Can't find a place to live? Screw it, go camping.
In all honesty, house hunting did not (at first) go terribly smoothly in our new hometown of Dunedin. Perhaps it was excessively optimistic to think that people would be trying to fill rooms mid-term in a college town. So, after several uninspiring days of hunting and burning money at Airbnbs, we decided to do what we do best and take to the country.
Thankfully, Meredith was chomping at the bit to one-up my kick-off road trip planning and laid out a stellar four-day trip around our new backyard. Whatsmore, thanks to lessons hard-learned on the road down here, and a little help from the awesome blog Fresh Off The Grid (seriously if you're going car camping check these guys out), she was also able to seriously step up our campsite culinary game.
So off we headed deep into the heart of Southland to likely the most remote campsite we will be able to access by car, Piano Flats. It was a stunning site, isolated, surrounded by lofty peaks, banked by a crystalline stream, and absolutely fucking overrun with sandflies. Surprisingly, this was our first encounter with the little bitches (we've since learned that the carnivorous ones are the females so yeah, bitches.) and we were caught completely unprepared. Hence we learned an invaluable NZ lesson: bring good bug spray with you everywhere you go.
On the optimistic side, sandflies: don't make noise when they fly around, don't have any interest in your food, don't hurt when they bite, and go to bed at night. On the negative side: they're everywhere, they want to eat you alive, and according to Maori legend they were created by the goddess of the underworld to remind people of their own mortality (a theory we now wholeheartedly endorse).
On the whole sandflies and rain had us beating a speedy retreat from an otherwise epic camping site to head back to Gore (the apparent 'Brown Trout Capital Of The World') to arm ourselves for these new conditions and regroup before we headed to our next spot on the Dunsdale Reserve.
Dunsdale in many ways embodies the beauty of camping in New Zealand to this day. A beautiful, isolated spot, hiking options right by, no fees, and not another soul to be found. It's this ease of access to peaceful isolation that I think will have us constantly heading back into the wilderness all throughout our time down here.
From Dunsdale we headed the scenic way south through an area that's mostly off the beaten track despite being basically on Dunedin's back doorstep, called The Catlins. This wildlife reserve encompasses some of the country's densest temperate rainforest and actually surrounds the southernmost tip of the island. We were a little early on the season for The Catlins so we got an especially solid dose of the RAINforest aspect, but the beauty was inescapable.
We saw the scenic vistas on Porpoise Bay, hiked the many-tiered McLean Falls, got very familiar with the small town of Owaka (and it's chief tourist attraction Teapot Land), checked out the seals at Nugget point, and proved the value of a New Zealand Automotive Association membership. It was an awesome couple of days, as I'm sure you'll see in the pictures, but most of all we're excited to head back in the heart of summer to see a whole new side of this remote area.
Our house, in the middle of a farm.
In all, it seems as though taking a quick camping trip was just the right balm for our lack of housing burn. Upon returning to Dunedin we trekked out to a suburb called Portobello on the Otago Peninsula to a farmhouse with which we promptly fell in love with and immediately moved into.
Otago Peninsula itself is a sight to behold. Dramatic green hills wind into Otago Harbor with remote beaches and endless rare wildlife from Dunedin to the albatross colony at Tairoa Head. Portobello township lies about 3/4 of the way out, and as my boss warned me ahead of time it takes about twice as long as you would think to drive into town on this side of the harbor. That's because the drive out is an absolute hoot. Two lanes barely 5 feet above the surf, winding back and forth along the shoreline. I'm sure we'll eventually get sick of it, but not quite yet.
We moved into an old farmhouse right on the water just outside of the Portobello township with a northlander named Gavin. He's a 28-year-old physics doctoral candidate at the University of Otago, and as we like to say he's 28 going on 68. The man could not be a more classic farm man if he tried, but goddamn if he doesn't know how to keep a nice home.
The home itself is simple. Heated by a log-burning stove, with windows facing the harbor, and positively surrounded by flocks of sheep (the lambs of which you may have seen in recent videos) it is a New Zealand farmhouse to the umpteenth degree. Classical music plays over the radio as the sun streams in through the large windows. A place more given to reading, drawing, and making large meals than it is to watching TV or browsing the internet, it is undoubtedly a peaceful place to live.
Tourists In Our Own Hometown.
With our first proper time off since landing in New Zealand Meredith and I decided it was time to give traveling a bit of a break. So, we played tourist in our new hometown. That meant doing the classics like visiting the public art gallery, having wine and cheese night in the botanic gardens, taking a million pictures at the famous Tunnel Beach, driving the world's steepest paved street (holy shit they weren't kidding, we were legitimately concerned the RAV might not make it up), and spending a good deal of time exploring the coves and vistas of the Otago Peninsula.
But we also did some local exploring while we had the time. We visited the nearby Waipori Falls and the neighboring town of Mosgiel. Suffice to say, while coastal Otago may feature prominently in many guidebooks it is a striking, and stunning place to call home.
Our Route
Tips For Prospective New Zealand Travelers
- You've heard it before. Sandflies are here, they are a problem, don't get caught out without insect repellant.
- If you're buying repellant in NZ pharmacies are the places to look, rather than grocery stores or gas stations (bonus: they'll also have anti-itch cream if you ignored tip #1).
- The bucolic green grass of many campsites is tempting for Colorado campers like us, but these fields aren't always the best spots. Look for elevated patches under trees to stay dry.
- Joining the AA (New Zealand Automotive Association) will save you if you're driving around an old beater like us. Buck up and spend the money, their response time is insanely fast even in remote areas.
- If you'd like to get a New Zealand drivers license while you're down here so you don't have to carry around your passport to get drinks make sure it was issued more than 2 years ago, otherwise you'll need to get a copy of your driving history from the DMV (aka. a living nightmare).