To the beach!

Although it is winter, Saturday the 23rd of May was quite warm and beautiful. So I decided I needed a beach day, sortof. It took me a long time to decide where I wanted to go. There are pretty well known beaches but they are farther away, and there is no public transport that goes right there.  After way overthinking it, I bundled up a bit, just in case, and headed for the nearest bus stop, about 5 minutes away from my house. I jumped on and was off. It cost $3.20 each way and took about 35 minutes to get to St. Clair Beach, the closest beach to me, believe it or not. The port is pretty industrial. I just decided to walk. And walk. And walk. I did not need a jacket which was amazing. I followed the beach- on the way there it was high tide, on the way back the tide was receding. It was about 4.5 miles of a trek. There were quite a few dogs going for walks, couples, and power walkers. It was actually really nice and relaxing, not having anywhere or anything to do, just listening to the waves.

On the bus ride back, around 4:30 pm, I decided to jump off early, in town, and look for some hiking (a.k.a. tramping!) boots. First, all the stores were closed/closing. I forgot it is like England in that respect, especially on the weekends. Second, the town was PACKED. There was going to be an All Blacks Rugby match v France that night at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. The All Blacks are the national rugby team and a religion. EVERYBODY was there. Even on the bus, there were packs of middle age men ready to drink. There were tents and road blocks set up on the Octagon, which is where all the pubs are. It was pretty cool actually. Next time they play here, I want to go to a game. Check it out here. I will post more fun facts about the team later.