New Zealand: Penguin Party in Oamaru

21:30, the sun is still out, but the penguin's aren't crossing yet.

It is 10 o’clock in the morning and I am sitting at a bakery in Oamaru. The sky is kind of blue and the ocean is green, but the weather here is so temperamental, that I never knew what I’m going to get. I just imbibed a “caramel slice” and I’m wishing that I didn’t choose to sit outside because the sun is irritating my already worsening headache and it seems like a long walk to the counter to order a coffee. It might just be my head, but people are staring at my under eye circles and unkempt hair that I may or may not have forgotten to tidy up this morning. But alas, there are some nights that are worth these sluggish mornings.

New Zealand: Hitchhiking in Kaikoura

Hitchhiking from Ohau Stream to Kaikoura with my comrades. Not a bad place to be stuck. 

“This is what you do when you hitchhike,” my fellow German told me, “you stand in a position where the car can pull over and park if he wants to pick you up.” I raised an eyebrow, knowing he was both right and being very German.

New Zealand: WWOOFING & Black Pudding

New Zealand Olympic dressage qualifier during a flying lead change at the Hawke's Bay Regional Dressage Championship.

As I sit here eating the same chow mein for the third meal in a row and sipping tea in order to medicate my coffee addiction, I can reflect on my final experiences in Clive Hawke’s Bay. Two words come to mind: black pudding and dressage. You may be wondering why Chardonnay, or Malbec, or Pino Gris were left out of the mix. They weren’t. They simply were present at all occasions, and therefore, irrelevant to mention.