So on the 18th September 2008, I reached 25 years old. I mean I know many have done it in the past - but I consider it a complete achievement to reach this impressive figure. I feel over those years, I have matured into a well rounded and proficient member of society. I mean, just look at this bungy photo of me and Darren jumping off a 47m high ledge, into a river, with party hats on. My hat actually completely disappeared during this jump although I did have the string attached to my ear. You can see the hat falling off in the DVD and it also makes it into one of the other photos, as it falls off my head. The whole thing was completely ridiculous.
In fact my whole birthday week has been following that sort of nature. On the 17th September, Darren, myself and three girls we had met (Kat, Becka and Ellen) went out for more than a few drinks - which ended up with shots of sambuca that were (of course) set on fire before consumption. Then on my birthday, after getting presents from all the wonderful family back home (thank you all), a present from Darren and a birthday cake, candles and card left by the three girls (so kind), we returned to the bars where we met some Kiwi's for a few drinks and also a guy called John who I had met in Noosa, Brisbane and Byron Bay during my time in Australia, which was cool. It's now the weekend - and officially it's my birthday night out tonight - my only aim is to remain alive and the rest will be as it is.
So I suppose the accomplishment of hitting 25 means nothing really. While I have reached a quater of a century in bodily years, my mental state is probably somewhere around the quater of a decade level - which is where it has been since I was a quater of a decade old. Still I wouldn't have it any other way, we all live for fun and thats exactly what I have been having............long may it continue.
Saturday 20 September 2008
Making It To A Quater Of A Century (25 Years Old)
Taupo
The town of Taupo lies on the northeastern corner of NZ's largest lake - Lake Taupo. At 606 square kilometers Taupo is the site of one of the world's great volcanic centres. Like that of Indonesia's Lake Toba in Sumatra, which I had visited about 4 months ago, Taupo is a super volcano. Hidden under the water is a source of tremendous quantities of magma - which one day wil be ready to shoot to the surface, blowing the volcanoes fuse again. In it's past Taupo has had two major eruptions. About 26,500 years ago - the really big one occurred which created a hole (caldera) now filled by the lake. It produced an estimated 800 Cu Km of ash and pumice. For comparison the 1883 eruption of Krakatua (which I was also lucky enough to see 4 months ago) produced just 8 Cu Km and Mt. St Helens only puffed out 3 Cu Km when she blew in 1980. The eruption devastated the entire North Island, coating the land in ash up to 100m thick. More recently in AD 181 there was accounts of darkened skies, and spectacular sunsets as far away as China - from an eruption that would have produced an ash column some 50Km's high. Luckily for everyone concerned - there was no-one (and so little concern was provided). NZ was uninhabited at the time and so what could have been a natural disaster of immense proportions was simply a natural phenomena of immense proportions. Today there are over 250,000 people living in Taupo and millions surrounding the area. If Taupo were to blow on a huge scale like those of the past - it would be an evacuation like no-one has ever seen before - the entire North Island of NZ would have to pack up - and thats if an eruption could be forecast, for if it couldn't - then it would be goodbye for 250,000+ people who would at least enjoy their last moments with front-row seats at the best fireworks show in town. Taupo was my sort of place - I think I was going to like it here.
Darren and myself arrived after a long 6 hour trip from Wellington. It was good to be off a bus for a while, as we were both staying here in the relatively small town of Taupo for the next month. Darren was going to look for a job for the next few weeks to keep him entertained and provide some well needed cash, and I was starting work in three days at Wairakei - a short trip up north of Taupo where I would work in the volcanology section at Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS), who do all the research and monitoring of volcanoes in New Zealand.
I have currently been in Taupo for just over a week. I have completed my first week at GNS, which was both interesting and enjoyable. I arranged this job before I left travelling, 7 months ago with Gill Jolly, originally from Yorkshire, England and volcanologist who is coordinating the work I am undertaking here. I have been put on the GIS Hazrad Response Mapping section, which is essentially compiling hazard maps for many of the volcanic centres in the country. I am compiling the information so that if one of the volcanoes is showing signs that she is ready to pop - all the map data is there on hand, with all the hazrad areas marked on, which places will need to be evacuated etc. I have also been told that I will be going out in the field (hopefully) when some of the monitoring teams head out - but monitoring is all weather dependant, one thing I or other volcanologists can't control - as much as we would like too. It's also interesting - speaking to the experts in the field, seeing how a volcano (and other geological) research centres operate, and having access to all the data, including real-time seismic signals as they come in. Actually on the 17th September, while I was walking to work we had an earthquake reach 4.4M and pretty much everyone felt it except me. I don't know how - I was awake, but later I found out that the only other person who didn't feel it - was Darren - he slept straight through it.
I suppose the only down-side to the job is getting there. I can't afford to get a car and as yet haven't sorted out a bike. There is no public transport and to walk from Taupo to GNS takes one hour and 15 minutes each way - so you can understand how, by the end of the week, I had slipped into a small coma. Actually I was kind enough to get some lifts here and there but not all the time as many of them ride bikes or don't live in Taupo. But apart from the fact that I feel like i'v just climbed Mount Vesuvius before i'v even started my days work, the rest is exactly what I wanted.
On the days that I have had when I haven't been working, I have taken a good look around Taupo and further afield. The Lake is a great spot to walk by - many just relax by this colossal pool of water. I have also walked along the Huka Track to the Huka Falls, which is NZ's most famous falling water feature - as water plunges through a narrow cleft in the rock and travels at spectacular pace and energy. The Huka Falls is actually on my walk to work so I get to see it quite regularly (as well as the other stunning scenery along the way) - so at least there are some advantages to my trek. Next to GNS is also a Volcanic Activity Centre which is full of useful information about volcanoes (especially those in NZ) and some earthquake facts too. If your into your volcanoes then a trip here is a must, just for the load of interesting information and the earthquake simulator. Customers have to pay a 10 dollar admission fee but I got in free because I work for GNS - perks of the job!!!
Darren also now has a job working in an internet cafe (the one I am writing this blog from) and we have found a cheap twin room in a backpackers. We have essentially stopped travelling and are now living.
We also said goodbye to our good friends Marie and Alice who left us in Taupo and headed onwards. We meet many travellers in our hostel - usually for a few days before they move to their next destination but some are here long enough to become real friends, which is nice.
The main thing I have to do in Taupo before I leave is skydive. This is considered by many as the skydiving capital of the world and one will definately be done in the next few weeks. However, while Darren attempts to get the funds before we do it - we did have time to do other extreme activities which were not so expensive. In fact we have done another two of them. In the last month Darren and I now both tally 4 bungy jumps each. The one in Taupo is over the largest river in New Zealand - Waikato River. On our first bungy, we both jumped the 47m fall and got dunked into the river, up to our legs. It was great fun and certainly cooling on a hot day. Our second jump which was done a week later, was done tandem. They tie a bungy rope to you, then tie one to your friend (Darren in this case) and finally they tie your ropes together. Then, on the count of three - you both jump off holding each other around the waist. To make it more daring we were told to do the reverse escalator. The jump is done backwards and instead of going down head first as normal you both jump off like your taking a step back. You fall feet first and then get swung all over the place as the rope flicks you back out. It was insane.
The only other thing to tell you was that we did this last bungy jump with party hats on, the reason for this was because on the 18th September 2008 I reached a quarter of a century years old..........
Sunday 14 September 2008
Back In Wellington
So we finally left the incredible South Island of New Zealand and returned to it's northern shores. We were back in the country's capital city and it was no bad thing. We only spent a couple of days in Wellington as we had seen the city (in parts) on our first visit here.
In honest the only worthy thing of note during our time in Wellington this time around was a trip up to Mt. Victoria which lies just east of the city centre. We took the bus up to the top (lazy - I know) and from there you get 360 degree views over the whole region. You can observe the whole of the city from up here, the harbour front and across to mountains in the distance. On the way down we walked down the wooded slopes of the mountain / hill - an area known as the townbelt. It was in this area where they filmed the famous "Get off the road" scene from Peter Jackson's - The Lord Of The Rings - The Fellowship Of The Ring film. We went on the lookout for the spot but there's no sign saying - 'by the way the LOTR's place your looking for is here' - which would have been handy. After much searching through wet and muddy ground though - I think we found the spot and snapped some photos.
We spent our evenings here entertained by a British couple - Adam and Ellie who were perfectly normal 28 year olds when sober but after a few drinks involuntarilly became 6 year old kids - the transformation was incredible. Wellington also turned out to be one big reunion for both Darren and I - although it was not planned that way. We bumped into two English girls that we had met in Dunedin, Daniella who was our roomie in Christchurch, and two Bolton girls who we had become good friends with while we were staying in Queenstown. We met them all in different locations across Wellington - that happens when you travel.
After all our hello's and then goodbyes (again) we departed for Taupo. It was Darren and myself's final stop for a while. All in all, of 7 months of travelling I have never stayed in one place at one time for longer than a week - anywhere. After a 6 hour bus ride north, we arrived in Taupo - a place that I would call home for at least a month, where I would spend my birthday and where I would finally (to the relief of my parents) get work and it (to the relief of myself) would be studying volcanoes.........
Wednesday 10 September 2008
Kaikora
Kaikora was only 2 and a half hours up the coast from Christchurch. It's a small (basically one road) town, set along the coast. It's a quiet but scenically enchanting place and a popular location for tourists due to the large number of accessible sealife (specifically whales and dolphins) which everyone comes to watch or even swim with here. Over the 7 months traveling, I have seen and swam with a huge variety of wild creatures and many of them were water based, but of all the things to do - swiming with dolphins was one of the top things for my friend Darren (he loves his animals) and so I decided that I would come along for the swimming ride.
Unfortunately, we only had one full day to swim with the dolphins and on that day our trip was cancelled. Aparently this happens a lot. If you don't have the right weather conditions or the dolphins are not up for messing around in the waters that day then the trips get postponed. We had been speaking to many people who had stayed in Kaikora for days for the chance to swim with these watery mammals but kept having their trip postponed. One thing you learn when you travel and seeing many wild creatures - is that you just can't rely on them. Equally you can't rely on mother nature either and so when you have the two to rely on - your chances are low - especially if you only have one day to do it. I promised Darren that he would get his swim with a dolphin before he leaves NZ - there are plenty more places to do it - and hopefully it would be in summer, when the waters would be warmer.
Instead, on our (now) free day, we took a long walk up to the Seal colony. It was a great (and long) walk but the seals were all there waiting for us. Most growled at Darren for attempting to get too close - he really does love his animals.
After a couple of relaxed days, we departed Kaikora (Kai = food and kora = crayfish in Maori - they eat lots of crayfish here) and finally left the South Island. It has been a great experience. Certainly the scenery on this half of the country is far more appealing and there are so many things to see and do down here. The variety of locations is just phenomenal. However it was time to head back to the smoking, volcano rich North Island. Life was good - when your heading to Taupo - and you want to be a volcanologist.........
Christchurch And The Tranz Alpine Railway
Our bus winded it's way up the east coast and after five hours we reched the largest city on the South Island - Christchurch. It is described as the most English of NZ's cities and although it's center sits along the Avon River and a grand Anglican cathedral rises above the cities central square, we didn't really feel as though we were back home. I can't describe exactly what it was about the place but it never felt like England to us. However, Christchurch, in it's own way is a pleasant place to spend a few days. We covered some ground while we were here - through the cities center and out towards the botanical gardens to the east of town.
Christchurch is also the gateway to one of the world's great railway journey's. The Tranz Alpine traverses the country, taking you from Christchurch on the east - to Greymouth, which sits on the western shore by the Tasman Sea. It's described as one of the most scenic travel experiences you can take - so we thought we had to book ourselves on. The plan was to take a one-way trip to Greymouth and then get a bus from there back over to the east coast for our next destination - Kaikora. Unfortunately there is no bus that goes from Greymouth to Kaikora so in the end we were booked on a return journey - all in one day. This was the first and probably the last time that I would be taking any form of transport not to actually go anywhere. We were soley taking this train ride - just for the train ride.
The Tranz Alpine Railway was worth the day out. It starts off cutting the flat alluvial Canterbury plains to the foothills of the Southern Alps. It then enters a labyrinth of gorges and hills known as the Staircase before emerging into the broad Waimakariri and Bealey Valleys. You reach the half way mark, crossing beech forests and snowcapped mountains, before stopping at Arthur's Pass within the Arthur's Pass National Park. You then take a series of tunnels under the mountains to the west coast. On the western side, you pass further rivers, forest valley's and the trout-filled Lake Brunner before arriving in Greymouth. Most passengers then disembark and continue on their way. For us however we did the whole stunning journey in reverse back to Christchurch. It was a great trip even if I am now completely all train'ed out for a good while.
We left Christchurch, continuing north along the South Island's east coast. It was our final stop on this half of the country.....we had arrived in Kaikora.
Tuesday 9 September 2008
Dunedin And The Otago Peninsula
We missed our bus from Queenstown to Dunedin - well almost. The night before we had little sleep because an Irish couple were keeping us up having a domestic (fight) at 2am. When we awoke, we reached the pick-up point with a few minutes to spare but the bus had already gone. We quickly rushed to the office so they could phone the bus driver. We then had to catch a taxi to chase the bus. Eventually we caught up with it and we were on our way. Five hours later we reached Dunedin on the South Island's east coast.
Dunedin is a fairly large town (for New Zealand) and the place had a feel to it which reminded me of Nelson. Victorian public buildings are dotted between modern structures, while wooden villas scatter the surrounding hillside suburbs. The town is very university orientated and students are often the only group of people you see out here. We only spent a couple of days here, checking out the town, it's oldish style buildings and recovering from our days in Queenstown.
Dunedin is a popular spot because it sits by the Otago Peninsula, an important ecological location because it is home to some rare and incredible wildlife, all of which is easily accessible. Darren and I took a day trip out on the Peninsula to see some of these creatures. On our trip we saw Fur Seals, Sealions and the rarest (of the 18 species of) penguin in the world - the Yellow Eyed Penguin which I believe can only be found in NZ. We also tryed to spot the Royal Albatross but they were just not coming out to play that day - aparently it wasn't windy enough for them. It was however rainy enough - we got completely soaked , including my camera which decided to stop working for three days after. The trip was well worth it though, just to see some animals which I will probably never see again.
After two days we left Dunedin and headed back up north, to the South Island's largest city - Christchurch......
Queenstown
The trip from the icy Franz Josef, down the west coast towards Queenstown is a long but stunning bus ride. Along the way you pass Franz Josef's glacial neighbour - the Fox Glacier, then south along New Zealand's snow peaked Southern Alps, into the Mount Aspiring National Park, past rivers and gorges before cutting inland to find yourself surrounded by the most georgeous mountain lakes, notably the almighty Lake Wanaka. The town of Wanaka on which the lake resides would definately be a place to stop on the backpacker route and for many it is. Unfortunately we were short on time and so we only got to spend half a day staring at this marvel of a location. I can't describe how mind-blowing the scenery is here in the South Island. This country really is Middle Earth. Wanaka is certainly a place for a future return but on this occasion we continued our trip 100km south to the incredibly beautiful, but outrageously monney-sapping Queenstown.
Queenstown sits on the northern shore of serpentine Lake Wakatipu, a place which should in theory be a small, quite relaxing location but in reality is teeming with life day and night. Every traveller will tell you that Queenstown is the place to be and they all correct - in every respect. The town does have a laid back feel to it. Small sidestreets are littered with funky shops, bars and cafe's. The location though is Queenstown's quality. The mountain peaks of the Remarkables which loom over the town are used for serious skiing and snowboarding. There are other nearby slopes too for those who love to shoot down the snowy slopes. The lakes and rivers that surround the town are utilised in a number of ways including jetboat rides, white-water rafting and river surfing. There are great mountain walkways for the intrepid enthusiast and tours to nearby wineries, lake cruises and Lord of The Rings locations. For the adrenaline junkey - there are three bungy jump sites, skydiving, canyon swings and quadbiking. Basically Queenstown is New Zealand's or perhaps the World's activity center and I wasn't going to miss out.
After checking out the town (which can be done in 15 minutes - it's a small place) Darren and I headed straight into AJ Hackett's office and booked ourselves in. If you don't know the man, let me explain. In the beginning there were some tribal blokes on the small island of Vanuatu who using just vines would hurl themselves off of high places and somehow reach the ground alive. Watching videos of this a team in Oxford thought they would take this idea to the next level, practicing and perfecting the art but using better ropey equipment than just vines. However the idea didn't really take off untill one man - Mr AJ Hackett took it to the final level. In 1987 he lept off the Eiffel Tower before setting up in 1988 - the first commercial bungy jump site in the world - The Kawarau Bridge Jump (over the Kawarau River) which is located just outside Queenstown. This wasn't the bungy jump Darren and I had come to do. We decided that one bungy jump is probably enough for any man and if your going to do one - then you might as well do it properly. On the 28th August 2008 (my dad's birthday by the way) we prepared ourselves for The Nevis Highwire.
The Nevis Highwire Bungy is an engineering marvel and takes the title as the world's first gondola jump. What that means is this. Above the Nevis River, a series of wires stretch from one side of the canyon to the other. In the middle sits the gondola jump pod from which scared victims hurl themselves to the ground 134m below. It's 8.5 seconds of freefall and is the highest jump in Australasia (highest in Australia and New Zealand basically). To get to the pod is no quick process. First of all you have to take a 35 minute, 4x4 drive up a rugged dirt track, along a steep path towards the base site. As you curve the ridge to get there, you suddenly see the pod looming ominously over the Nevis River. At this point most faces in the jeep turn white (including Darren's and myself's) and suddenly we all wished we had brought extra underwear.
At the base site, they weigh you again (your weight is very important when it comes to bungy jumping), and you put on your harness. Your then taken to a small secondary pod (holding about 5 people at a time) which acts like a shuttle - taking you along the highwire to the stationary pod in the center of the canyon. We had 18 people jumping in our group so it takes a while to get everyone over. The whole design of the Nevis is deliberately designed to maximise exposure and increase your fear factor. The pod itself is glass bottomed so you can see everyone leaping before you - like you needed to be any more scared!!! The jumps are done by weight - so the heaviest go first. You watch the nervous faces before you and then the jubilation and excitment when they return - alive.
Pretty quickly it comes to my turn. Actually I wasn't that nervous for some unknown reason - at least not as nervous as I should be - especially thinking back on what I actually did. Your sat in what can only be described (and what we described it) as - the dentist chair. You get your photo taken - trying to look happy - and they harness you up. Your given your instructions and then your ready to go. I slowly hobble over to the small platform - a quick look down and you realise how high you are. The Nevis River below looks tiny and suddenly the nerves begin to appear. The instructor puts you in position tells you to hold your arms out straight and look at the mountain straight ahead. Then he says he will count to three and you just leap out as far as you can. I don't actually remember him counting me down - I think I jumped on three subconciously but I did it - no hesitation - I was off and there was no turning back.
After about a second you body has arched down and you are plummeting to the ground head first. The moment can only be described as breathtaking - a complete ground-rush. I think I did actually hold my breath - there is nothing else to do. Your totally free, falling 134m (440ft) in 8.5 seconds - the most thrilling experience I'v ever been through. The rest becomes a bit of a blur - only those first freefalling seconds really stick in my mind. At some point the bungy tightens and your sprung back upwards. This bungy is so high that you actually spring up about 50m so that when you fall on your second bounce - you are actually falling further than the two other bungy jump sites here in Queenstown (which are themselves only 43m (Kawarau Bridge) and 47m (The Ledge Jump)) - essentially your getting two bungy jumps in one. At the top of the bounce, for that split second you feel weightless, then you hurtle back down to the ground.
At the top of the second bounce there is a cord attached to your leg. You have to pull it. At first mine wouldn't pull and it actually took me both hands to get that cord moving. Once it clicks, the cord automatically detaches from your feet, you swing round and your suddenly set in a sitting position from the cord attached to your stomach (this clever invention now has 30 international patents). From here, after you have stopped bouncing around, you can enjoy the view as a mechanism comes down to meet you, clips in and winches you back up to the pod. From there I was in a state of buzzing which continued for the rest of the day - plus I also still had the joy of watching my slightly lighter friend Darren have his turn.
Once Darren had jumped we returned via the shuttle pod back to solid ground. On the way back we watched a girl do her bungy jump - she was the only person however not to pull her leg cord (we never found out why) and so she was winched up to the top, upside-down which aparently is a good reason for everyone to take the mickey out of her plus she must have had the worst headache. When everyone had returned we all watched our DVD's and photos (of course purchased) and collected our hat and AJ Hackett t-shirt, followed by a well deserved cup of tea. The whole experience was immense and I would recommend anyone in the Queenstown area to fight your fear and take the Nevis leap of faith!!! Thank you AJ.
On our third day in Queenstown, Darren and I were booked on a day trip to Cadrona Ski Field where we had two lessons learning how to snowboard. The whole day was so much fun and seriously hard work. I never quite realised how tiring or difficult sliding down some snow on a board would be but it was. On our two two-hour lessons we essentially learnt the basics, which involved getting on our borads, attempting to stay up on them and then heading down some slopes. Actually you can pick it up pretty quickly especially if you are prepared to push yourself and the two of us were cruising by the end and even managing to stop at the bottom. Admittedly I did end up also on my bottom most of the time but with our instructor (seriously named Henry Mountain) we were destined to succeed - and I think we did. Apart from the odd collision, the bruises and sore muscles, it was a fun and enjoyable day and I would definately like to get back on the slopes in the near future. I think i'll attempt the half-pipe next!!!
On day 4, we headed up the famous Queenstown skyline gondola. It takes you 400m above the town and provides unbelievable views over the surrounding area. At the top there are restaurants and cafe's - oh and there is also lugeing. Basically you take another rail-car even higher up the mountain and then on cafefully crafted tracks you race back down in what is like a go-kart except they have no motors - they run purely on gravity. They are so easy to control and require no training whatsoever. There are two tracks - scenic and fast and both are great fun. People of all ages were attempting a hand at this and we were not going to miss out. Darren and myself went up and down 6 times in all - and it was serious driving fun.
Ok, so I said that I was going to do one bungy jump. Well I was, that is until - on the way down the lugeing, right next to the top of the gondola is AJ Hackett's 'The Ledge' bungy jump. It's only 47m high (nothing on the Nevis) but set at 400m over Queenstown above tree's and dangerously spikey rocks it just had to be done. We went in to enquire - and when we came out we were booked on to do the jump at 6pm that evening. We returned for our second bungy jump. It's the only bungy in the area that you can do at night but we wanted to do it at 6pm because thats when the sun sets over the incredible view below you. The whole event was over so quickly but it still didn't distract from the incredible freefall fun. There was no waiting - I was harnessed up, but this time by only the stomach. This means your legs are free and you can take a run and jump for this one. Thats what I did. It wasn't as thrilling as The Nevis but running and leaping off gave a totally different feel to the whole experience. Darren jumped after and again we buzzed for the rest of the day. The pics on this jump too are pretty special - purely for the scenery below me.
After a few days resting up, we had one more thing on our to-do list before leaving Queenstown. We took a day trip to Milford Sound. It's about a four hour drive to get to Milford (this was a long day trip) but it was well worth it. One of New Zealand's top tourist spots, Milford Sound is not actually a Sound (an area formed by flooded water) but is instead a fiord (an area carved out by glaciers which have now melted). On reaching Milford Sound we passed some great scenic locations, most of which were avalanche hazard zones. We passed the famous Mirror Lakes, and continued along the Milford Track , eventually reaching our destination.
At Milford Sound we took a two hour Catamaran boat trip on the Sound, passing U-shaped (glacier carved) valleys, and large meltwater waterfalls. We headed out as far as the Tasman Sea before u-turning back. We passed a colony of seals resting on a rock outcrop and before heading back, stopped off at a floating underwater observatory. Wildlife under Milford Sound is quite unique. Because sediment filled meltwater gushes down into the sea here, a layer of murky freshwater sits above the oceans saltwater. This layer blocks out sunlight, tricking deepwater fish into thinking that they are deeper underwater than they actually are. They head up, close to the surface and from the underwater observatory - we can easily view them all. It's a great way to see some amazing fish. Afterwards we returned to shore for our long drive back to Queenstown.
We had had a fantastic time here. Among our day adventures, the night-life is awesome here too. We did two organised pub crawls, made a heap of new friends - most of which I still remember their names and even happily filled our bellies on Fergburger's - arguably the best burgers in the world. We loved the place so much that we even postponed our bus to spend an extra day here. The reason for this was because Darren and I had talked ourselves into doing the third and final bungy jump - the first commercial bungy jump site in the world - The Kawarau Bridge Jump. We had become hooked on leaping off things with just a rope attached and we were all planned to do the jump until the night before when we both checked our bank accounts and realised we both had no money left. In the end I tossed a coin on whether to do the jump but fate followed my bank balance and in the end we just spent the day chilling. We had had enough extreme sports for now, we had to move on and so we left the beloved Queenstown after a week and headed to the east coast - and the town of Dunedin.............
