December 14, 1991
Salem to Dunedin
It has been extremely hard to sleep for at least the past few weeks - between the growing sense of anticipation and a hectic attempt to stabilize projects at work, Rachael and I have both been in hyperdrive for days.
We left Salem for the Portland airport at noon with our relatively recently acquired friend Lynn Rankin. Lynn generously offered to chauffeur us at both ends of our trip. We got off to a somewhat ominous beginning, as we arrived at the airport without my billfold. After strip searching the car without success, Rachael called Salem on the theory that it had fallen out of the front seat when Rachael let Lynn into the car at the Employment Division. We experienced great relief when our friend Jerry Rosenkotter let us know that it had been turned in at the lost and found - but it means that we are setting off on the road without a credit card. We'll try to make do on our travellers checks, and wire home for a refill if we get stuck or run short.
Other than that mishap, our flight went smoothly; and after transfers and stops in San Francisco, Honolulu, Auckland and Christchurch, we finally arrived in Dunedin about 30 hours later, having skipped Friday the 13th almost entirely because of the international dateline. The Dunedin airport is about 30 km south of the city - farther than we had expected - but the ride went quickly and we blew ahead of a mammoth tailwind. The last 6 or 7 miles were a bit frustrating - the highway graduated into a 'motorway' (= freeway) on which biking is prohibited. We resorted to several inquiries in order to find an alternate route.
We headed directly to our quarters after we arrived - Elm Lodge, a very informal backpackers hostel. It was an acceptale spot - we were positioned in the loft, in a room with limited privacy - but checking in was a bit strange. The house was very casual - the kitchen and dining room were full of guests, and it was not clear at all who was in charge.
Several things impressed me about Dunedin:
- it has some very steep hills (the steepest hill in the world is allegedly here), including the one on the way to our lodge;
- it features some lovely old stone architecture - cathedrals, government buildings, depots - mostly clustered around a public area, the Octagon.
- It is in a beautiful setting on steep hills surrounding the bay. It brought to mind both San Francisco and Juneau.
After settling in, we walked down the hill and wandered around town hunting for dinner. There were a number of options, many oriental - but we settled on a traditional-looking place serving pub fare: fish and chips.
Today's ride: 19 miles (31 km)
Total: 19 miles (31 km)
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