To the Next Adventure

 17/03/24

Farewell Dunedin

I am writing from the quaint Coffee Club next to Mt. Maunganui in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty. Not only is this town beautiful, but I have been getting to explore it with my mom. For the next two weeks we will be sightseeing the North Island, South Island and parts of Aussie! My wifi signal is limited throughout this epic cruise, but prepare for the cruise highlights in the next few weeks!

This blog post will be dedicated to my last days in Dunedin. Living and working in this fun, youthful city was incredible; I am really going to miss it. The last time I posted, I was just getting settled into the swing of Dunedin life. Working at Quest, I was able to find a really good balance between working and explore the area. I got to go to game nights, markets and even dyed my hair red. While I might not have a ton of photos from this part of my trip, I think this city is where I felt the most connected. I am very happy I left the sheep.

As a way to commemorate, I will list out some of my favorite things I did these last few weeks in Dunedin. 

There were so many beautiful places to see and hike to. In my last weeks, I hiked up into Bethune's Gully and walked around St. Kilda beach. I even scootered to a trailhead despite it being closed for maintenance. (I am determined to hike Mt. Cargill and see the Organ Pipes this week when my mom and I go back to Dunedin! ) Even when the weather was grey, Dunedin still had so many opportunities to get outside and enjoy the New Zealand scenery. Never a dull moment!

Bethune's Gully

St. Kilda Beach

I am going to deeply miss my coworkers and friends. Working here was entirely different than I anticipated. Even though I was a housekeeper, I was still treated so kindly. The crew worked so well together as a team, and I am forever grateful for the week I was lucky enough to stay in the hotel. I even got to go to my friend Kyle's birthday which was so so fun! Quest gave me the community here in New Zealand that I was really craving. I was very lucky to work in such a supportive place. Additionally, I got to go ice skating with Ihāpera and play cards with the roomies Gyan and Kristine. It was so fun to have friends to go do things with! 



Dunedin was also full of such vibrant activities and events! One Friday night, I went to the museum to participate in a murder mystery. My random team and I had a blast tracking down the "killer of the curator" over a delicious spread of charcuterie and clues. We went through the entire museum finding hints to track down the culprit! 



I was also lucky enough to attend the Thieves' Alley Market full of local arts and crafts, a bird themed comedy show, and see the Mean Girls Musical in theatres (even though it wasn't very good lol)!

While my time in Dunedin has come to a close, I am incredibly excited for these next few weeks of pure travel and adventure. I can't believe I have been living in New Zealand for over 6 months now and only have a month left! I have learned and changed so much, but I am getting excited to come home. 

Till next time! 

Love, Taylor the Traveler















Comments

  1. dave coonMarch 18, 2024 at 8:02 PM

    Aw! I'm glad you got a sense of community and integration -- it's important ( And the locals were lucky to get to hang out with you... :) I hope you ladies get a chance to relax and recharge and enjoy the cruise. Super proud of you, young lady :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 5, 2024 at 10:37 AM

    So fun! eagerly awaiting the next chapter! Gma

    ReplyDelete

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