Catlins Roadtrip

Last week, friends and I headed down to the Catlins for a mini road trip.  We spent the night at Tautuku Lodge.  This place was an awesome find!  For just $20/person, nine of us enjoyed each other's company in a heated cottage with hot showers and nice bunk beds.  This may not sound too exciting to most people, but I had visions of a basic DOC hut in my mind; so, this place was a palace compared to what I imagined.

Having a kitchen was a bonus!  It was such a nice feeling to make a meal with friends.  We made fajitas and drank copious amounts of hot beverages that night.

Who would have thought that some innocent looking silverware would be our evening's entertainment?  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a room full of grad students enjoyed hours of spoons. This poor card felt the brunt of a particularly fiesty fight for a spoon:

On Sunday the weather wasn't quite as craptastic, so we took advantage of the lack of precipitation and explored nearby beaches and forests.

Check out this paua shell I found!

Someone told us about this confidence course.  It was pretty cool to run around and climb on things - guess we still have a little kid in each of us still!  Here's a shot of Sam above my head:

Unfortunately, I'm cutting down on fun time to focus on typing, analyzing, writing.  Hopefully, in January I'll have pictures from a road trip to share.