Taieri Gorge and the Otago Peninsula

On a much happier note, the days after the earthquake were filled with fun. Last Wednesday, most of the international students were invited to a scenic train ride through the beautiful Taieri Gorge. At the end of the ride we were treated to a nice barbecue, but the real treat was the views of the gorge. Here are some pictures...

Last weekend Pete, Lexi, and I went on an adventure to the Otago Peninsula, which begins just south of Dunedin and continues north for about 20 km. And yes, the same Otago Peninsula that was recently ranked number 9 on CNN's list of top places to propose. 

The day began by missing the bus. Not a great start. But this gave us a chance to refuel with some baked goods and coffee/energy drinks. We were dropped off in McAndrew Bay and started walking up a nice road which seamlessly transitioned into a rather muddy track. A little further up the trail we were greeted by a very peculiar automobile...

We ventured down towards Boulder Beach, but were sadly turned away by a sign designed to give the Yellow-Eyed Penguins privacy for the entirety of their mating season. No worries, the next beach over was Sandfly Beach, famous for not only penguins but also seals and sea lions. We were too early to see the penguins, but I did have a rather aggressive encounter with one of the massive sea lions. As a country boy from NH, I was rather excited to see one of these creatures outside of an aquarium, so I did everything the signs told us not to do. I ran up to it, got between it and the sea, and looked it in the eyes. As a response to my obvious threat to it's safety, it started grunting at me and moving towards me. I wish I could say that I held my ground, but I conceded defeat and walked quickly in the opposite direction.

After scaling a mountain of sand, we trekked on and had our sights on Lover's Leap and The Chasm, which, according to the map, offered some cool views of the sea cliffs. It turned out to be so much more than that. Though pictures could never do these places justice, here are a few...

As darkness was approaching, our legs were letting us know that that was enough for one day. But our search for an adequate camp site turned up fruitless as we realized that there were literally no flat areas on the peninsula, never mind a covered spot. So we continued to the Portobello "Motor Camp" which had a nice sign outside displaying no open tent sites. But after some American charm, we managed to score a spot for the night.

The next morning we set our sights on Harbour Cone, one of the highest points on the peninsula. It turned out to be a quite short, but rewarding hike up from the main road. At the top we broke out the snacks and enjoyed the 360 degree view of the peninsula and inland Dunedin.

We continued our trek on Highland Rd, the main artery of the peninsula. After about 7 kilometers of walking on the road and almost getting hit by numerous cars, we found Buskin track, which our fellow trampers told us led to a killer camp spot. Killer it was, and good thing, too, because it was a very windy night.

After another night of not so much sleep, I woke up early (5 am) in hopes of catching the sun rise. I quietly gathered my jacket, camera, and headlamp and headed out of the oasis forest. Little did I know, but our camp site was infested with opossums. It seemed that no matter where I directed my headlamp, there were two ugly beady eyes reflecting back at me. Pretty creepy. I started hiking and climbed up to a cliff to the south of the camp site. After about 45 minutes of waiting in the dark, the sun began to awake. It turned out to be one of the most dramatic sunrises that I've ever seen.

The next weekend adventure... Queenstown, the Adventure Capital of the World.