Drinking fancy wine

I'm eating fancy chow and drinking fancy wine

I'm eating fancy chow

I opted to walk from Dunedin station to Belmont House where I would be spending my next evening, hosted by Stu & Rob. It didn’t look far on the map and it wasn’t. It was, however, up a bloody big hill and by the time I reached the house I was out of breath having lugged myself and my suitcase to the top. I waited a couple of minutes outside the front door, hoping I hadn’t been spotted arriving, so I could get my breath back before ringing the bell. I was shown in by the housekeeper and taken up to my room. I soon met Stu who asked if I had any plans for the evening, inviting me to a Christmas drinks party. Never one to turn down an invitation to a drinks party I happily accepted. I had time to shower and change before we had to leave. Having made myself look vaguely presentable I made my way downstairs where I met Rob, Stu’s partner. In the car on the way over to the party I filled them in on my travels to date (they asked me about them, I didn’t just reel off a list of places I had been and things I had done without prompting).

At the party I was introduced to the host and several other people in quick succession. Their names failed to stay in my head longer than a few seconds. I was given a glass of wine which didn't last much longer. It was a typical house party with most people congregating in the kitchen (and given that is where the alcohol normally is why would you be anywhere else?). The party was a nice mix of people of all ages and it was clear that most people knew everyone else. We found space to stand in the lounge and I prepared myself for mingling. Preparations involved finishing off my second glass of wine and getting another top up. I got chatting to a (straight) couple who explained that they had recently moved up from Christchurch. After a while I was asked how I knew the host. I paused for a moment, considering whether I should give them the whole story. They seemed nice, normal people so I figured it would be fine. As I told them the story I could hear myself telling it and it struck me how strange a tale it must be to hear it for the first time. I told them that I didn’t know the host and that I was here with Stu and Rob who I had only met for the first time a couple of hours before. I explained that they were hosting me as part of my 80 Gays Around the World adventures. After coming to the end of my explanation the woman said “That’s great, I know some gays in Auckland if you are planning on going there?”. It was such a nice reaction to get and I thanked her for the offer, explaining that I had already been through Auckland and would be headed on to Australia in two days time. I didn’t get much more mingling done and spent most of the rest of the evening chatting with them.

Baldwin Street, Dunedin

After breakfast the next morning I had a whistle-stop tour of Dunedin, the highlight (literally) being a walk up the steepest street in the world. Thankfully it was not very long, just bloody steep. I stood in silence at the top, admiring the view from up high, praying that my lungs would continue to function and that my heart, which was beating very hard, would not explode. After a coffee with Rob and Stu I made my way to the bus station ready to head to Oamaru, which was only a 90 minute trip. Doug, my final New Zealand host, had said that he would pick me up from the bus stop despite it not being too much of a walk. I had no idea what he looked like or what he drove so was a little nervous getting off the bus. Luckily I was one of only two people who got off at Oamaru so it was easy to spot Doug. Case safely in the boot I got into the passenger seat. I thanked Doug for collecting me. He said it was fine, patting me twice on the leg, his hand lingering on my leg for slightly longer than I felt was necessary. We were soon at the house, and I dropped off my case. Doug had offered to give me a tour of the town so we headed out again, making our way up to a viewpoint over the city from which Doug pointed out the main historic centre, explaining that the city underwent rapid expansion in the mid 1800s, with numerous impressive buildings all being made out of the local limestone going up along the main street. These were now the city’s biggest tourist attraction, along with a couple of penguin colonies that we also visited. There was quite a lot of rustling going on in the bushes, which Doug assured me was penguins, but I didn’t manage to get any photos.

And drinking fancy wine

On the way back up to Doug’s we called in at the supermarket. He said that he was going to be cooking dinner, explaining that he had another person staying at the moment too. I said that I would get some wine to go with dinner. As I perused the wine aisle Doug asked me if I knew what a cleanskin was. I managed, for once, to not giggle. I said that I didn’t. I was given a quick wine lesson, learning that cleanskins allowed vineyards to sell off excess wine at a cheap price without damaging their brand. It was a little bit like pot luck, you only got the grape, year and region, but it beat my normal system of picking wine based on a nice label or an amusing name. I picked up a couple of bottles for dinner. At dinner I met the other guy who was currently staying at Doug’s. He was travelling across New Zealand and finding accommodation through a website where in return for manual labour (gardening, decorating etc) he was given bed and breakfast. It sounded like a good deal although not something that I would have thought of doing given I am generally a bit of a walking disaster at anything remotely practical like that.

Oamaru

The following morning after breakfast I headed for a walk into town. I managed to see everything there was to see in a little over half a day. The limestone buildings were impressive but seemed a little out of place. One looked like a copy of the Acropolis in Athens and there was an Opera House too, for Oamaru, population 12,000. I found the Botanical Gardens which were virtually empty and I sat a while in the sun while I got my journal up to date. I had lunch alone, finding a pub/restaurant with a decent looking menu. I got a pint, ordered some food and found a spot tucked away in the corner, away from the groups of lunchtime drinkers. I still found dining out alone one of the harder things to do on my travels. It seemed a lot harder than going out drinking alone. The food was good though and I did another loop round the main street to walk it down before returning to Doug’s to collect my case. Doug gave me a lift back down to the bus stop and I thanked him for putting me up for a night.

My final evening in New Zealand was spent in a hotel near Christchurch airport as I had a 6am flight and would be getting up at some ungodly hour. As I spent a quiet evening in it gave me a chance to reflect on the New Zealand leg of my trip. It had been completely different to what I had been expecting. As I didn’t really have any Kiwi connections before I arrived I figured I would spend the month on my own staying in hostels, seeing a handful of places. I landed on my feet when a guy I had met in Portland put me in touch with David who run his own gay travel company. Thanks to him, and the generosity of all the subsequent hosts he lined up for me I had seen so much more of New Zealand, more than I had expected to see. When David had been sorting out my itinerary on his work system it automatically calculated the value of the accommodation that I was being given (it amounted to a few thousand dollars). I was truly thankful to everyone who had hosted me across New Zealand and I was now ready for my next country, Australia.

“I'm eating fancy chow and drinking fancy wine” 
Lyrics from Finale from the musical Sweet Charity