Beautiful Waitati

Yesterday evening, I went out to Andy's place in Waitati with a few others from Cantores Choir. Waitati is located about 20 minutes North of Dunedin. It's a really small town on a beautiful beach. Andy and his wife have some property there and invited a few people over for dinner and some wine.

Connected to his house is an old tram car built in 1921 that has been remodelled into a sort of living room space. It was quite neat.

We went for a long walk on the beach just after the sun had set. The sky was absolutely beautiful. Walking along the beach made me feel a little homesick for Hawaii, though.







After that, we had some dinner back at Andy's, and then stayed up [basically] all night talking. It was so much fun.

I now finally have my Midsemester Break plans sorted. Hurray! :D I'm really happy about it as I waited until the last minute to plan things and wasn't sure what on earth I was going to be doing for a while.

Here's the plan:

Fri 04/10 - Sun 04/12 : tramping Paradise with Andy, Damian, and Hanne
Mon 04/13 - Wed 04/15 : Te Anau/Milford Sound with Kimberly
Thu 04/16 - Fri 04/17 : possibly go to Gore with Dom & Kimberly
Sat 04/18 : The Big Beach Bus BBQ Party in Waitati

I really was hoping to go up North for the break, but because I waited until the last minute, I couldn't find any good flight options to up to the Wellington area. It's okay though because I'm pretty sure I'll have more time later in the semester to do some travelling up North.

I am a little nervous about tramping/camping since I've never done anything like it. Ever. However, the others I'm going with are very experienced trampers. After assuring me that the track is fairly easy and that they'd be taking it at a nice, slow, and easy pace for everyone, they won me over. I don't have any tramping gear, but Damian gave me a list of things I need to pick up. Some of the equipment - like a sleeping bag and a rain jacket and a back pack - Damian is going to let me borrow. I will have to get everything sorted by this Friday though since we are leaving at around 5AM.

I was hesitant to say yes to tramping because I wasn't sure if I could handle doing something so hardcore in nature. I eventually said yes because, as Damian put it, when else am I ever going to get the opportunity to tramp an amazingly beautiful track...in New Zealand?? He's right. I cam to New Zealand to experience a new way of life. Going tramping is going to challenge me and put me completely out of my element. I think it's exactly what I need. And as Andy said, I might discover that tramping is something I absolutely love, and may want to spend my life doing it. Who knows. It'll be an adventure though, that's for sure.

It's time to get back to studying. I have two essays due this week before the break, so I need to get on it ASAP!

<3