Tramping in the Silver Peaks

Here are some random photos from Dunedin on a rainy day:

Yesterday I went on my first Otago Tramping Club tramp in the Silver Peaks, the mountain range immediately west of Dunedin. There were 12 people on the hike, including a woman from the Biochemistry Department I persuaded to come. All the folks were very friendly and fun to talk with except one spectacularly arrogant woman originally from the U.S. who cackled annoyingly after every sentence she said. It was a fairly epic day hike, about 9 hrs and 27 km long, featuring beautiful grassy hills, creek crossings, blustery peaks, a steep Devil's Staircase climb, and some "bushbashing" through the hardy vegetation.



Also this weekend I went for another bike ride along the coastline and cooked up a pretty tasty noodle dish for an Iron Chef potluck dinner we had at the college. Much to my disappointment, the vegetarians and Buddhist in the group insisted that "everybody's a winner," thus there was no voting for the best dish or crowning of the Iron Chef.