Dunedin

So, we survive our night last night, I actually get some sleep (I’m getting pretty good at this whole sleeping in a hatchback car thing) and we head straight for Dunedin.

First thing we do when we get here is go directly to the beach. Joe chooses this place called St Claire’s, which is a groovy little beach town just outside of Dunedin.

Looking like a kid in a toystore, he jumps in the water right away and gets shredding. 

I, on the other hand, was like a hipster in a coffee shop, and got myself a latte, read a bit, and went for a jog along the beach.

This place was awesome, there was maybe two other people on the stretch of the whole area. It felt a bit like Avila Beach back when Avila Beach was still cool. It’s nice to be in a place that feels like home when you’re so damn far away from home.

The way the offshore wind was hitting, a very cool little phenomena occurred on my jog. As I ran along, every once in a while the wind would pick up behind me, perfectly picking up the white sand from further inshore, covering the darker sand nearer shore like little threads of sand.

We then check into our hostel which is right in the middle of town. The town center in Dunedin is called “The Octagon”, which, to our disappointment, featured no ultimate fighters.

We walk around for a while, heading to the famed railway station. It is supposedly the most photographed building in New Zealand. I’m not really sure why, and frankly I was underwhelmed.

On the other hand, this old town has awesome churches sprinkled throughout that were all open and bustling with workers as they prepare for the Flower Festival this weekend (We had no idea this was going on. Good timing I suppose.) The churches are massive, stone, hundreds of years old, and had some of the best stained glass windows I’ve seen.

Tonight, we’re going to hit the town. Joe has his pants on and his shirt is, for once, not inside-out. You know that that means! Its party time in Dunedin. Hopefully some good stories from the bars tonight...