Dunedin To Wanaka

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Dunedin to Wanaka - August 30th

I had been looking around on the internet for work in the South Island. I found this Job Agency in Wanaka and e-mailed them. They mailed me back and said that finding work in Wanaka was a little easier this time of year. So we took care of some last minute stuff (sold the TV) rented a car and drove to Wanaka. The minimum rental time is 24 hours and it's relatively close to Dunedin, so it gave us some time in between driving to see some things we wanted to see on the way.

After only a couple hours of driving, we stopped at Nugget Point. It's an area on the coast where there is a nesting area for Yellow Eyed Penguins. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any penguins. This was about 11:30 in the morning, and we read on a sign that they are usually 20-30 km out to see fishing all day. The best time to see them is after 3pm when they come back. This place was very far off the main road so it was kind of a bummer to not get to see any penguins after driving so far...

Richard had been researching some other sites, and he came across another that we stopped at a few hours later, the most southern tip of the south island mainland, Slope Point. It was basically just a rocky shoreline with cliffs. It was pretty sweet. It was quite a walk to get there, and the grass we were walking on was apparently once the hangout for a herd of Sheep or something. While we were walking, there was crap all over the place. It was like; all the landscape was soiled with crap. So my sneakers got a little dirty...

The drive north to Wanaka from Invercargill was pretty good. The scenery changed drastically once we closed in on the Southern Alps. It was basically a drive through the mountains. We stopped a few times to take advantage of the sweet photo opportunities. We passed pretty close to Queenstown but didn't stop. We both plan on going there eventually, so we'll get to see it at some point. Finally we made it to Wanaka...

Wanaka - August 31st

It seemed pretty good at first. But once we drove around for over an hour trying to find accommodation, we soon realized that there is little accommodation here. It's a ski town, so places have been pre-booked. It seems that it's not the kind of place you just drive around and look for a place to stay. What is surprising about this is that usually finding accommodation is pretty easy. In the past I've never had to go to more than one hostel. Usually, the first one you hit has a bed. So anyway, we slept in the car. It was cold. I didn't like it.

Today we woke up and got into a hostel right quick. I went over to the Job Agency and filled out all the necessary paperwork for registration and all that good stuff. Then I took a 3 hour nap. It was much needed.

September 3rd

Wanaka is nice. It's great, no matter where we go there's always a nice lake view with mountains and whatnot. The town itself is not like what I imagined, but pretty close. The weather has been very nice for the most part which is surprising. This town is a major tourist attraction for skiing and other extreme sports. It's funny about the weather however. We see lots of people wearing skiing outfits, and carrying snowboards and skis, and I'm walking around in a t-shirt. Apparently the slopes are a ways away, like 20km or something. But still, you would think it would be cold out. There's nothing cooler than walking around in a t-shirt by the lake with ice capped mountains in the distance. It's very cool.

No jobs have come up yet, and there aren't that many businesses here anyway. This town’s population I believe is only about 4,000, so we're thinking about heading to Christchurch. It's the 3rd largest city in New Zealand and the largest on the South Island, so finding work there should be a bit easier. Plus some of the city hostels allow for a weekly payment rate. That's always nice. Wanaka is very peaceful and it would be a shame to leave, but I figure I can always come back at some point. I still have another 6 months on my visa. We'll see what happens...

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Photos

Forrest Gump Shot
Wanaka

Sweet Picture
Near Nugget Point

Sweet Picture
Sheep with nice Background

Nugget Point
Viewing Area

Ocean Shot
Somewhere Near Nugget Point

Countryside
Southern South Island

Shorline
Near Nugget Point

Me
Another Slope Point Shot

Sheep
Somewhere Near Nugget Point

Richard
With the Deb on Napolean Dynamite pony tail

Richard
On the Sneakers by the Hostel

Sugarloaf
This sticker is on the back of a street sign