New Zealand, one of the countries on the very top of my list, awaited us with new adventures: the very first and most demanding consisted in driving on the “wrong” side. We decided to rent a small car for our time in NZ, a little extra to our backpacker’s existence which would allow us to visit more secluded places and give us a whole new feeling: freedom to go wherever we wanted to, whenever it pleased us, without depending on others.
Of course, the first few hours in an unknown car
Why the hell is the blinker on the wrong side of the steering wheel?! Nooo, it’s wiping the windscreen now!
unknown road rules and an unknown city were stressful: I felt right like a learner again! Once, the car stalled when I wanted to start it at a red light. Alright, with the inclination of road
Why the hell is Dunedin so hilly?!
I maybe should have used the handbrake, but anyway,
WHY DOES THE CAR NOT START AGAIN?!
People honked behind me and then, annoyed, drove around the car to pass while the light was green. I had to wait for the next one. At least by then, the car had started again.
Yep, I sweated a lot during these first hours on the other side of the road (and I daresay it was the same for José a few days later — but then he has less driving experience and I thought he managed really well!). Nevertheless, we survived and planned a day trip to the Otago Peninsula, home to exciting wildlife, next to Dunedin. The wide roads with their gentle windings, the low traffic and the stunning views helped a lot to forget about the car and just drive naturally; it is easy after all, is it not?
We were rewarded with one of the closest and most touching wildlife experiences so far: as we were strolling along Allan’s beach on the south-east of the peninsula, we discovered that what looked like tree trunks from further away were actually sea lions! Those animals are even fatter and lazier than koalas (yep, that is possible!). I mean, look at those guys:
However, a little further down the beach, a huge male was disturbed in his sleep by flies and started to move when we were just about ten meters away. My heart stood still for a moment when it opened its mouth and complained. What if it attacks us? A silly thought, for they normally are very peaceful, provided you do not annoy them. The sea lion only changed its position and went back to sleep. But then, as I was standing there, observing it during its nap, it suddenly very loudly SNEEZED! I nearly suffered from a heart attack! It was so funny — though at the same time I was a bit in shock.
Anyway, the sea lion seemed to be too disturbed by the flies: it eventually got up and crawled to the sea. Every now and then on the way, it laid down again to pause a bit and gather some strength.
Yup, this was my very first encounter with sea lions. It was majestic! To finish, here are some pictures of other inhabitants and aliens of the peninsula…
