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.

Musical Play

Earlier today I had a final exam for my course in Investments and Portfolio Management and am glad to have conquered the first of my finals here in Australia. I have two on this coming Tuesday, and will be done with my academic studies here at the University of Sydney after those wrap up.

Last night, I was invited to dinner and then to a musical play with the Garrett family who has taken me in as an extra son. The play featured their daughter Liz (who has been like a big sister for me over here) as a main character in the play Sunset Boulevard. I was really impressed with how professionally done the whole production was, and since the play is set in 1950s or so in the US, the actors all had "American accents" and I would never have been able to tell which of them were Australian and which were actually Americans.

Olympic Baseball Complex

Tonight we had a baseball game at Sydney's Olympic Baseball Complex, where the Sydney Blue Sox (professional team currently plays).

Despite getting off to a rough start and struggling offensively, we came alive in the top of the eighth inning, and I was able to help us take the lead with a well-placed bunt.

Out victory was later sealed in the next inning and I contributed with a 2 rbi double. We are currently on a 3 game winning streak, and are in contention for 1st in the league.


 

Sightseeing

Today I took advantage of the amazing weather and walked into the city with another guy from my abroad program who also studies at Rochester.

We decided to venture over the Harbor Bridge by foot which provided some awesome views from both the bridge and the north side of Sydney. On the way back, we checked out some of the older historical sites in "The Rocks" of Sydney.

Opera House view from bridge

view looking back at Sydney from bridge

view of bridge from North Sydney

Farewell Dinner

I was over at the Garrett's house once again continuing to help them out with yardwork and "spring cleaning" earlier today and they have returned the favor by helping to fund my trip upcoming trip to New Zealand.

Tonight, I met with the other students on the study-abroad program at a restaurant with an amazing view of Sydney.

 O Bar

The seating area was setup so that it would slowly rotate to allow a changing panoramic view of the city. Had a nice final meal with everyone from the abroad program and will be wrapping up with school soon after exams. From there, my remaining time on this side of the world will be in the south island of New Zealand, and a couple of days back in Sydney before leaving for the US.

Baseball!

Earlier today I headed over to the Garrett's (essentially my host family over here) to help them out with yardwork since the summer is on its way. Meanwhile, with the election going on back in the US, I was able to keep tabs on how the race was shaping up since it broadcasts from CNN and ABC were available through Aussie TV and I could keep updated by checking out the electoral vote count through the window.

After helping out there for around 5 and a half hours, I caught a bus to our home field in Ryde (suburb of Sydney) for our baseball game.

Our team came away from tonight's game with a much-needed win after a couple of tough losses recently. I was able to contribute with 3 hits in 4 at bats including a bases loaded single right back at the pitcher which helped us score a pivotal run.

One of the players on the opposing team was former MLB player Chris Snelling who had a number of clutch hits for the Phillies in 2008 when they won the World Series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Snelling  Chris Snelling after hitting a homerun for the Phillies

It turns out that his cousin is actually our player-coach, and on the ride home it was interesting to hear his road to majors which started getting signed at 17 years old.

Beach with the Fosters

Today I met up with the Fosters (close family friends through baseball) to see the Westfield Tower and check out the awesome views of the city. 

A look out the window from the tower

Afterwards we caught a ferry over to Manly Beach to hang out before some cooler weather came in. With overcast cloudy conditions and mild temperatures, we went over to check out the view from Manly's beach walk and saw tons of crabs along the rocks washed up from crashing waves.

Manly pool overlooking the ocean

From there we wrapped up our trip to Manly and caught the ferry back to Circular Quay (near the Opera House and their hotel) to regroup before grabbing some dinner. With the Melbourne Cup Race taking place earlier in the afternoon (the equivalent to the Kentucky Derby), restaurants and pubs around the Rocks area of Sydney were all quite busy, so we grabbed some takeout pizzas from a nice old Italian restaurant and ate in what was a calm and quiet Circular Quay. It looked something like this...

Circular Quay at night

We then got to take advantage of some delicious gelato and continued enjoying our view and catching up.

Unfortunately over the next couple days our schedules will diverge and next time I run into the Fosters we will be back the US. I had a blast getting to see them and it was certainly an awesome experience to take in this side of the world with some familiar faces.

Nate and I the other day at the Opera House (no idea who the randoms are on the stairs)

Some Saratoga in Sydney

Today I was able to meet up with my longtime friend Nate Foster and his mom Denise. I've played baseball with Nate ever since I was 8 on through high school and now play against in college. He studied this semester at the University of Queensland, located the state north of New South Wales, and is on a trip to Sydney with his mom for just short of a week.

After they had gotten settled into their hotel (which has an amazing view of the Opera House), I walked into the city and went straight for the Opera House figuring that would be the first place anyone would head to. They were able to quickly spot me and after catching up, we took a walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens (located right next to the Opera House). From there we grabbed a snack at the hotel before heading off to take a walk around the historic "Rocks" area of Sydney where we grabbed dinner at an outstanding Italian restaurant (which featured a guy on the harp and another on the guitar for background music).

They are staying up to next Thursday and I will be meeting up with them again during their time over here.

The Italian restaurant where we grabbed dinner

Tickets booked for flight to New Zealand

I just got out of baseball practice after our disappointing loss yesterday to the top team in the league. Had a blast at practice as always, and am excited that I was able to get my flight booked for later this month to New Zealand (November 24-December 4th). I will be flying into Christchurch on the scenic South Island and look forward to seeing the landscapes.

Christchurch