WILBUR

More Photos!

Picture time!

Returning The Juice Box

We have come to know our rental vehicle as the Juice Box, once you see a photo you will understand why it was named so. Before we had to give it in we decided to really test it, we took it up Guinness World Records steepest street. Of course neither of us was driving, we had a more experienced friend drive it up. I'm sure thats where they got the original idea for a roller coaster from. It was quite scary going up and down.  

Unfortunately we had to return our vehicle today which is going to make it very difficult for us to get around but will also make my fear of any type of hill go away. We learned that to return the vehicle we had to drive it all the way to the airport, again hoping there were no hills. To our luck there were only a few which we managed to make it up while staying in 4th gear. 

We took the shuttle back from the airport and then decided to venture down the main street and found out that downtown was about a 20 minute walk. We then went to our friends house to indulge in some video games, mostly rock band. 

Road Trip

We woke up early in the morning to do a final pack up and to make some sandwiches for the road trip. We left a little after schedule, only 45 minutes later. Unfortunately it was a horribly ugly day and there was rain the whole way, we did manage to find a lovely spot to look out over the all be it rainy ocean while enjoying our sandwiches and juice. 

It was a long drive to Dunedin, around 6 hours. The first part of the drive was quite easy, straight going and what not. Once arriving in the Otago region we were surprised to see tons and tons of hills, which are not the new manual drivers forte. 

We had a little trouble with one particular hill and quite possibly rendered 5th gear unusable, thank goodness we bought the heavy insurance. 

We arrived in Dunedin and found a hostel which we are still calling home, Penny's Backpackers, although it is a fair walk from the city centre the room has a very fair price and comes with a television (which is great with all this rain). And the beauty of this hostel is we will only have to check out of our room once and then we can go back to it! 

Horseback Riding

Sorry for not posting in a while! The one thing they never say about free internet is how painstakingly slow it is! We have been trying to put up posts and pictures for days now with no success! So no photos for now but we promise some are soon to come!

We awoke in the morning ready to check out of our room once again, but today we were prepared. We had gone to a grocery store, all be it a very tiny one with limited selection. We managed to get pancake mix and maple syrup which made for a delicious start to the morning. 

Then we played a long painstaking game of monopoly with some friends, everyone managed to go broke in the end but the game took up just enough time so we could check back in and get picked up for our horseback riding outing. 

The horseback riding was amazing, they let the advanced rider (Montana) canter and gallop and tried to teach the beginner (Arden) how to trot which was semi-successful.


At the horseback riding barn they let us feed an orphaned lamb and see the really ugly pig they call Wilbur.

After getting back to the Jailhouse hostel we decided to try out driving to a cheaper grocery store hopefully with some selection, we got a little lost but eventually made it to the pac n save.

We made ourselves a little slice of home, TACOS!

Then went to bed early before a long drive in the morning.

3 Pedals?!?!?!

We had Christchurch all planed out this time, we had a place to say activities booked and the elements decide to take a turn for the worst, cold and rainy weather is all we get all day. Which really doesn't work for horseback riding so they called us to reschedule but then the only time we could do it was when we planned on zip lining which is unfortunate so we forfeited the zip lining and decided to do the horseback riding tomorrow!

So we had the great idea to rent a car and drive down the coast to Dunedin from Christchurch on Tuesday so we could take advantage of the beaches along the way. We have the car for 3 days and so went to pick it up on Sunday. We bought the full insurance policy as a precaution because only 20% of Kiwi's have insurance. They pulled up our little car (emphasis on LITTLE); a tiny gold Daihatsu Sirion. As soon as we got in the car we knew we had made the right move and purchased the full insurance; it was manual! I hadn't driven manual in about a decade and Montana had only tried it a few times.

On top of the stick shift, we are also driving on the other side of the street, which only made driving more overwhelming and difficult. Montana bravely got behind the wheel and actually did very well! We stalled out a few times, but she picked it up quickly. We never realized just how confusing it is to drive in Christchurch! We're used to the grid-like layout of Calgary, not the twisty turny streets of New Zealand.

It almost lead to tears and temper tantrums for both of us, but we finally made it back to the hostel without damaging the car or ourselves. 

Travel Day

Yet another day spent on the high seas and travelling the winding New Zealand Costal Roads. We spent most of the ferry making sure we had a hostel once arriving in Christchurch (we learned this time). It was time for us to leave the North Island, we had a great time and saw some amazing sights and met tons of new people, the experience will never be forgotten. 

Saying goodbye to Wellington~

Arden spent some of it sleeping! I spent most of the time trying to not get sick and drinking Ginger Tea, we have learned about some things that are hard to come by in New Zealand, one of them being Gravol!! 

Then we had a short break outside the ferry terminal before our bus so we indulged in some good ol' subway sandwiches which really hit the spot after a morning on the tipsy turvy ocean. We got on the bus and headed down to Christchurch, a familiar location but we had somewhere new to stay. 

We are staying at the Jailhouse!! 

Don't worry friends and family we were not put in Jail, we are simply staying at a refurbished jailhouse.      

 Unfortunately for us there was a ton of confusion when we booked our room, so we are in the same room for the 18th and the 20th but we have to check out every morning at 10am and then check back in a 1pm because we are in a different room. It makes it a little bit more difficult but the hostel is in a great location and is very safe! We are dead bolted into our rooms and there are bars on the windows and the doors are made of wrought iron. Here are some photos we took before heading to bed after a long day of travelling. 

One Ring To Rule Them All

Today we woke early in the morning to say goodbye to our new friends who were leaving bright and early. We then went to a restaurant down the street, Sweet Mother Kitchen where they have the best eggs on rye ever! Its a fun little establishment and it has the same feel as Nellie's back home.

At 10:15 we were picked up for our Lord of the Rings Valley Tour, we got on the bus with another girl from our hostel named Kat, and joined 5 other people from various hotels around Wellington. We proceeded to watch film clips en route to all the film locations. I would put up the photos but all the evidence of filming or any LOTR has been destroyed and put back to normal by their "Green Project". 

We are dressing up as the two wizards Gandalf The Grey and Sauroman's walk on the same path that they did 12 years ago to the month.  

They had photo's of how they edited the greenery to look more foreign and added large castles and small props in the distance so they would look large in the scenes. 

Our guide brought along a cape, ears, and bow and arrow for us to pose on the same spot as Orlando Bloom in his famous shot. Montana looked positively elvish.

Wellington Cable Cars

We awoke this morning to an empty room, all of our room mates had left on the early bus. After a little bit of sleeping in we showered and got ready for the day. We started it out right with gelato! And pulled pork Po Boys from a corner funky restaurant.

Then we walked through the city to take a ride on the old school Cable Car that runs up the side of the mountain (what we Albertans would call a smallish hill). 

At the top we found the botanical gardens which turned out to be way bigger than expected, so we decided to take a walk and explore. We didn't realize that when you walk a significant distance downhill the only way to get back up is it to walk uphill. Not as fun as going down thats for sure! 

We spent the day exploring and found some old military equipment and climbed some amazing trees. It was just so sunny we had to try and spend the whole day outside! 

After a day of exploring in the sunlight we decided to take it easy in the evening, we attempted to go shopping but couldn't really buy anything because we have no room so we each got a pair of earrings. We met our new roommate Jenn, but she was only staying the night and catching a bus at 7am to head down south. She was from Oxford, England and was tons of fun. She joined us for dinner and we went to a bistro down the street from our hostel, Arden and I both got risotto and split a chocolate dessert to spilt between all of us! It was a lovely meal! 

Welcome to the North

So here we are in Wellington, where the magical world of Middle Earth came alive. Getting here only took us a 6 hour bus ride and a 3 hour ferry ride, which just nearly killed Montana. I found it absolutely breathtaking and spent most of the ride peering into the water hoping to see some dolphins.

There were dolphins sighted as we approached Wellington and just about every passenger rushed over to port side to take a look; it seemed as though the boat was going to tip over.

We met our roommates and to our surprise half of our room was Canadian. There were 2 girls from Denmark and another from Chile, but unfortunately they weren't that chatty.

On Wednesday we explored the neighbourhood and got our hair cut (finally!). We met up with Alvin who was in the city and went to a bar called The Library (just kidding this picture is totally at Burger King).

Travel Time

Bussing is the cheapest way to travel around New Zealand but as we have also figured out it is the longest form of transportation. We have succumbed to the travellers diet of bus fares and cheap grocery food. Here is our favourite form of transport, cheap.

When you are travelling by bus you get to see a lot of the countryside going by and all the small cities that you pass through. Although it really does not bode well with Montana and her weak stomach (there was a lot of Gravol consumed). After a five hour bus ride we arrived in Christchurch at 7:30. We had decided previously that we wouldn't book a room for the night and just go into the first hostel we found since we were only staying for one night. Worst decision ever! Due to an earthquake, every hotel/motel/hostel was full! We walked around for an hour, trying desperately to find somewhere to stay. I was seriously considering the possibilities of sleeping on a bench or squatting in one of the many abandoned houses (due to the earthquake damage). However, Karma came in with a win when our cabbie happened to recommend the YMCA, which only had 2 rooms left. 

After securing the room we attempted to walk down to a grocery store to get some real (ish) food. The extremely ill tempered receptionist at our hostel marked them on a map for us but after wandering for thirty minutes, we realized that the supermarkets were actually off the edge of the map and she had just been to lazy to give us proper directions. Thankfully a very nice 50 year old vampire lady working in an adult toy shop was kind enough to give us the correct directions.

Beer Anyone?

Before heading off to the bus station to start our jaunt up North we decided to see more of local Dunedin.
There's not much in Dunedin, it's a university town so they have come up with a way to make their own beer and they have been doing it for a long time. We went to the Speight's Brewery and got to pour our own beer and taste test it all.

After the brewery tour we went to the local Train Station to take some photo's and bask in the little bit of sunlight that came shinning through.

It was so picturesque, and I think Arden got taller. 

Now off we go on our bus adventure. TO the North!!! 

Faux Lilac Festival

On Saturday we got up with the intention of running a few errands and just relaxing, but Dunedin had other plans. We happened to stumble across the Flower Festival, a festival similar to Calgary's Lilac Festival, only with giant bouncy ships!

We got tattoos (no not the real ones), just air brush.

We painted rocks for Alvin's flat mates and purchased a shirt or two. After exploding our hair straightener, we wandered about for what seemed hours, going into store after store trying to find one. Apparently they're about as common as unicorns here.

That night we were invited to Alvin's aunt's home to participate in a traditional Buddhist dinner, where the preparation is as much a part of the meal as the actual dining. Everybody helped to cook the meal, except for us of course, we lacked the necessary skills to be an asset and not a hindrance. The meal was excellent, some dishes were a little unusual, but it was very unique and delicious!

That night we went over to Alvin's friends' house to meet other people and get together before heading over to one of Dunedin's most popular clubs. The night life is totally different here! People head to the clubs much later and don't retire until dawn. We had difficulties keeping up with everyone else, but we held our own, Canadian style!

Good Morning New Zealand

Waking up in a different country always feels surreal but waking to Arden's beautiful face gets me through every day! 

haha just kidding! although I do find comfort in it. 

We had a day well spent in Dunedin touring around, as most of you probably don't know Dunedin is home of the steepest street in the world. So we had to check it out! 

After walking up the street we went to the lookout point. Man it was b-e-a-utiful! The hills and greenery remind us a bit of sweet home! 

As usual we are enjoying ourselves and loving meeting new people and being in a different country.