Mosgiel (Zero Day)

Today’s Zero Day wasn’t really planned as circumstances ended up warrantying it. I had hoped to have a zero day at a hotel, but this was good.

I got up to the sound of rain on the tent and I stayed in my sleeping bag and began searching for places to stay in Dunedin. It was only ten to twelve miles away so I was not in a rush.

I found a nice motorcamp but all the cabins were full and it was a little further out away from services and therefore I didn’t want walk that far to tent camp. I started searching online for motels, hostels, whatever, throughout Dunedin and all were booked! Just to double check I also called and all were full! My luck again because it turns out this is the week that the students and their parents start their orientation here at the university. Tomorrow is also the big cricket game, NZ vs Bangladesh.

Starting from here, and then through Dunedin, and then finding a place to stay is just too far to go in one day. I spent almost two hours searching for something, and by then it was late, so I decided to stay here another night.

I figured I’d go to Dunedin tomorrow. I started looking again and still couldn’t find a vacancy. After almost an hour I finally found a private room in a hostel (Ontop Backpackers) near the downtown area. It’s about ten miles away so hopefully it will be a short and easy trek there tomorrow and I might have time to look around.

I walked back into Mosgiel today and had lunch at a cafe. I also went to a bike store and picked up a bicycle warning flag on a pole. I plan to mount it horizontally across the handles of the Wheelie so the flag stick out about two feet to the left of wheels. My bicycle light doesn’t seem bright enough as a warning and I want to be extra cautious.

I also picked up a cheap and very light, 5-6 oz, camping pad to put under my blow-up pad. It was the only one there and absolutely prefect, and only $9. I made the mistake of taking my smaller pad to save weight but it is not quite as comfortable as my larger one. This will be like a mattress topper, and as I have said before, after the proper shoes, a sleeping pad and bag are the most important piece of trekking equipment for me. If you don’t sleep well it affects your energy level for the whole day and entire trek.

I also got a sandwich for dinner tonight. I went to a large supermarket and bought drinks, carrots, apples, plums, and pears for today and tomorrow. I am carving fresh fruits and veggies. I’ll put off eating my freeze dried food until I really need them.

Once I leave Dunedin there doesn’t appear to be any towns with lodging for a few days trekking distance. I look at it as just part of the experience and I’ll take it as it comes.

One more note, as I never seemed to run out of nice Kiwi stories. When I asked the hostess if I could stay one more night she said, “why sure, and don’t worry about paying me for it.” I am grateful again! Wow! But, what is wrong with these Kiwis, don’t they know they are spoiling me!

Best wishes to all,

Ted

Please excuse the typos, spelling, grammar, etc., as I am typing this on my phone.