Driving to Dunedin

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On the way driving from Oamaru to Dunedin I needed a break so I decided to stop on the beach. It's to cold to swim, but mist was rising off the ocean and the sunset was turning it all pink. I felt I was in some fantasy novel (the kind with unicorns, althought of course I NEVER read these types of books myself).

The beach is covered with these giant rocks that according to Maori (the indigenous people) legends are actually gourds that washed ashore during a great canoe vogage 1000 years ago. I suspect that they're mistaken and the rocks are actually alien pods. Thankfully for us, the aliens miscalculated our earth's temperature, and the pods fossilized while descending into the atmosphere! (This took a long time).

Whichever the case, I find that the rocks are a great place to sit and eat dinner (PB+banana sandwiches) while watching the sunset.

The rest of the drive to Dunedin was arguable one of the most exhilirating drives of my life. (Rivaling the drive to Fernie in it's breathtaking beauty and surpasing it in hairpin turns). When the highway signs indicate a turn at 35kph, they really mean it! Maybe Mark could make these turn at 100, but I don't think I'm gonna try it.

Driving along the coast, with the waves crashing up on my left the mountains rising from the west, I could barely concentrate on the road. When it got dark, however, I kinda regreted watching the sunset for so long . Especially when it turns out that Dunedin is a city made of many, very steep pinacles. I felt like I was riding a rollercoaster all over town (except a bit scarier because no one actually thinks the rollercoaster might crash). I found a hostel safely and learned a very important lesson: it's a good idea to know exactly where I'm going BEFORE getting to the city, because trying to drive and read a map simultaneously is a VERY bad idea. Hopefully I won't need to learn this lesson more than once.

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