Unfortunately my last day in Christchurch was fairly uneventful due to the rain. I had forgotten what rain was up in the north island but this isn't quite the case down south. I still managed to get myself out for a bit of breakfast in a cafe however (the best bowl of muesli I've ever had). Back at the hostel I had all of my bags in storage so I just chilled out until it was getting around time to head to the airport to catch my flight to Dunedin.
I waited in the square in Christchurch by the "$5 Airport Bus" sign for the bus that was supposed to come every 20 minutes. After waiting for about half an hour I decided it was beginning to get a bit to close for comfort to my check-in time. I headed over to look at the local bus timetable and it didn't look like they would be able to get me to the airport for another hour atleast. Just as I was about to panic a nice old man, who turned out to be the driver of the $5 bus approached me and asked if I was heading to the airport. I was saved.
I ran in, checked-in my bag and was only waiting for about 20 minutes before I was boarded onto the plane. The flight down to Dunedin was over suprisingly quickly, I was only in the air for about half an hour. After we touched down I stepped outside the plane and breathed in some lovely farmyard-smelling Dunedin air. I was greeted at the arrivals gate by a friendly and familliar face; my uncle Paul.
We grabbed my bags, headed to his car and set off into Dunedin city, catching up with each other on the way there. We had originaly been supposed to go to a vegetarian place for tea but it turned out it had closed down. Instead we opted for a bit of Turkish. We were joined by Gabby and Amy, 2 of Pauls kiwi friends, who are absolutely crazy, in the nicest possible way of course. Felafel at the turkish place was top-notch too.
After dinner we drove an hour and a bit from Dunedin to Kaka Point, where Paul lives. His house is so nice. It has loads of spacious rooms, a log fire to keep you cosy through the cold nights (and days) and an amazing view out over the beach and the sea, which is especially stunning at sunrise, and probably sunset too. As I was getting into bed I actually had a huge smile on my face. A massive, comfy double bed in my own room (!!!) was such a luxury after 2 months of hostel dorms. I had the best nights sleep in a long wile.
Unfortunately it was cut short this morning as I had to get up nice and early. I was giving Paul a lift to work so that I could use his car to explore the place in. I was pretty worried that it would take me a while to, not only get used to the size and power of his 4x4, but also to driving an automatic. It was suprisingly easy and I got on fine.
After dropping Paul at work in Balclutha, about 15 minutes from Kaka Point, I took a drive around the countryside for a while before heading back to Paul's.
This afternoon I've just been chilling out and enjoying having some of my own space. I've done all of my washing, took my time checking my emails, had a nice sit down by the fire and ate my lunch, it's been so nice. In a bit I'm thinking I might go take a drive to Nugget Point, 10 minutes away from here. Apparently theres a lighthouse out on the point there and some pretty impressive views. Seems worth checking out and taking some photos.
