Blogs from Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 11

David, Marc, Monica, Megan and I decided to go on a Road Trip that was supposed to end up at Cattle Creek, where Malcom and Denise, the people I am living with, have a cottage. We started our journey in Dunedin, and made our way to the Moeraki Boulders. The famous Moeraki boulders lie scattered along a beach 40 kilometres south of Oamaru. According to Maori legend, the boulders are gourds washed from the great voyaging canoe Araiteuru when it was wrecked upon landfall in New Zealand some 1000 years ago. Scientists explain the boulders as septarian concretions formed about 65 million years ago. Crystallization of calcium and carbonates around charged particles in muddy undersea sediments gradually formed the boulders in a process taking as long as four million years. The soft mudstone containing the boulders ... read more

hey guys, I thought that this might be a better way to keep in touch with you, this way you can view my photos right away without having to download them... I will try to write more regularly again, I have had complains :-) Sorry about writing in Englisch, I just thought it would be nice for my family in the US to understand what I am writing about ;-) I hope you guys enjoy my pics... And I would love to hear from all of you, so don't hesitate to write some commentaries... Christina ... read more

Howdy folks! Here's a wonky picture of us right this second, as we type this entry! As you can see we are tired from lots of travelling! Helena shall fill you all in with our travels so far.....i'm off to have a nap in the sunshine! ....lots of love Chris xx :-) Hello!!! Firstly a bit of honesty - Chris is off to have a beer in the sun. We are now in Dunedin, a fine town with many splendid tourist attractions. I have spent the whole morning in one in fact - the Cadbury Factory. It was heaven, as the doors part you are welcomed by the sight of a crunchie mountain. Once inside you are given a bag which you fill with samples along the tour, you also get to see a chocolate waterfall ... read more

Well, today is Thursday, Thanksgiving Day in New Zealand (although NZ doesn't celebrate it and since we're on the other side of the International Date Line it won't happen in the U.S. until tomorrow.) Today was supposed to be one of the most uneventful days of the trip: a long drive across plains and hills to Dunedin, with very little to do or see on the way. It turned out the drive took less time than we thought, less than four hours. I took the wheel all the way to Dunedin, to make up for doing little driving the last couple of days. In the process, I inadvertently raised everyone’s blood pressure as I executed a series of near-miss maneuvers while passing the many trucks and tractors along this typical two-lane road. Today included the “Presidential ... read more

Spent the night in this charming city at a supposedly haunted backpackers lodge, (though the only scary thing we saw was the worryingly overly maternal owner), and have just been moseying through the city's art gallery; some beautiful 'kinetic' art by a German girl called Rebecca Horn. Headed off after lunch to Christchurch, which is where I'm writing this from now. It's all coming to a close really. My flight out to Sydney is in just 2 days, so we've got a couple of days to chill out and prepare for Aus. It's been fun, a real laugh, but I suppose the big challenge is yet to come when I go it alone in Aus. Den Den Durrrrr! ... read more