Winter is coming...

Game of Thrones fans anyone?  It gets a little dull here in the off season, so we have been supplementing with pop culture, but seriously, Winter IS coming to Queenstown.  Living minimally certainly makes you appreciate little things.  I will never take central heating for granted again after being able to see my breath when I go to sleep at night.  Half of town left with Summer.  All the water adventure shops are converting to ski shops, and going away house parties have taken the place of late nights in town.  Not going to lie, it’s a little depressing saying goodbye to people I've gotten used to spending my days with, especially Lauren and Katie who will be leaving June 3rd.  Luckily I have an awesome group sticking around for snow season!  With 8 roommates, Bram (Belgian), Shelly (Scottish), Tuki (Maori), Dougy (Samoan), Federico (Italian), my roommate Laura (British), and the newest addition Gauthie (French), it will be hard to get lonely!  

View from our front porch

Federico's alarm clock

Dougy in the Kiwi Haka

I’m very happy with my new part-time job at Dotti J and promo gig for World Bar.  Working a lot has been a saving grace from boredom, but many of us have still been going stir crazy in the dead season.  After adapting, I've found the change from “GO-GO-GO” to a more settled lifestyle is pretty nice.  I've done some out of town trips, including hitching down the coast to the surf/college town of Dunedin and multi-day hikes around Otago.  I’ve had lots of nights by the fire with a good book or movie and probably too much time to think.  I don’t have a firm plans of what happens after this, but I have some exciting ideas for Asia after snow season ends.  Anyone interested in Nepal?

Getting there... 

Baldwin St: Steepest Street in the World

St. Kilda Beach, Dunedin

I will not be attending The University of Auckland in July.  I'll go for a Master’s back home.  For now, the opportunity to explore this part of the world and have a snowboard season in Qtown are opportunities I don't want to pass up to sit in classrooms.  I'm picking up Italian words from Fede and working on my Spanish with Spanish and Mexican friends I’ve met. Queenstown is so international; and somehow everyone gets along and thrives. 

I’m SOOOO excited for snowboard season! We’ve been watching lots of videos (Art of Flight is mind blowing if you ride or not), and I got a new board, K2 Nikita Vavavoom.  The mountains are different than anything I’ve ridden before.  The closest ski field to us is Coronet Peak, but it is known for long cues and icey slopes.  I am getting a season pass for the Remarkables, which is a more jagged range that gets the best powder around.  It’s not as well developed; you have to hike to get to the backside, but it has the biggest and best park.  My friend Sophie and I are determined to become park queens this season.

Snow in the distance on the Moonlight Track

Laura in the clouds

Overall, I haven’t been jumping out of planes or off bridges lately, but I'm loving life and loving being settled.  Not having internet or TV at has made me fall into a bubble world. I will try to be better about putting up blogs though! I’m starting to get a little homesick for family and friends so shoot me emails or get on Skype!  

Everyone watching the Haka show

Alizarin Lizard! Our gracious hosts in Dunedin

Get busy living or get busy dying

Last week I did a 15,000 foot skydive over the Remarkable mountains (1/3 of the misty mountains from LoTR).  Santmyer was the only person in the history of Queenstown to say, "I haven't spent enough money,"  and naturally, jumping out of or off of stuff is the quickest way to blow cash here.  We took the trip with 20 others, but a couple from Australia and we were the only ones doing the highest altitude jump. After suiting up and learning drop positions (hang like a banana!) we met our tandem partners.  My guy, a 6'6" Russian named Sasa, has a lifetime of experience and 22,000 jumps.  Everyone straddled each other for the 15 minute spiral flight up.

 The first group jumped at 12k feet.  WOOSH, gone! At 15k I was the first to lean out, look straight down at the NZ panorama, and plummet towards it.  It takes 12 seconds to reach terminal velocity (200 kph/ 125mph), but you have 60 seconds of pure free fall followed by a 5 minute canopy fall.  Pressure built in my head, my ears started aching, cheeks started rippling in the wind, and it got hard to breathe, but holy crap it was the most exhilarating thing! I have no words to describe it.  My ears didn't pop for the whole next day, but it was worth not being able to hear :) Pictures were $180, so I took mental ones.

St. Patrick's day was also pretty extreme.  Queenstown is a ridiculous town, but St. Pat's was another level.  I have no pictures from that day either so I'll just say,  you haven't done St. Patty's right until you've done it with a group of Irish men and women.

The season is changing really quickly.  It stayed  light till 9pm when I first got here, but now the Sun disappears behind the mountains around 5:30 and it gets cold. Very cold.  I'm working hard to get in all the outdoorsy stuff and hikes on sunny days between the rainy ones.  Packing a backpack for the day and trekking out somewhere new with my big camera is one of my favorite things to do in the world.  It's so simple.  You can hike into places you would never see otherwise, and in NZ you might be trekking where no one has been in 10 years or ever before.   It's a good feeling to be out in the wilderness...

Queenstown Hill with Zo

Erik on the way to Skyline peak

Top of Tiki Trail 

Sunrise from the Lodge

I meet new people everyday especially since living in the lodge... locals, backpackers, and folks on holiday.  Everyone travels for different reasons.  New experiences, escaping old ones; to meet new people or to be alone. Whatever your reasons are...  "Get busy living or get busy dying" (Shawshank Redemption).  I think that sums up the mindset of most travelers.  See the world while you still have the chance. 

Legend of the Lake

Lake Wakatipu has a curious habit of rising and falling 12-20 cm every 27 minutes.  Maori legend credits this phenomenon to the ogre Matau who was capitally punished for abducting a local chief’s daughter.  Matau was burned alive in his sleep.  The heat of the blaze melted the snow from surrounding mountains into the deep "S" shaped hole where Matau fell during his demise.  The resilient beat of his heart could not be stopped though, which causes the eternal pulse of the lake. 

In the past week I’ve gone kayaking, hiking, boating, and 4-wheel canyon driving, but that barely scratches the surface of things to do in Queenstown.  A Reavers coworker is an NZ tourism guide (aka good friend to have) and took me kayaking on the lake.  Mountain weather changes fast, especially here with currents coming from Antarctica, so storms can sneak up on you in the open water.  A storm rolled in on us, but we got out fine.  Some confident kayakers have not been so lucky in the past.  Later we drove into Skipper’s Canyon, a filming spot for LoTR and King Kong and the most hair-raising road I've ever seen.  Kiwis are crazy, they jump off bridges and drive like maniacs!  This “road” into the gorge is a one lane dirt path leading to 

a ghost mining town and the Shotover River.  There are sheer cliffs up one side and straight down on the other.  Tour buses and trucks taking tourists to jet boat and white water rafting sites use the road constantly, and if you meet up them, they have the right of way.  This means you must reverse down the one lane road till a passing point… definitely requires skill.   Tourists get into trouble down there a lot thinking it’s just a scenic drive.  There are plenty of "slips"where not so lucky drivers have died.  There are accidents on a regular basis.  Word to the wise: buy a tour if you want to see Skipper’s Canyon, which you should because it’s AWESOME.

I was going to move out of the lodge, but now I’m glad I didn’t.  The people are awesome, the facilities are great, and the housekeeping staff finds the most ridiculous things people leave behind.  So far I’ve acquired a poker set, an orange top hat worthy of the Kentucky Derby, a bottle of NZ Pinot Noir, a hair dryer, and a camping lantern.  My Vietnamese roommate Wendy makes the delicious curries and noodle dishes. Dougy, a big Samoan, plays guitar and sings like an angel for background music in the common room.  The managers, Dean, Todd, and Kim, are hooking me up with some adventure vouchers as well.  This week I’m going river surfing and maybe to the bungy… maybe.

Erik, a friend from VT, arrived this week.  Yesterday he rented a boat.  Kayaking Wakatipu is great, but jetting across it was a whole different game.  We rode from Frankton Pier to Bob’s Cove and did some fishing.  The glacier water is so clear and so cold!  I’m doing pretty well on my goal of trying something new everyday; yesterday I drove a boat for the first time! After the boat trip, Lauren made a pot roast feast, and we hung out with a full house of roommates at the 39 Gorge house. Erik is staying till Sunday, which means he will be here for St. Patrick’s day.   This town is full of crazy Irish pubs and crazy awesome Irish people, so St. Pat's Day should be fun. 

I’m learning a lot about what people think of the US.  People generalize about every nationality, but the resounding opinion on Americans is that we are loud, obnoxious, and bossy.  Yep, I can be all of those things.  I also heard the term “sepo” or “septic tank yank” for the first time.  They are ugly slangs meaning the US is polluting the world or some bla bla bla you suck it. I won't call names, but given only 18% of Americans have passports, it doesn’t seem fair to judge based on the small percentage of us traveling or what's in the media.  I’m trying not to be so loud, obnoxious, or bossy, but that's hard since I'm always right ...Just kidding...


If you're still keeping up with me via this blog THANKS!!!! I've been slacking and leaving the camera at home.  I'll have a new one up in a few days that involves planes... and jumping out of them :) XO 

Sorry Mom, I hitchhiked...

Sunrise on Shotover St.

I’m finally settled in! I took a full time job at Captain’s.  We had a tasting for our Fall menu yesterday, which includes kobe beef tartare, tarakey risotto, lamb shanks, braised pork cheek, and apricot coconut crème brulee.  Um yeah… it was the highlight of my normally pb&j filled day.  Working in a restaurant abroad is wild.  People from all over the world come to Qtown, so the language barrier can be tough; speak slowly, annunciate, be patient.  My first night I learned in the UK you do NOT clear plates from a table till everyone is done from an uppity British man.  I’m still learning the lingo (lemonade= sprite, Kumara= sweet potato, entrée= appetizer, filet is pronounced “fill-it". Not working for tips is also a new concept.  I wish I could just get paid for hiking and taking pictures, but unfortunately there are no openings for that. 

Wonder how long this will last... 

I’ve hiked Queenstown hill (Nick and I made some patriotic stone art at the top), Tiki trail, Bob’s Cove, and on Thursday Anthony and I did Moke Lake and Lake Dispute.  Sorry Mom, I really did hitchhike, and it was awesome.  Anthony’s tutorial: when you hear a car, make eye contact and stick your thumb out! Hitching is very common around NZ, but I was really sketched out to try it.  A fifty-something y/o couple, Robin and Kevin, picked us up.  They are on holiday from Auckland, continuing their 30 year honeymoon J.  In addition to giving us a ride, they hiked with us for awhile and gave me their contact info to come stay with them when I move to Auckland in June.  Their daughter studies at U of Auckland, and they have a chemist friend who may be able to give me a job. 
First hitching experience, SCORE! The hike was about 
2 hours, of sunny hills surrounded by snowy capped mountains, sheep, cattle, flowers everywhere.


It really sucked.

Moke Lake

Today I moved into Reaver’s lodge.  Crashing at Lauren and Katie’s was fun, while adjusting and flat hunting, but finally unpacking today feels good.  At Reaver’s I’ll be working 12 hours a week (3 x 7- 11am breakfast shifts), in exchange for a room+ all bills, breakfast, wifi, access to a hot tub, pool table, free laundry, and some good hook ups for outdoor adventures that the lodge books for guests.  The staff is all young and really cool, and I’ve convinced a few guests to come visit me at Captain’s tonight! It’s hard working two jobs, waking up early and staying up late, but if I’m living the traveller life, I’m going all out.  It’s fulfilling to work hard and see it pay off

Anthony by Lake Dispute

I’ll admit I miss my family.  My cousin Phyllis had a heart attack, and all I can do is pray for her.  I haven’t talked to my brother since he deployed.  This is also the longest I’ve gone in six years without talking to Shae.  Don’t get me wrong; I love the simple lifestyle.  I might be the happiest I’ve ever been, but I could really go for some March madness and a night out with Chris right about now.  Bottom line, being here is a once in a lifetime opportunity.   The myriad people I’m meeting are opening my eyes to foreign cultures and new perspectives.  I’m also learning a lot about myself and what I’m capable of with a little effort.

Being here and sharing stories with new people is a reality slap for how lucky I have been to have good friends, supportive family, and all the opportunities I sometimes overlook.  This kind of travelling is not for the faint at heart; I didn’t shower for days because there was no hot water (I eventually caved... ice cold showers aren't so bad) and I’ve been living out of a backpack and gone a few days with only 1 meal.  Many people I’ve met have been through worse, but they are all the stronger for it. Life, every experience, is what you make it.  Attitude is everything.  Perseverance and sincerity will take you a long way if you’re open to new things.   

Queenstown

I'm in Otago where sheep outnumber people 9:1, people don't lock their doors, you can walk or hitchhike everywhere, and backpackers inhabit the public parking lots.  So far I've learned you don't need to refrigerate eggs, there are no paper towels, trash bags cost $2 each, neked means tired (not naked), arugula is called rocket, and no one else uses American billiard rules.  Queenstown's population is ~10,416, so it's quaint, but also known the world's most extreme sports destination.  You can do anything from river surfing to canyoning and it was the birthplace of bungee jumping.  Since arriving, there have been nonstop new experiences, not very much sleep, and travel journal entries are getting longer and longer.

First smooth move in Queenstown- I left my cell phone on the plane.  Charlotte, flight friend from UK, watched my bags while I ran out on the runway to get it back from security.  Running on the runway would definitely get you arrested in USA, but here, no worries.  The people living around lake Wakatipu are from everywhere, Brazil to Czech Republic to India to you name it.  Tourists are everywhere getting in their last vacations as Summer winds down, but there are also a lot of young people on work visas and sponsorships.  I'm the newbie trying to adjust.

Lauren and Katie live in a 5 bedroom house with Alice and Gronya (Irish), Steve (Aussie), Laura and Lea (German), landlord Nick (weirdo), and now me and Nick C (VT friend).  Everyone gets along really well even with just 2 bathrooms.  Nick C arrived from Southeast Asia on Saturday with -$2.28 in the bank, hadn't eaten a meal in 3 days, and slept in a McDonalds the night before.  He doesn't have a raincoat because it got ruined by banana sap when he was working on a banana farm in Australia.  You can't make this stuff up.  Right now, the 4 of us are sharing this room...

Lake Wakatipu has crystal blue waters bordered by massive mountains.  Each day we try to get in some fun outdoor activity like a hike, disc golf, kayak, etc.  Town is a 5 minute walk, and there are tons of cool shops and galleries.  On Sunday we went to a BMX competition down the road, and the past two days Nick and I have been going door to door in town on the job hunt.  I have a trial shift at a seafood restaurant tomorrow.  Today I drove on the left side of the road for the first time to Glenorchy to ride for a position as a horseback riding tour guide at Dart Stables.  Dart is one of two yards touring the land used to film Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, and Willow. They had 8 horses in Lord of the Rings and a few in the recently filmed Hobbit.  On the 2 hour trail ride we waded through a few streams and saw the Misty Mountains and Mount Doom.  Horseback riding through paradise for a job interview? Boom.  They want me back on Friday for a 6 hour ride. I have been slacking on taking pictures, and I honestly don't think pictures do this place justice, but I'll try.

City of Sails

Kia Ora from Auckland!  I've been trying to catch up on writing for days, but there's no down time here, which I love! After having my boots bleached at the airport (biosecurity standard) and learning to cross the road with cars driving on the left side (by almost dying), I settled at K Road City Traveller hostel on Karangahape Rd (main strip of clubs, cafes, restaurants, shops, loud people at 2 am, etc).  As NZ's main hub, Auckland is home to 1/3 of the country's population and a pit stop for travelers starting or ending their trips.  Not an Italian restaurant in sight, but there's a Starbucks, McDs, or Wendy's just around the corner.  You can get any kind of authentic Asian food you ever wanted in Auckland, and so far I’ve had the best Turkish, Chinese, and Indian foods of my life. 

My first friend in NZ was Willi, a German who did a month in Sydney, a month in NZ, and USA (LA to NYC) is next. My hostel mates were Jane from Melbourne and Julian from Munich.  Jane is a mother of two on vacation from her family for 10 days.  She was a big backpacker in the 80's "when backpacking was real good."  At 23, Julian has lived in Cuba, Kenya, India, and is now finishing a full year in New Zealand.   He is flying home to surprise his mom for her birthday! Our mate Cecily is Irish and has been to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia. The travelers are outgoing and interesting.  Everyone wants to know your plans and where you're from.  

I managed to trump jet lag.  Willi and I walked all over my first day.   On day two, Julian and I visited the Art Gallery downtown; easily one of the coolest museums I’ve ever seen, content and architecture.  New Zealand artwork draws heavy inspiration from nature.  Descriptions of modern pieces speak of natural elements like stalactites/ stalagmites, the landscapes of different regions, mountains, birds, etc.  The Maori art is like nothing I’ve ever seen. 

University of Auckland’s city campus lies in the middle of downtown and runs along the beautiful Albert Park, a large garden and festival site.  I walked the length of Queens St strip, saw Sky Tower (looks a lot like the Space Needle), and walked Princes Wharf and Auckland Harbor.  It's lovely there but typical urban.  I can't wait to get to the South Island, where sheep outnumber people.  I want to hike and kayak my way around all the lakes and mountains! More to come soon. Cheers!

LALA land

Yep, this town is another world.  I was told I'd love it or be intimidated, and I think I've experienced both. The scenery and people watching are top notch.  Alex was the BEST host, and his friends are all very cool and creative.  

We walked Venice Beach to Santa Monica, rubbed elbows with the semi-famous at a Grammy party, met Skrillex, explored Hollywood,  had a saturated fat food frenzy at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, cruised Beverly Hills, ran into Lou Ferrigno, and now I'm at  LAX.  It's officially sunk in that yes, I am moving to the other side of the world. I think the waves of nausea are excitement, but I may be getting a little nervous too.

I get to time travel over Valentine's Day (leave 9pm 2/13 and arrive 7am 2/15).  Can't say I've ever gone through a wrinkle in time, so that is also pretty exciting :) Goodbye USA.  Next stop Auckland...