Back on US Soil

I am now waiting for my flight back to Albany at the Twin Cities Airport in Minnesota and have been flicking through some of the pictures I took during my time in New Zealand. Really pretty amazing how it seemed like everywhere I went was post-card worthy.

 Hopefully the pictures can do the landscape justice.

Lake Tekapo:

Milford Sound:

Kea Parrot

Queenstown:

Kaikoura:

Concluding New Zealand Trip

I got back to Sydney yesterday morning after my trip to New Zealand. There will certainly be more pictures forthcoming on the trip as it was difficult to access wifi over there.

On a separate note, I had my last practice yesterday with my summer team the Ryde Hawks which wrapped up a great and fun season with the team. I am going to miss the camaraderie of the team a lot and the comical relief they bring to baseball. While I will be leaving, they had some new players who may be coming in, one of which I bumped into on the bus to the field. Amazingly enough, he is actually from Canada and played his 4 years as a pitcher at RPI, a rival school we play every year and is about 30 minutes from my house. It truly is a small world, as we were recounting the games we had snowed out against each other 2 years ago due to snow.

Today, I am headed south to Hyams Bay with the Garrett family before I depart the country Friday.

I cannot believe how fast time has gone by now that I am at the tail end of my trip.

 Hyams Bay

Tunnel Beach Trip

Setting my alarm early this morning, I got up and out to head over to see Tunnel Beach before I catch my bus this afternoon out of Dunedin.

After walking just under 5 miles, I found myself at the beach with some great views of the water.

Unfortunately, I was not close to Tunnel Beach after talking with some locals and trying to figure the best way to get over there using my map. The road system forced me to go away from the water due to the number of dead-end roads in the vicinity. Nonetheless, in asking one New Zealander for help, I was offered a ride in his vintage 1960s convertible and was able to make it over to Tunnel Beach.

The "tunnel" of Tunnel Beach

I was able to successfully hitch-hike my way back to the city so I have plenty of time before my bus leaves. In walking around the town more, I passed the Cadbury chocolate factory which radiates a chocolate, nutella-like smell.

I will be catching a bus out of town a little before 2 pm today to head for a small town in southwest New Zealand; Te Anau. From there I will be seeing Milford Sound and Queenstown (the adventure capital of the world).

New Zealand Trip

November 24:

11:25 pm: Touch down in Christchurch Airport.

11:45 pm: Arrive at my modest hostel (a simple place to catch some shuteye).

November 25

After awaking in the morning I took a bus into the city of Christchurch, which had been devastated by the earthquake 2 years ago. The city, while one of the largest by population on the South Island was still quite small. I checked out their famous botanical gardens and museum before catching a bus to Dunedin in the south.

 Fences surrounding some famous landmarks due to damage caused by earthquake.

 Botanical Gardens

 Bus Ride to Dunedin (snow capped mountains in the background)

November 26:

After getting recommendations from the best way to explore Dunedin (pronounced duh-knee-din) and the Otago Peninsula adjacent to it, I decide to rent a bike and go at it solo.

I had a great (and tiring) day biking a total of over 60 km exploring the coast and inner views of the Otago Peninsula. My destination was the tip of the Otago Peninsula where the Royal Albatross Center is. After reaching it, I came back a route that provided for views of the landscape which meant some hilly terrain. Along the way, I saw some wildlife; from black swans, to the albatross, to way more sheep than I knew existed.

My room at the Dunedin hostel I'm staying

 Dunedin also has a reputation for the beauty of its old Scottish architectural influences:

Dunedin and its famous Albatross'

Final Day Shadowing and Baseball

Today was my last day shadowing the hedge fund which I have been going into periodically during my time here in Sydney. The opportunity has been extremely interesting and insightful and may open doors in the future to the world of finance.

Below I included pictures from the location of the fund's operations in the old city harbors (Walsh Bay).

Walsh Bay (May 1924)Walsh Bay Present Day (Harbor Bridge in background)

Tonight we were unable to complete our baseball e game given time restrictions on the lighting, and were forced into a tie. I contributed with a single and a double that was just short of a homerun to help our team offensively. This marks my last game before my departure to New Zealand on Saturday and second to last game here in Australia.