Today the goal was to see more of the peninsula then head back to Dunedin and maybe start on my way to the Otago rail trail.
First I road down towards the pyramids (they aren't really pyramids…) to hike to a beach hoping to spot some sea lions or penguins. After taking a pretty crazy dirt road for a while I had to hike 45 minutes to get to the beach. Completely alone there I walked up and down the coast, spotting a seal and a penguin.
After that back I was to the dirt roads. Got lost and had to ask for directions at some point but was fun seeing how my bike does off the beaten path, even when carrying a full load.
There are two ways from Dunedin to the main town on the peninsula, the one over the hills I took yesterday and the essy one along the coast. I took the coastal route today hoping to take it easy but still made it in to Dunedin too late to catch the train to the the start of the rail trail.
I realized today that I've added some serious time to my journey by coming out here. It was 10 days ago I was sitting at Tekapo with Jim and Tonya talking about how I didn't know what I'd do to fill my time. I added an extra day on to go to Mount Cook (where I met the Redditor) then by heading to the coast seeing Oamaru and Dunedin I have added what looks like it will be 8-9 days to my time on the South Island (a good thing, by the way). I was in Omarama on day 12, two days away from Queenstown but at this point I think I'm still three days away from there. Maybe I'll be able to keep myself entertained on this island for two full months after all.
Bikes not boxes 