Spring Break: The Long Drive and Day of Tours

Day 11
The view from the southern most point of New Zealand
(excluding Stewart Island).
This day was mainly driving. We took the Southern Scenic Route from Te Anau to Dunedin. This brought us around to the very southern point of New Zealand in the town of Bluff. We went on about an hour and a half hike down there. We tried to find the famous sign that is at the southern point but we didn't see it. After the hike we went to get some lunch. We heard that this area is known for its oysters so we had some of those for lunch. They were expensive but really good. After lunch we continued to Dunedin with some quick stops along the way. We went to a beach that had fossilized trees on it. They were kind of hard to see but I guess it used to be much more impressive. Lauren and Caroline saw a penguin but I was not lucky enough. The next stop brought us to Nugget Point which has an old lighthouse on it. As the sun was setting we continued the ride to Dunedin. We got there right before nine and tried to find a place to eat after settling into our hostel. Caroline and I found a really good Japanese place while Megan and Lauren made PB&J.

Nugget Point
Day 12
I felt like umpa lumpas should have popped out.
This was the day of beer and chocolate. We started the day with a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate factory. It turned out that Nick, one of Megan and Lauren's friends stayed at the same hostel so he came with us. The tour was awesome! They actually took us all around a working factory and we got to see how everything is made. They also gave us little bags and at each stop they gave us a full sized chocolate bar. Near the end we got to have liquid chocolate. It was sooooo good. Our tour guide was really nice and after seeing how happy we were gave us some more. After the tour it was time for lunch so we went over to the University of Otago for some cheap food. Once we finished we walked straight to the Speight's Brewery for a tour. The factory was under heavy construction. They were expanding the factory since the other one in Christchurch got shut down due to the earthquake. They were still able to show us all the rooms though, we just didn't get to see everything in action. After the tour they took us into the tasting room where we got to pour our own drinks for an hour. We then met up with Adam from Lauren and Megan's group and went to the Speight's pub next door. It turns out that he goes to school at UVM. I always get excited when I meet someone from VT or MA when I'm here.

Part of the brewery.
Half the group went out to a mexican restaurant for dinner and the other half went back to the hostel to make dinner. I of course went to the restaurant and am glad I did. I was getting ready to give up on Mexican food here but this place was actually good. And they didn't even put cucumbers in the salsa! After dinner we al met up in the hostel (Adam was staying there that night too in addition to us and Nick) and played some card games. We ended up getting to know all the people in our room pretty well and met a few other people too. It was a really fun and chill night. I think that is how a night in a hostel should be. At the beginning of the trip we always had rooms to ourselves but if I had to do it again I would put us in the biggest room possible and be sure to talk to all the other guests. We hung out with people from all over the world including France, England, Hong Kong, Ireland and Germany.

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