Christchurch - Oamaru - Dunedin

Tue, 10.01.2017:

After dropping off my backpack at the airport in Auckland, I went through security check - which, by the way, is totally ridiculous.

For domestic flights, it seems like it doesn't matter if you carry a full water bottle, half a kilo of pasta salad, and a metal fork with you.

The flight to Christchurch itself was really beautiful, seeing the mountains of the South Island from above - absolutely amazing!

Unfortunately, my water bottle leaked a bit during the flight, so my small backpack was a bit wet when I left the plane.

After collecting my big backpack, I took the booked airport shuttle - it brought me comfortably to the entrance of the hostel: Jailhouse Accommodation, for 24$. Yes, that's right, it's a former prison, my room: a 10-bed room in a prison cell - and one of the big rooms here.

Unfortunately, when I unpacked, I noticed a strange white spot on my toiletry bag and when I opened it, all my stuff was covered in leaked sunscreen.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the sunscreen out of the bag, so I'll probably have to buy a new one tomorrow.

Wed, 11.01.2017:

I got up around 7 am, took a shower and got ready - it was going to be 27 degrees.

After packing my backpack, I set out to find a café for breakfast.

To the next suburb (I was in Addington and had to go to Riccarton - as I wanted to go shopping afterwards) it was about an hour's walk.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a café along the way - but I did have a phone call with Kathi (hi🙋).

When I arrived at the shopping center, I had a bite to eat before strolling through the stores and getting myself a new travel journal.

After finally buying some fruit, I made my way back.

I sat down in a park and enjoyed the weather before heading back to the hostel.

I spent the afternoon on a couch, scribbling.

Around 4 pm, Fritz and his dad arrived. We went grocery shopping together, cooked and ate before going to sleep.

Thursday, 12.01.2017:

After a hearty breakfast, we set off for New Brighton Beach. Fritz and his dad even went swimming (which, to be honest, was way too cold), then we dropped off his dad at the airport. I let them out and went shopping for a few things before picking up Fritz again at the airport.

In the afternoon, we just hung around and talked about what we had been doing the past few weeks.

We also grabbed some pizza and pancakes from Dominos.

Friday:

After checking out, we stopped at Pak n Save before heading to Oamaru.

I called various hostels while Fritz pumped gas - unfortunately, we had no luck, all full.

So we decided to drive to the Top 10 Holiday Park suburb and camp there. $15 per night - so we booked 2 nights right away.

After setting up camp, we went shopping before strolling through the city center. They even have real stone houses here!!😄

We went to a pub, I had fries and Fritz had pizza.

Saturday, 14.01:

After sleeping in, we showered, which took longer for me as I had to wait in line.

By the time I could finally have breakfast, Fritz was already done.

In the afternoon, we did laundry and cooked.

We went to the city center for the sunset - Fritz took some photos before we went to the harbor.

Once it gets dark, the penguins come out of the water here and go back to their breeding grounds.

We saw about half a dozen cute little penguins (it was too dark for photos and using flash is not allowed because it can blind the animals).

Afterwards, we went to McDonald's.

Sunday:

In the morning, we leisurely packed our things before heading to Dunedin.

The first stop on the way: Katiki Point - here we saw wild yellow-eyed penguins, seagulls, rabbits, and seals.

We continued until Karitane, where we stopped at a beautiful beach, sat in the sand, and pondered what to do next.

Fritz called the hostel and reserved for 2 nights.

Arriving in Dunedin, we walked through the city center and had some food - mac 'n' cheese for Fritz and fries for me (aaaah, I just love fries🙄).

At around 4 pm, we made our way to the hostel. We spent the rest of the afternoon signing up for HelpX and contacting various hosts (HelpX is a website where private individuals offer accommodation and meals in exchange for work).

Monday, 16.01.2017:

In the morning, we spent some time contacting two more hosts, as we had already received 3 rejections.

Around noon, we got a positive reply: Edwina, in her mid-40s, urgently needs help in the garden.

She can only provide accommodation and dinner (for 2 hours of gardening work), but that's something at least - we arranged to meet the next day without setting a specific day for departure.

In the afternoon, we walked the 'Street Art Trail Dunedin', which was really fun.

We also ran into a few former acquaintances from Kerikeri and had a long chat with them.

On the way back, we played a game of giant chess before heading back to the hostel (Hogwartz).