Temporary Digs

We have moved on to phase 2 of the adventure. Cat sitting. That's right, both of us cat lovers are now in charge of one. And it's evil.


It's name is Juno, but the owners call it Fat Madame. Mostly, it just hates us and doesn't come out. We'll see how the relationship progresses......
We moved into the house Friday night (Happy Birthday Craig) and hung out with the owners, Chris and Charlotte. They are a hilarious pair from South Africa. We had to hire a bus to transport all of our luggage. The house is pretty nice by New Zealand standards but they only heat one room. We can literally see our breath in the rest of the house. Hmmmm, maybe the cold rumors are true.......we got in trouble for keeping the heater in our bedroom on all night last night. Apparently being warm is against the rules! Seriously though, like everything else, electric is crazy expensive here and they actually have a shortage of it. That's why the limited heating.
Oh! The best thing about New Zealand! Car horns are called HOOTERS!!!!! Craig is enjoying the many hooters around town.


So, we are in this house for 2 weeks. After that we hopefully will be moving into a rental. Haven't found one yet but have a few good prospects.
Today we walked into town for the Saturday Farmers Market at the train station.


It's pretty cool, usually lots of fresh fruits and veggies, live random music, and lots of people. Today it was a little slow due to the downpour. It's been raining for 3 days now but we've been walking all over the place anyway. It's the best way to keep warm and learn the city! So, what we have learned so far: Dunedin is a very walkable city, with lots of hills, cafes, coffee shops, and bakeries. Flowers bloom even in winter. People (all of them) are super friendly. HORNS ARE HOOTERS. Dunedin is home of the steepest street in the world (check the Guinness Book). Insulation does not exist. And nothing is cheap. All in all, we love it so far. But we would love it more if all of you were here.
We are just relaxing now after our yummy taco dinner. We're happy to be able to cook meals, instead of living on PBJ sandwiches in the hotel. And, we had some yummy beer and CIDER!!! to go with it.





Yes Kim, they have tons of cider here. Not chuck but pretty darn tasty!
And they have a lot of good beer too!
That's all for now, we'll write more soon!
View all our pictures so far below

Dunedin Pictures

How do these things work?

We have stepped into the world of blogging so we can keep you all posted on our down under adventures.  We'll see how well we keep up with it!

So, quick recap of the past couple of weeks:  May 31st, left Boise :( and drove to Pittsburgh to visit all of our friends :).  Dave and Sharon hosted a great gathering with NZ beer served (which they do have here Dave!).


 Then, off to Buffalo for more visiting, packing, and wedding planning.  June 18th, off to New Zealand, and here we are!  Our flights were uneventful, all of our 10 bags made it, except for my (Katie) skiis which made their late arrival 3 days later.  I got to sit next to a man wearing a skirt, and Craig's coworker picked us up at the airport upon friday am arrival in Dunedin.  I don't think she was that excited about cramming all of our junk into her car.  

Our hotel is ridiculously schmancy:  heated bathroom floors, towel rack, and mattress pad. Pretty high class, Craig and I fit right in.

Pretty much, we have spent the last few days tramping (Kiwi word!) around the city looking for a place to live.  And, let me tell you, we thought Pittsburgh was hilly until we got here.  It's crazy steep hills everywhere!  So, our 4 hour walks everyday have good cardio benefits. Anyway, we have found a few potential houses but nothing definite yet.

Weather has been about 50 and sunny-ish, not bad for mid-winter.  Speaking of which, Craig's coworker, Gisela (pronounced geese-la) took us, with her kids, to a mid-winter carnival on saturday night.  It was pretty cool, lantern parade and fireworks.  Then we went to her neighbor's house for some yummy pumpkin/apple/sweet potato soup, beer, mulled wine, and ice cream.  Needless to say, people here have been extremely friendly and welcoming thus far, even offering their car to us!  Too bad neither of us can drive stick on hills!

What else?  Oh yes, prices.  Gas is $8 per gallon, shave gel $8 per can.  Cars are cheap (we plan to try to buy one tomorrow), and food varies.  Clothes and shoes are crazy.  Easily $180 for a pair of sneakers.  Good thing we brought lots of stuff!

We are still trying to adjust to the time change (we're 16 hours ahead of buffalo, 14 ahead of boise).  My thinking it would only take a day or 2 to get used to it was way off.  It's night 4 and we're still wanting to go to bed at 7pm, only to be wide awake at 5am.  So, this blog is partly just an attempt to stay awake until a normal hour.

I guess that's all for now.  We both miss all of you already and will love to hear from you.