what our big morning is about. Well, we have become cleaners. We do cleaning at the hostel from 9:00 am to 11:00 am 6 days a week for free accomodation (well almost free, but we don't like to stay in dorm rooms, so we pay a little extra to get a double room). The work for the most part (except bathrooms) isn't too bad and it is kind of nice to have something to do everyday. We do anything from cleaning kitchens, to vacuuming, to changing sheets, to picking up garbage, to cleaning toilets. A nice way to get super cheap accomodation.

After the cleaning I (John) went straight to bed. I hadn't been feeling well since we got up and I started to feel really ill after cleaning. I was sick all day and through most of the night. I think I must have had some type of food-borne illness. Andrea made sure I had fluids and kept an eye on me. She made some soup for me for dinner. Other than taking care of me, I think she did a little reading most of the day.

Day 63,

I was feeling better, so we both did our second day of cleaning. After cleaning we got cleaned up and had some lunch. Then we decided we needed to get out of the hostel so we headed downtown (one street about two blocks long with about 10 store fronts on each side). We stopped in the internet cafe to do some internet stuff. Andrea stopped in a few places to ask about work (One place looks like it might have an opening when it reopens in a couple of weeks). Along the way to one of the restraunts she stopped on the beach and saw this...































It was a gorgeous evening with a little fresh snow on the mountains.




















































When Andrea got back to the internet cafe we headed back to the hostel to make some dinner and watch a little TV before heading to bed.

Day 60

We woke up early this morning to head to Christchurch. Today would be a travel day. It was a nice morning and we were excited to head up the east coast of the South Island. Along the first part of the drive we watched the Lord of the Rings: Two Towers movie. It was a neat atmosphere to watch the movie in, you could almost look around and feel like you were in the movie. Ok, so it took a little imagination as well, but it was fitting.

We made a few stops along the journey, one in Twizel (near Mt. Cook) for some coffee and a break from the bus. John saw a tractor on the playground and couldn't help himself. (Note the cute little girl on the seasaw just to his left)






















Our next stop proved to be an incredible view.















This is Lake Pukaki, and it was stunning. The water is an amazing teal color, and the mountains in the background provided for a nice view. We got out and took a few pictures before heading north again.















The highest peak in the center of the photo above is Mt. Cook, which stands over 12,000 feet high. It is the highest peak in New Zealand. We have pictures of it in previous blogs when we were over near Fox Glacier, and now we are on the eastern side of the mountains, so we have seen it from both the east and the west.

A little further north we stopped in a town called Lake Tekapo. Below is a picture of a stone church that sits out on a point of land jutting out into the lake. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the view.

Lake Tekapo is known as one of the best places to see the stars. They have strict light ordinances in the town to minimize light pollution and increase the visibility of the night sky. Unfortunately, this time around we only stopped for a lunch break, so we may have to come back to see the stars.

We continued our journey north towards Christchurch and watched another movie, Honey, John loved this one. It is about a female dancer making a name for herself, you should check it out! Shortly after the movie was over we arrived in Christchurch.

After dropping most of the people off, we headed to our hostel called Foley Towers. It was a neat place with beautiful gardens and a bit of calm within the city. We got settled in and headed to an organic food store across the street to get some things for dinner. We went back to the backpackers to make some dinner and check our email before heading to bed.

Days 58 and 59

Day 58

Today was our last day in Dunedin. We were sad to be leaving this cool city. We got up, had a little breakfast and packed up our stuff. After checking out we relaxed in the hostel reading while we waited for our bus. The bus came and we headed back towards Queenstown to spend a couple of nights before we go to Christchurch. The trip over to Queenstown was a quick, but beautiful drive through the mountains. We stopped at the Kawarau bridge so a couple of people from the bus could do the bungy, then we headed into Queenstown. We checked into our hostel then headed downtown to get some dinner. We had a great dinner (2 for the price of 1) at an Indian restaurant. After dinner we walked around town a little bit before going to see "He's just not that into you" at the theater (it was not John's 1st choice, but sometimes you must make sacrifices). Actullay it wasn't too bad. After the movie we went back to our hostel and crashed. Being on the bus always makes us tired.

Day 59

We got up, had some breakfast and hung out at the hostel working on the computer. Looking for a little change of scenery we headed into town to get some pizza and do a little more computer work. We had a very nice pizza and relaxed in the restaurant for awhile before heading back to the hostel. We did a few things at the hostel before heading up the gondola.

The gondola is just a few block from downtown and heads up to a peak that over looks the town,

(there is a bungy site up there, but we refrained from jumping)

the lake,

and the mountains on the other side.

We went up late in the afternoon so we could view the sunset from the top. We had a beer in the bar and watched the sunset and lights turn on down in town. It was a beautiful evening.

Once we got down we headed back into town to have a cheap sushi dinner. It was really inexpensive, but they didn't have any tuna (our favorite) so it was a little disappointing. After dinner we headed back to the hostel to get ready for our travels tomorrow and hit the sack.

Day 57

Another relaxing morning, but not quite as slow as the last couple. After breakfast we headed down to the train depot for the farmer's market. It was a cool market with lots of good food, but we had a long walk ahead of us so we didn't want to buy something and then carry it around all day.
















From the market we headed over to the University of Otago to look at the cool old buildings on campus.





















The campus was really quiet, probably because we were there on a Saturday morning.















After walking around the university we headed over to the Dunedin Botanical Garden...

Incredible!















The flowers were amazing.















We had a great time walking around the gardens looking at all the different flowers, trees and gardens.































The rock garden was our favorite.

Look at this cool picture of a butterfly and a bee on the same flower!















After a picnic snack at the botanical garden we headed down the street to the "Steepest Street in the World"















We hiked up to the top and took in the views. There were great views of the city from the top of the street.





















There is one thing you should know about the "Steepest Street in the World"...it is not actually the steepest street in the world. It was declared the steepest street sometime back in the 90's, but soon after some other street was determined to be steeper, but they still like to call it the "Steepest Street in the World".

Once we made it back down the street we walked back toward the town center stopping along the way to have a late lunch. After lunch we headed back to the hostel to relax, get cleaned up and get ready for our date night.

Around 7:30 we headed down to the Fortune Theater for a play called Emma by Jane Austin. They did a really funny and good version of the play. We had a great time and we had first row seats!

What an awesome day!