Day 1: Dunedin
Welcome
Over the next three weekends we are playing a number of shows around New Zealand; the first time we have played on our own shores since February. Yesterday we kicked off our tour by flying down to Christchurch where we rented a van and spent the rest of the day driving down to Dunedin.
I started my day with a breakfast of fried eggs on toast, with a side of cherry tomatoes and cucumber dressed with lemon-infused olive oil.
We met at Auckland airport at 9.50am and swiftly checked in our luggage with no dramas, hitches, or tizzies. We even almost breezed through security without a hiccup except that Tristan got pulled aside to have his kickdrum pedal inspected.
Please excuse the blurry photo.
There was a bit of time to spare before the flight so we made our way to the Koru lounge (we aren't bougie, it saves money by not having to pay for extra bags all the time) where Liz displayed her true strength of character by eating an iced Afghan and packaging up another two for the road.On the flight Liz again overachieved by lending me her Nintendo switch so I could play Untitled Goose Game. I managed to get the gardener wet and steal his keys but couldn't figure out how to make him put on his sun hat
After a bumpy descent into Christchurch the pilot managed an impressively smooth landing and swiftly disembarked us at the terminal. To complement this stellar service we arrived at the baggage collection to find our guitars already waiting for us, a feat managed by few airport luggage teams. Our van was waiting for us in the pickup area and in no time we were on state highway one heading south. At the midpoint of the journey I scored an easy point for finding us an excellent bakery to stop at for lunch, which gained me back the point I had lost for leaving my carry-on bag on the plane. Right next door to the bakery Tristan and I enjoyed a good coffee at Davo's Fishing Hunting N Good Coffee.
With our stomachs satisfied we continued our drive, past Oamaru and through the Waitaki District wetlands, arriving in Dunedin in the early evening. We checked in to our motel and after a small drama involving the motel-owner having to come and re-enter the login details for the Netflix (if you are reading this Kevin we didn't log out, we promise) Liz found us a good local takeaway shop and we ate burgers and chips for dinner. The rest of the evening was spent watching The Fast And The Furious, and Fast Five, and drinking one of Dunedin's famous local ales while playing the Fast And Furious drinking game which can be found here.
Beth of the day goes to Liz for Afghan consumption, sharing of game consoles, and a rock solid dinner recommendation. Congratulations Liz on winning the first BOTD on New Zealand soil 🇳🇿🇳🇿🏆