Dunedin and its many uphills and downhills
Dear Dunedin,
I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. Your architecture exudes a strong Scottish charm yet at the same time those up-down hills and the Otago harbour gave a San Francisco feel. Every uphill provides a different view your beauty.Three weeks here, I still cannot get enough of you.
Love,
Me
These three weeks at Dunedin felt so short yet long at the same time. Usually, I have set a limit for myself to stay at a place for a maximum of about 1-2 weeks, so my time spent at Dunedin had been considered pretty long. BUT it really did not feel like three weeks. It felt wayyy shorter because of the many places I had explored. It is much, much more exciting than Christchurch- the nature, the wildlife and the stories behind the culture at each corner and the various tourist attractions. What first captivates me is the various European Ewardian architecture. I wish I had more time to just sit around in the Octagon City Centre to admire the magnificent St Paul's Cathedral and the elegant Municipal Chambers while munching on my hot cinnamon sugar coated churros.
These three weeks in Dunedin had been bittersweet. I love Dunedin so much that I felt and would love to settle down here for good. However, due to my poor management of relationships, I am now leaving here with bad memories...
I would like to first count my little blessings, where we managed to land ourselves in a very affordable, well located accomodation with a really nice Kiwi host, at the very last minute before leaving Alexandra. He offered his home for the four of us to stay despite our short notice and our short period of stay. His 100+ year old house (yes 100 years already!) is just a 40min walk away from the city area. Ok it's not a walk, it's a 40min vertical climb. Everything is good here except for the poor hygiene in the toilets and the kitchen (with rat! eww). Well, at least he does not stop/limit us from using the heater or the washing machine or his dryer excessively. There is free unlimited high speed wifi for us to use too! This so called new found Edinburg city has many hills and our accomodation is perched right on top of one. It makes a good exercise for us in the first few days. I still enjoy the walks downhill on my way to work, in good weather of course. Talking about weather, Dunedin rains rather often, probably because it is near the coastal area where the temperature at night drops to about 9deg with howling wind. Or there are even days when sunny mornings can momentarily change to a gloomy afternoon. Glad to be guarded by my cute umbrella a couple of times.
Indeed, through travelling experiences, we learnt of others' personality and character. It was sure disappointing to witness my fellow Singaporean male friend here, being so calculative and ungentlemanly, asking our dear female Malaysian friend to sleep on the couch/ the single mattress while he himself enjoys the queen sized mattress. In the end, we three girls decided to share the big room together instead. This boy even had the cheek to ask us to share the cost of his room, claiming that he came down to share costs, It kind of ruin our friendship since then. I felt ashamed of his behaviour as a fellow Singaporean.
We came to this big city because we believe there are greater job opportunities available. We spent the first week going down to various recruitment agencies and different restaurants/shops in search of jobs. All the efforts were futile. E and I did not let this bring us down as we continued to pamper ourselves a little with some fun. We went for a tour in the Cadbury Factory for 20 dollars, where we learnt of Cadbury Chocolate making processes, got to make our own chocolates!! to eat and saw the Chocolate waterfall! We had some really good fish and chips outside the gardens of the iconic Dunedin Railway Station. Booked ourselves into a 4hours return Taieri Gorge Railway trip. Felt like a tai tai in the train, chewing on my Cadbury bars and Doritos chips as the train chugged through the little towns and tunnels, over the iron-wrought bridges, above the seamless streams and bringing us into the unbelievable endless beauty of the Taieri Gorge. I was clumsily busy trying to capture those moments using my GoPro and my Samsung Note 3, and listening to the narration over the speakers. I felt the 50nzd was well spent in that 4hours nevertheless. After returning to real world, I explored a little of this iconic Dunedin Railway Station. it was ranked just below famous Sydney Opera House as the Most Photographed Icon in Australasia and I could totally relate why. The railway station waiting area covered with NZR marked floor tiles and brightly coloured translucent windows, always bustling with so much life!
E and I went to Tunnel Beach on this very very hot sunny afternoon! We took a bus and walked for an hour before we finally saw the sign. Tunnel Beach was mindblowing for a beach! I thought it was wayyyyy nicer than the Loch Gorge which I went in Australia. We trekked downhill for an hour through the gates and were amazed by the beauty of the huge green land on top of the oddly shaped cliff. There is a tunnel which leads us down onto the beach. We were welcomed by a sleeping seal at the end of the tunnel, which we thought it was dead HAHA, until people told us to stay away from them at least 5m away before they might just come after us. Huge white waves were rolling in and the U shaped cliff was beautiful, with its natural jagged edges. We climbed atop the rocks and had a small picnic on our own with the cool breeze pressing against our face. Had totally forgotten about our friends who had kindly come to pick us up. That night, we chatted till pretty late and our friends hurried off to Cromwell the very next day for work. Back to our lonely days where unemployment frustrations were pushing us into a corner, flaring our tempers here and there the next week or so haha.
Despite the presence of many brunch and coffee cafes here in Dunedin, none of them gave a damn about our job applications. The Asian cafes and restaurants are the ones who provided us job opportunities. Accompanied my friend to an interview at a Taiwanese restaurant and I was fortunate enough to pass by a Japanese restaurant, Minami with a copy of my resume. I had the same interview that very day and was offered the job immediately by the Japanese boss as a part time waitress. Still remember on my first working day, I was feeling nervy and excited. I have always wanted to try out working as a waitress, what's more in a Japanese restaurant! Besides my favourite Unagi, Chicken Karrage, Chicken Katsu, Yakitori and Takoyaki, all other Japanese dishes are foreign to me. I was then brought to another smaller restaurant down the lane, changed into my apron and started my work. My brain was screaming at me "INFORMATION OVERLOAD" as the full time staff went about feeding me with tons of information. From the opening of stall to preparation of dishes, taking orders, keying in orders, passing orders to the KOREAN chefs (LOL right), clearing tables, cashiering, alcoholic drinks, washing up duties blahblahblah. At that moment, I swear I felt like quitting and I learnt that money is particularly hard to earn here in NZ. However, time passed very quickly while working in a restaurant due to the brisk business. I struggled the most in learning all the various alcoholic drinks, taking down the Japanese dishes and keying them into the register due to the messy cash register. I made two wrong orders on my first day and Chef Park advised that I double checked my orders each time before keying in, I finally knocked off at 1030pm and was really exhausted. I heaved a sigh of relief when I managed to catch a bus home right to the doorstep. Tears were shed on my second day of work. I was reprimanded by the boss for not knowing how to use the cash register properly in splitting of bills. I could still vividly remember how he left me looking like a fool in front of the customers, struggling with the keys and then beckoned me to the washing area next, scolded me very hard for not taking my job seriously. He expressed his unhappiness over my holiday attitude while everyone else are working hard for their family here. Tears started flowing down soon after when I was banished to wash the dishes at the back. I wondered why I had to go through so much to earn some cash. I learnt from friends who had worked in Japan that it is a cultural difference. Knowing nuts about alcoholic drinks (Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chadonnay, Savignon) I was scolded again on my second day of work for serving a beer as Yamazaki. Time and time again, I contemplated to quit and just stick to the trial at Taiwanese restaurant. I was so afraid of the boss that I feigned fever on my fourth day and went to catch the Christmas parade over the weekend instead. I decided to press on abit at the restaurant because we bought a red Toyota Cynos! And of course, the delicious Japanese meals after my shift were very rewarding. What caught me by surprise was the care and concern showered by everyone who heard that I fell sick. On my second week, I became much familiar with the cash register and also became more familiarise with the menu. I began to enjoy work. However, due to my part time shift hours, I was still barely making enough money to cover weekly rent and food. Just then, a cherry packing opportunity came knocking on the door, starting in January. I decided to move out of this city to travel first before being tied down again for 1.5 months or so. When I dropped the bomb to the Japanese boss, he flared up. He scolded me for not holding true to my words and keeping to my promise of working for him for 1-3 months. I knew I was in wrong and decided to stay on for two more weeks but my travel buddy who was jobless, was bent on leaving. I shared about my monetary issues and he said I could have shared with him. It was too late to convince and rectify anything. Lies cover lies. I told him I would be commencing on my cherry job immediately and he was so unhappy with me, he said he fired me and never wanting to see me ever again. I felt really upset with myself for throwing away such a good job opportunity and even ruining my relationships with the nice people here, leaving myself a bad name and leaving SIngapore a bad name even. I felt so guilty and sorry and this is the biggest lesson I ever learnt in Dunedin :'(
Working in the Taiwanese restaurant was much less intense. The Taiwanese supervisors were more patient in teaching us the ropes. Taiwanese restaurant is more focused on the intermissions between the throngs of tour groups coming in for lunch. We were taught how to clean the tables fast and efficiently and get them ready for the next incoming group. Speed and efficiency is always the key. I used to be someone, easily irked by those used tissues thrown into eating bowls or grossed out having to clear up the mess left behind by the customers. But after taking up this job, when I always have to be quick and efficient, I could no longer care much about the saliva. I just want to get it up done and over with. I always have to be alert with new customers walking in, greeting them with smiles and ever ready to present them with menus and water. The first two weeks of trials were just clearing the tables, washing the teapots and cups, preparing the tables, serving of food and wiping all the dishes dry again for use. Din get a chance to learn to make my own bubble tea. The trial working hours are sum up to just 6 hours a week, Super pathetic but still good enough experience.
The day after we bought Cynos, we went to the steepest road in the world, Baldwin Street. It reminded me of the Lombard Street in San Francisco. There were some cyclists pedaling up like ohgoodness and several cars showing off their engine power there. Cynos defo cant make it up the hill because it is only 1.5cc. E had been bent on leaving Dunedin but never had a concrete plan. She had always been tempted by my Japanese food since I started working. We went to Minami to satisfy her long time craving. However, it was rather awkward for me to be there, seeing the boss who was still super mad at me for my resignation. Right after E had finished her Yakinuki beef set meal and my super nice combo sushi, there was suddenly a hailstorm right outside. When E went out to take a video of it, the boss then beckoned me to the back of house to discuss of the stiuation. In a fit of anger, he decided to fire me. I was really upset and unsettled. I hadnt received my pay and I had no concrete plans for the next three weeks except to have E bugging me to leave my jobs. It kinda made me hate myself for planting the idea into her head of us travelling before work. I put myself into a damn situation of not getting my pay, ruining the relationship with the boss, losing a good source of income and a nice place to work. I was really really upset with my own decision making and for not being able to stand firm to my own beliefs of what I want. I was being influenced by her decision which might have selfish intentions. Never ever felt this upset and lost since I came here. We headed to Signal Hill in the evening to catch the sunset over the whole of Dunedin after dinner. The sky was still bright even at 10pm because of summer period. SIgnal Hill overlooked the entire Dunedin city and the Otago Harbour. Back home, we were plagued with the issue of where to go next.
Decided to make full use of time left in my favourite city, and spent last two days touring other parts of Dunedin. We drove to Otago Peninsula via the Portobello driveway along the coastal area on a great Monday morning. The hillside driveway was closed due to the destruction by the heavy rain a couple of months back. First stop was Taiora Head where you can see The Albatross Bird- one of the largest flying birds in the world and also many more migrating birds there. Pilot Beach was just beside it where we had our first encounter with the seals and sea lions upclose! They were just lazing around, taking their afternoon nap, how adorable please. The seal encounter probably made us pounce for the chance to go for the Little Blue Penguin Tour at dusk for 18nzd per person at the very last minute. We managed to buy the bookme coupon at a cheaper rate. Oh yes, I finally get the chance to be on the wheels! We went to a couple of places in Otago Peninsula before the Penguin Tour. We covered Sandymount where we saw a field of sheepsssss roaming freely, they were running away from us HAHA. Of cos, it smelt badly because of their faeces all over. We went to Sandfly Beach shortly after. Sandfly Beach left me the deepest impression because it was filled with sand dunes all over. When we saw the steep sand slopes leading all the way down to the beach, the thought of climbing back up again gave us second thoughts of heading down. HAHA. The people who were coming back up shared that we could see alot of sea lions there right at the end of the beach, so that became our motivation! The sand was so fine, going down was fast but the way back up really left us breathless. Every step we took, we sank 2cm backwards. However, no regrets of heading down, where we saw two sea lions mating for a good whole 15minutes, oblivious to the rows of bystanders and another lazy sealion napping beside them. There were other sea lions sleeping by the logs and fooling in the sea. It was really a galore of NZ wildlife! We were still early for our Penguin Tour so we shared a really nice carrot cake in the cafe. Night fell and the sky started to darken, there were about 50 of us in for the tour. We were welcomed by a Maori tour guide who sang us a Maori song and shared about Maori history in Otago. Pilot Beach is closed after 8pm so only those who booked the tour are able to access the beach. We were led to a platform deck and 20 odd cute little blue penguins were seen waddling up the shore, passing by our platform into their nests located around the platform areas. They were really soooo close to us and everyone was just snapping away. I was then still fumbling with my Go Pro and my Samsung Note 3 settings. Thankfully the penguins were coming in batches so I managed to get some really cute videos of them scrambling home. These blue little penguins were sooooo cute and it is really worth the money being able to see 200 of them so closely. Drove back home in total darkness for the first time as the roads are not lit except in the city.
Time had come for us to leave Dunedin but we still had no plans where to head to! Woke up late due to a late night. Told our homestay owner we might have to extend a couple more days to pan out our plans properly. It was then so timely, we received a call from the Clinton Organics Farm that they had two vacancies available for WWOOFing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms)! we were so excited because it was going to be our first farming experience. Really gotta count our blessings of how things always fall into place nicely for us. The very next day before leaving Dunedin, we went for the street art trail in Dunedin. The street art trail is along the streets of the city area and every piece of the street art tells a story behind it. We headed to the Taiwanese restaurant thereafter wanting to drop by to leave the uniform and go. To our surprise, they welcomed us in for a free farewell lunch! Gosh, we are finally having some decent nice Chinese meals! The hundreds of things on the menu all look so mouthwatering. Kimchi hotpot, sweet and sour pork rice or roasted meat platter? My mind was confused with the options! Glad that E went for the hotpot and I had the sweet and sour pork rice and a cup of bubble tea each too! Can never forget how crispy the sweet and sour pork tasted with the perfect sauce trickled over it. We were struggling to finish our food because the portions were really huge!! Still remember how we always used to complain about the huge portion of leftovers from the customers, we would lament about their wasteful manners but in fact the portions are really too much for individual consumption HAHA. Anyway we left Dunedin with happy bursting stomachs. So glad to have our cravings were finally satisfied! The food is really really fantastic, that probably explains the long queues and overwhelming tour groups coming in everyday. Do go try for Taiwanese 101 if you ever visit Dunedin! Three thumbs up!
I love Dunedin but it kinda scarred my NZ working holidays memories a little. Ayes, tomorrow will be a better day :D
I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. Your architecture exudes a strong Scottish charm yet at the same time those up-down hills and the Otago harbour gave a San Francisco feel. Every uphill provides a different view your beauty.Three weeks here, I still cannot get enough of you.
Love,
Me
These three weeks at Dunedin felt so short yet long at the same time. Usually, I have set a limit for myself to stay at a place for a maximum of about 1-2 weeks, so my time spent at Dunedin had been considered pretty long. BUT it really did not feel like three weeks. It felt wayyy shorter because of the many places I had explored. It is much, much more exciting than Christchurch- the nature, the wildlife and the stories behind the culture at each corner and the various tourist attractions. What first captivates me is the various European Ewardian architecture. I wish I had more time to just sit around in the Octagon City Centre to admire the magnificent St Paul's Cathedral and the elegant Municipal Chambers while munching on my hot cinnamon sugar coated churros.
These three weeks in Dunedin had been bittersweet. I love Dunedin so much that I felt and would love to settle down here for good. However, due to my poor management of relationships, I am now leaving here with bad memories...
I would like to first count my little blessings, where we managed to land ourselves in a very affordable, well located accomodation with a really nice Kiwi host, at the very last minute before leaving Alexandra. He offered his home for the four of us to stay despite our short notice and our short period of stay. His 100+ year old house (yes 100 years already!) is just a 40min walk away from the city area. Ok it's not a walk, it's a 40min vertical climb. Everything is good here except for the poor hygiene in the toilets and the kitchen (with rat! eww). Well, at least he does not stop/limit us from using the heater or the washing machine or his dryer excessively. There is free unlimited high speed wifi for us to use too! This so called new found Edinburg city has many hills and our accomodation is perched right on top of one. It makes a good exercise for us in the first few days. I still enjoy the walks downhill on my way to work, in good weather of course. Talking about weather, Dunedin rains rather often, probably because it is near the coastal area where the temperature at night drops to about 9deg with howling wind. Or there are even days when sunny mornings can momentarily change to a gloomy afternoon. Glad to be guarded by my cute umbrella a couple of times.
Indeed, through travelling experiences, we learnt of others' personality and character. It was sure disappointing to witness my fellow Singaporean male friend here, being so calculative and ungentlemanly, asking our dear female Malaysian friend to sleep on the couch/ the single mattress while he himself enjoys the queen sized mattress. In the end, we three girls decided to share the big room together instead. This boy even had the cheek to ask us to share the cost of his room, claiming that he came down to share costs, It kind of ruin our friendship since then. I felt ashamed of his behaviour as a fellow Singaporean.
We came to this big city because we believe there are greater job opportunities available. We spent the first week going down to various recruitment agencies and different restaurants/shops in search of jobs. All the efforts were futile. E and I did not let this bring us down as we continued to pamper ourselves a little with some fun. We went for a tour in the Cadbury Factory for 20 dollars, where we learnt of Cadbury Chocolate making processes, got to make our own chocolates!! to eat and saw the Chocolate waterfall! We had some really good fish and chips outside the gardens of the iconic Dunedin Railway Station. Booked ourselves into a 4hours return Taieri Gorge Railway trip. Felt like a tai tai in the train, chewing on my Cadbury bars and Doritos chips as the train chugged through the little towns and tunnels, over the iron-wrought bridges, above the seamless streams and bringing us into the unbelievable endless beauty of the Taieri Gorge. I was clumsily busy trying to capture those moments using my GoPro and my Samsung Note 3, and listening to the narration over the speakers. I felt the 50nzd was well spent in that 4hours nevertheless. After returning to real world, I explored a little of this iconic Dunedin Railway Station. it was ranked just below famous Sydney Opera House as the Most Photographed Icon in Australasia and I could totally relate why. The railway station waiting area covered with NZR marked floor tiles and brightly coloured translucent windows, always bustling with so much life!
E and I went to Tunnel Beach on this very very hot sunny afternoon! We took a bus and walked for an hour before we finally saw the sign. Tunnel Beach was mindblowing for a beach! I thought it was wayyyyy nicer than the Loch Gorge which I went in Australia. We trekked downhill for an hour through the gates and were amazed by the beauty of the huge green land on top of the oddly shaped cliff. There is a tunnel which leads us down onto the beach. We were welcomed by a sleeping seal at the end of the tunnel, which we thought it was dead HAHA, until people told us to stay away from them at least 5m away before they might just come after us. Huge white waves were rolling in and the U shaped cliff was beautiful, with its natural jagged edges. We climbed atop the rocks and had a small picnic on our own with the cool breeze pressing against our face. Had totally forgotten about our friends who had kindly come to pick us up. That night, we chatted till pretty late and our friends hurried off to Cromwell the very next day for work. Back to our lonely days where unemployment frustrations were pushing us into a corner, flaring our tempers here and there the next week or so haha.
Despite the presence of many brunch and coffee cafes here in Dunedin, none of them gave a damn about our job applications. The Asian cafes and restaurants are the ones who provided us job opportunities. Accompanied my friend to an interview at a Taiwanese restaurant and I was fortunate enough to pass by a Japanese restaurant, Minami with a copy of my resume. I had the same interview that very day and was offered the job immediately by the Japanese boss as a part time waitress. Still remember on my first working day, I was feeling nervy and excited. I have always wanted to try out working as a waitress, what's more in a Japanese restaurant! Besides my favourite Unagi, Chicken Karrage, Chicken Katsu, Yakitori and Takoyaki, all other Japanese dishes are foreign to me. I was then brought to another smaller restaurant down the lane, changed into my apron and started my work. My brain was screaming at me "INFORMATION OVERLOAD" as the full time staff went about feeding me with tons of information. From the opening of stall to preparation of dishes, taking orders, keying in orders, passing orders to the KOREAN chefs (LOL right), clearing tables, cashiering, alcoholic drinks, washing up duties blahblahblah. At that moment, I swear I felt like quitting and I learnt that money is particularly hard to earn here in NZ. However, time passed very quickly while working in a restaurant due to the brisk business. I struggled the most in learning all the various alcoholic drinks, taking down the Japanese dishes and keying them into the register due to the messy cash register. I made two wrong orders on my first day and Chef Park advised that I double checked my orders each time before keying in, I finally knocked off at 1030pm and was really exhausted. I heaved a sigh of relief when I managed to catch a bus home right to the doorstep. Tears were shed on my second day of work. I was reprimanded by the boss for not knowing how to use the cash register properly in splitting of bills. I could still vividly remember how he left me looking like a fool in front of the customers, struggling with the keys and then beckoned me to the washing area next, scolded me very hard for not taking my job seriously. He expressed his unhappiness over my holiday attitude while everyone else are working hard for their family here. Tears started flowing down soon after when I was banished to wash the dishes at the back. I wondered why I had to go through so much to earn some cash. I learnt from friends who had worked in Japan that it is a cultural difference. Knowing nuts about alcoholic drinks (Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chadonnay, Savignon) I was scolded again on my second day of work for serving a beer as Yamazaki. Time and time again, I contemplated to quit and just stick to the trial at Taiwanese restaurant. I was so afraid of the boss that I feigned fever on my fourth day and went to catch the Christmas parade over the weekend instead. I decided to press on abit at the restaurant because we bought a red Toyota Cynos! And of course, the delicious Japanese meals after my shift were very rewarding. What caught me by surprise was the care and concern showered by everyone who heard that I fell sick. On my second week, I became much familiar with the cash register and also became more familiarise with the menu. I began to enjoy work. However, due to my part time shift hours, I was still barely making enough money to cover weekly rent and food. Just then, a cherry packing opportunity came knocking on the door, starting in January. I decided to move out of this city to travel first before being tied down again for 1.5 months or so. When I dropped the bomb to the Japanese boss, he flared up. He scolded me for not holding true to my words and keeping to my promise of working for him for 1-3 months. I knew I was in wrong and decided to stay on for two more weeks but my travel buddy who was jobless, was bent on leaving. I shared about my monetary issues and he said I could have shared with him. It was too late to convince and rectify anything. Lies cover lies. I told him I would be commencing on my cherry job immediately and he was so unhappy with me, he said he fired me and never wanting to see me ever again. I felt really upset with myself for throwing away such a good job opportunity and even ruining my relationships with the nice people here, leaving myself a bad name and leaving SIngapore a bad name even. I felt so guilty and sorry and this is the biggest lesson I ever learnt in Dunedin :'(
Working in the Taiwanese restaurant was much less intense. The Taiwanese supervisors were more patient in teaching us the ropes. Taiwanese restaurant is more focused on the intermissions between the throngs of tour groups coming in for lunch. We were taught how to clean the tables fast and efficiently and get them ready for the next incoming group. Speed and efficiency is always the key. I used to be someone, easily irked by those used tissues thrown into eating bowls or grossed out having to clear up the mess left behind by the customers. But after taking up this job, when I always have to be quick and efficient, I could no longer care much about the saliva. I just want to get it up done and over with. I always have to be alert with new customers walking in, greeting them with smiles and ever ready to present them with menus and water. The first two weeks of trials were just clearing the tables, washing the teapots and cups, preparing the tables, serving of food and wiping all the dishes dry again for use. Din get a chance to learn to make my own bubble tea. The trial working hours are sum up to just 6 hours a week, Super pathetic but still good enough experience.
The day after we bought Cynos, we went to the steepest road in the world, Baldwin Street. It reminded me of the Lombard Street in San Francisco. There were some cyclists pedaling up like ohgoodness and several cars showing off their engine power there. Cynos defo cant make it up the hill because it is only 1.5cc. E had been bent on leaving Dunedin but never had a concrete plan. She had always been tempted by my Japanese food since I started working. We went to Minami to satisfy her long time craving. However, it was rather awkward for me to be there, seeing the boss who was still super mad at me for my resignation. Right after E had finished her Yakinuki beef set meal and my super nice combo sushi, there was suddenly a hailstorm right outside. When E went out to take a video of it, the boss then beckoned me to the back of house to discuss of the stiuation. In a fit of anger, he decided to fire me. I was really upset and unsettled. I hadnt received my pay and I had no concrete plans for the next three weeks except to have E bugging me to leave my jobs. It kinda made me hate myself for planting the idea into her head of us travelling before work. I put myself into a damn situation of not getting my pay, ruining the relationship with the boss, losing a good source of income and a nice place to work. I was really really upset with my own decision making and for not being able to stand firm to my own beliefs of what I want. I was being influenced by her decision which might have selfish intentions. Never ever felt this upset and lost since I came here. We headed to Signal Hill in the evening to catch the sunset over the whole of Dunedin after dinner. The sky was still bright even at 10pm because of summer period. SIgnal Hill overlooked the entire Dunedin city and the Otago Harbour. Back home, we were plagued with the issue of where to go next.
Decided to make full use of time left in my favourite city, and spent last two days touring other parts of Dunedin. We drove to Otago Peninsula via the Portobello driveway along the coastal area on a great Monday morning. The hillside driveway was closed due to the destruction by the heavy rain a couple of months back. First stop was Taiora Head where you can see The Albatross Bird- one of the largest flying birds in the world and also many more migrating birds there. Pilot Beach was just beside it where we had our first encounter with the seals and sea lions upclose! They were just lazing around, taking their afternoon nap, how adorable please. The seal encounter probably made us pounce for the chance to go for the Little Blue Penguin Tour at dusk for 18nzd per person at the very last minute. We managed to buy the bookme coupon at a cheaper rate. Oh yes, I finally get the chance to be on the wheels! We went to a couple of places in Otago Peninsula before the Penguin Tour. We covered Sandymount where we saw a field of sheepsssss roaming freely, they were running away from us HAHA. Of cos, it smelt badly because of their faeces all over. We went to Sandfly Beach shortly after. Sandfly Beach left me the deepest impression because it was filled with sand dunes all over. When we saw the steep sand slopes leading all the way down to the beach, the thought of climbing back up again gave us second thoughts of heading down. HAHA. The people who were coming back up shared that we could see alot of sea lions there right at the end of the beach, so that became our motivation! The sand was so fine, going down was fast but the way back up really left us breathless. Every step we took, we sank 2cm backwards. However, no regrets of heading down, where we saw two sea lions mating for a good whole 15minutes, oblivious to the rows of bystanders and another lazy sealion napping beside them. There were other sea lions sleeping by the logs and fooling in the sea. It was really a galore of NZ wildlife! We were still early for our Penguin Tour so we shared a really nice carrot cake in the cafe. Night fell and the sky started to darken, there were about 50 of us in for the tour. We were welcomed by a Maori tour guide who sang us a Maori song and shared about Maori history in Otago. Pilot Beach is closed after 8pm so only those who booked the tour are able to access the beach. We were led to a platform deck and 20 odd cute little blue penguins were seen waddling up the shore, passing by our platform into their nests located around the platform areas. They were really soooo close to us and everyone was just snapping away. I was then still fumbling with my Go Pro and my Samsung Note 3 settings. Thankfully the penguins were coming in batches so I managed to get some really cute videos of them scrambling home. These blue little penguins were sooooo cute and it is really worth the money being able to see 200 of them so closely. Drove back home in total darkness for the first time as the roads are not lit except in the city.
Time had come for us to leave Dunedin but we still had no plans where to head to! Woke up late due to a late night. Told our homestay owner we might have to extend a couple more days to pan out our plans properly. It was then so timely, we received a call from the Clinton Organics Farm that they had two vacancies available for WWOOFing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms)! we were so excited because it was going to be our first farming experience. Really gotta count our blessings of how things always fall into place nicely for us. The very next day before leaving Dunedin, we went for the street art trail in Dunedin. The street art trail is along the streets of the city area and every piece of the street art tells a story behind it. We headed to the Taiwanese restaurant thereafter wanting to drop by to leave the uniform and go. To our surprise, they welcomed us in for a free farewell lunch! Gosh, we are finally having some decent nice Chinese meals! The hundreds of things on the menu all look so mouthwatering. Kimchi hotpot, sweet and sour pork rice or roasted meat platter? My mind was confused with the options! Glad that E went for the hotpot and I had the sweet and sour pork rice and a cup of bubble tea each too! Can never forget how crispy the sweet and sour pork tasted with the perfect sauce trickled over it. We were struggling to finish our food because the portions were really huge!! Still remember how we always used to complain about the huge portion of leftovers from the customers, we would lament about their wasteful manners but in fact the portions are really too much for individual consumption HAHA. Anyway we left Dunedin with happy bursting stomachs. So glad to have our cravings were finally satisfied! The food is really really fantastic, that probably explains the long queues and overwhelming tour groups coming in everyday. Do go try for Taiwanese 101 if you ever visit Dunedin! Three thumbs up!
I love Dunedin but it kinda scarred my NZ working holidays memories a little. Ayes, tomorrow will be a better day :D