Where is Darran?

Today started with a Subway sandwich for breakfast and a visit to the Tuatara exhibit at the Southland Museum.

The next stop was at the Fiordland Paua shell factory in Riverton. Here we got to see how they turn a natural Paua shell into a finished product for jewelry and other items.

New Zealand is full of super sized items that make for tourist stops and picture opportunities. Of course there is a massive Paua shell at the Paua shell factory.

Here are few other things the Kiwis have put out for people to enjoy

New Zealand longhorns

Obligatory McCracken’s Rest pic

A good day in the Southland

We also stopped at a bird sanctuary outside Te Anau

Te Anau is a beautiful town that would be a great place to spend a few weeks to relax and get away from things. It is just outside Fiordland National Park. I would love to get back down here and spend some time tramping and relaxing.

Vincent and I had dinner at The Ranch because we got some free drink tickets from the bus driver. We then went to the grocery store and picked up some snacks and beer. Afterwards, we spent the rest of the evening playing games, eating snacks, and drinking on the back garden patio that was attached to our room.

Tour progress so far:

View New Zealand 2009 in a larger map

I don’t know if I have said this already, but I reckon this was my favorite day for sightseeing. It was full of things to see and do.

The day began with a short ride to the World’s Steepest Street, Baldwin Street.

Next, it was off to a nice bar and restaurant at Kaka Point for some breakfast. A nice fire was going, a friendly dog was mucking about, and some delicious toasted sandwiches were quickly served.

After Kaka Point was Nugget Point. Here we were able to see some rock seals playing in some tide pools and resting on the shore.

Keeping busy because there was lots to see we headed off to Cannibal Bay to hunt for some sea lions. Tired from being out at sea we were able to get up close and amongst them resting on the beach.

A stop for lunch and then we stopped at the Florence Hill Lookout.

We stopped to look for a cave and then went on a short bush walk(OZ)/tramp(NZ)/Hike(US) to a waterfall. Seeing the waterfall wasn’t enough, we had to climb to the top of it.

Not many get to these parts, but if you have the time get down to the Catlins. Next, we were off to hunt for some Hector’s Dolphins. Building upon our previous luck, we were able to spot some Hector’s Dolphins out in the wild!

Still not satisfied, we went down to a local beach and spotted some sea lions fighting over territory or a female maybe.

Next, it was off to find some Yellow-eyed Penguins. Again, we were successful and caught the penguins coming in from the ocean to nest in bushline.

I know the word epic gets thrown around a lot these days, but this truly was an epic day of the tour. A quick recap of the highlights:

World’s Steepest Street
Breakfast at Kaka Point
Seals at Nugget Point
Sea Lions at Cannibal Bay
Waterfall Hike
Hector’s Dolphins and Sea Lions at Porpoise Bay
Yellow Eyed Penguins at Curio Bay
Dinner at Speight’s Ale House
…oh yea, according to what I wrote I also had a milkshake sometime during the day, but I don’t really remember it

Tour progress so far:

View New Zealand 2009 in a larger map

Today was the first day on the Bottom Bus. Because the majority of tourists don’t visit the very south of New Zealand there is a separate bus system for these parts. The Kiwi Experience labels their service Bottom Bus. That out of the way, the first stop with the Bottom Bus is Dunedin. The drive to Dunedin was pleasant and uneventful. Dunedin is a major university town and was one of my favorites. Dunedin hosts many architecturally unique old buildings that have been well kept. One of those such buildings is the Dunedin Railway Station.

It is a quick stop. Make sure to check the Railway Station out. Next, we dropped our bags off at the hostel, On Top Backpackers. The hostel is on top of a pool hall and a bar. Definitely a place you could spend some time at if you were looking to relax and mingle. The rooms were good and the bathrooms were really nice. The hostel had some backpackers, but seemed to be more inhabited by students.

We got lucky and their happened to be a Rugby game the same day we were visiting Dunedin. Otago vs. Auckland. It was a good game, but the home team, Otago, lost. There is a lot of pride in Dunedin and the local crowd here seemed more vocal than the home game I saw at Moore Park(Sydney) on Australia day. Neither games compare to the Stateside college football experience.

After the game we went back to the hostel and then started a search for some food. We settled on a recommendation by our driver, Noodle Canteen. Well supported by uni kids, Noodle Canteen serves a variety of tasty dishes in a friendly and simple setting. Would definitely go back. I polished off my food and then finished off Vincent’s.

For a quiet day we sure did keep busy. After dinner we ventured out again and took a tour of the Speight’s brewery. The tour is quite lengthy and takes you not only through the history of Speight’s, but also through the history of beer. There is plenty of detail in the Speights brewery tour and the guide was very knowledgeable. Like the Monteiths brewery tour, the Speight’s brewery tour has all you can drink/pour beer at the end. If beer isn’t your thing, Speight’s provides a free tap outside their building serving deep spring water to the public free of charge. It is very good.

A great day already, Vincent talked me into a few games of pool and then we crashed.

Tour progress so far:

View New Zealand 2009 in a larger map

2010 Status Update (2010 is 5% over! I left home 554 days ago!):

Unfortunately, a plan for the 2010 goals at the bottom of the page is not complete yet, but I have already failed on a few goals already…oopsy. I got pretty lit Friday night to send off a few backpacker friends and I have still been getting some caffeine intake (reckon ~95% decrease based on 2009 intake). I am a little over 1/3 complete reading CCNA prep books, 1/3 through ISTQB(software testing) book, and making progress on a python programming tutorial and a Spanish language book I scooped up at the local library. Lastly, professional employment opportunities keep arising and I am still staying active.

Future (why planning isn’t complete)

The magnitude of difference between the decisions I seem to be presently confronted with is novel to me. Just for fun I made a flowchart displaying the current options as I see them. Options not taken into account and that can be pursued regardless of the path chosen include PHD, MBA, and being a bum. Jan. 31st deadline of deciding to fully pursue one of these options.

Why I don’t want to drink alcohol or caffeine.

Some people(pretty much all society) think it is awkward to have such goals. Here is my motivation:
Alcohol seems to make me stupid both during consumption and after consumption. I do not want to be stupid.
Caffeine seems to make me compulsive. I seem to see less of the big picture and be less open when under the influence of caffeine. I desire to see more of the big picture and be more open.

Next day on tour

I am looking to post the next day of the Kiwi Experience tour tonight. Looking to finally finish getting a post for each day documented online.

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Tier 1 Goals

Daily discipline – This is mainly directed at developing a solid sleep schedule and not getting caught up in fruitless activities
Professional Employment
International Ironman – Options listed in chronological order – South Afica, Japan, Nice, Regensberg, UK ~ 900 NZD just for entry (the amount of resources I have dedicated towards physical activity is )
CCNA – about 1/3 through the first book out of two – each test is 125 USD
ISTQB – ordered book – test is ~ 300 NZD
Develop idea of ideal living environment – current factors include current and future ideals and plans of government, society, air quality, disposition to cyclists, environmental stance, public transport, and standard quality of life metrics
Save Some Money
No Alcohol – self explanatory
No Caffeine – looking to limit psychoactive intakes
Expand diet in healthy ways and expand variety of meals – simplicity is good, but I eat pretty much the same thing every week. Not really tired of it, but something new might not hurt

Tier 2 Goals

Develop 5 Year Vision
Develop 3 Year Plan
Programming languages – Python, Perl, Shell, C, and PHP – studying Python/django now and have previously studied PHP and some Shell
Fluent in Spanish – Reading a refresher book on Spanish
Conversational in German or Mandarin

Tier 3 Goals

Get into Adventure Racing – still in Research phase
3:30 Marathon – Current best is 3:40 – End goal is to get 3:15 for Boston
Travel Southeast Asia, Japan, China, and/or Central Europe/UK
Get into sailing

As a side note, I have previously considered pursuing a PHD. Recently, I have been doing some more research into the idea. Who knows.

By now I would have expected to have posted the 2010 v2 plan, but it is taking longer to flush out. In the meantime I have been presented with a few more options to consider.

Yesterday, I got three contacts considering work. The first was from Sammy the Support Manager at NetQoS (now CA) considering a support position in Sydney. The second contact was a call from Telecom NZ with an interview on next Tuesday for a Test Analyst position. Finally, the third contact was a call from a Welshie friend named Gaz who said he put in a weeks notice and I could come and take his job at a rental car company cleaning cars, picking up customers, and transferring cars between branches. With these options, there is more to consider and I am doing due diligence on these scenarios while flushing out v2. Looking to make a decision on final direction by Jan. 31st and then attack with full force.

Simultaneously I am reading documentation on programming in Python and am about 60% through reading the first book to get a CCNA certification. Also, getting some good time in the local parks, pools, and roadways.