Here’s a price comparison on similar goods from the US and Australia. I chose this array of items for their common, everyday nature. In some cases, I couldn’t find the exact same product, so I went with what was closest. I tried to convert the metric amounts to whatever US unit we use as well. Hopefully I got everything correct. Math is not my strong suit.
*The US prices are based on a Ralph’s in San Diego, CA. Amounts may vary slightly depending on where you call home. Same with exchange rates.
ESSENTIALS
Item
US Price
AUS Price (Converted to USD)
Milk
$3.49 (1 Gallon)
$2.37 (.79 Gallon)
Water
$2.99 (Total = 405 fl oz)
$6.33 (Total = 487 fl oz)
Bananas
59¢/lb
$1.08/lb
Generic Loaf of Bread
$1.19
90¢
Notes: The average water bottle is a tad bigger than what we’re used to. Same as a bottle of Coke below..
Observations: Bananas. Who would’ve thought? Once again, as was the case in NZ, bottled water is much pricier. You’re getting more but still. Not that much. My guess is that it’s because they’re so environmentally conscious that they’re factoring in a tax for the plastic.
EXTRAS
Item
US Price
AUS Price (Converted to USD)
Bottle of Coke
$1.99 (20 fl oz)
$2.52 (20.28 fl oz)
Tub of Coffee Ground
$4.99 (11.3 oz)
$9.36 (10.58 oz)
My Expensive Deodorant
$9.99
$6.48 (Non sale price $9.36)
6 pack of Beer
$9.99 (72 fl oz)
$12.96 (76.08 fl oz)
Notes: My expensive ass deodorant was $4 off. Nice. I’ve been on that cheap ish since my initial one finished up. I’ve had XXXX Gold before. The people I was drinking it with really ragged on it so I figured it was comparable to the ole BL.
Observations: Coffee is at least closer to our price than it was in NZ Still up there though. And Australia and NZ are really known for their strong and flavorful “craft” coffee. Perhaps they’re trying to deter people from the crappy grounds and go to a cafe to get the good stuff. I wouldn’t know since I don’t drink it.
Other than that, I’m kind of surprised by the beer price. It seems like there’s way more than a $3 difference. The US conversion rate is really helping that out. Maybe I’ll feel a little less bad buying one of them good 10 packs to take on my sailing excursion. That’s right. I said 10 pack. 6, 10, 24, 30 are the common increments. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I had to hustle off the bus and into a safety briefing for the Fraser Island excursion because I was already late. I think the entire group was waiting on me.
There was a group of 26 people that got split into 3 cars.
Car #3 Aida (England) Kirsty (Scotland) Marvin (Germany) Max (Germany) Nathan (USA) Sabine (Netherlands) Sonja (Germany).
A good mix. We worked through a few rounds of paperwork and a horrendously old 12 minute long informational video. Then most people went their separate ways to sort out the alcohol and snacks they were going to bring.
Aido
MegaPrime 4×4
Down & Up the Dunes
All 26 of us reconvened around 6am the next morning to grab a quick breakfast and pack up our vehicles. That’s when we also met our guide, Aido, who endearingly referred to us as “critters” the entire trip.
Our SUVs were equipped with very necessary 4wd, an AUX cable so everybody could DJ, and a CB radio to communicate with the convoy.
Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and stretches over 120km. There’s very little infrastructure, so it’s mostly camping. To get around, you’re either driving on the beach or some incredibly sandy and bumpy paths.
Aida volunteered to take the first driving shift which seemed to be a fun one. She got to load us onto the ferry and do a bit of inland driving right off the bat because it was high tide. Ended up being a pretty good chunk of time which the group used to start getting to know each other.
Our first destination was Lake McKenzie. It was a beautiful, crystal clear natural lake. For my money, I think this was the best stop. We all took a dip in the water which was the perfect temperature. The sad part was that we didn’t get to spend much time there. But, on the bright side, this is where we settled on the name of our vehicle: MegaPrime. It was a mixture of Megatron and Optimus Prime (the best parts of the good and the bad) and also the new Amazon delivery option we invented. When you choose MegaPrime shipping, your item is delivered to you immediately upon payment. Let us know how much you’re willing to buy that Service Mark for, Besos.
Lake McKenzie
Everybody was hungry and the next stop was lunch, so at least we were getting to satisfy that urge. On this leg of the drive, Car 2 started to develop a reputation of being the black sheep of the group. “You’re too far to the left Car 2!” It was a common refrain, followed by an abyss of silence on the CB and no adjustment of course.
In the deep sand, it was important to follow the existing tracks and avoid oversteering the car. There are plenty of people that have gotten bogged or flipped from fighting what the car naturally wanted to do. It was sort of comically tense for a minute but thankfully it all worked out.
We arrived at Central Station, the old logging hub, and set up a wrap buffet. Wraps. We got to know them very well as that was our lunch for all 3 days. I think everybody wrote that down on the feedback form.
In any case, the entire group got a chance to mingle and then go on a walk through the forest. There was a creek that was practically invisible because of how clear it was. The short loop track brought us back to the pavilion and then we headed out.
We made it to basecamp in the early afternoon where Aido gave us the lay of the land and a brief talk about snakes, spiders, and other animals we might encounter. Everybody claimed a tent, unpacked some gear, and gathered back up to crack the first beer.
The majority of us went for a stroll up a large sand dune to watch the sunset. There was initially some worry about clouds, but it ended up being a solid one.
Once we got back to camp, we fired up the BBQ and had community dinner. There were card games, lots of chatting and all the good stuff associated with group bonding. Several hours into the night, a small group went for a quick walk to the beach to look at the stars. The sky was brilliant without any light pollution and you could clearly make out the Milky Way. It ended up being a relatively tame evening by the time we were all zipped into our tents and ready for bed.
Personally, I got a pretty shit night of sleep. First off, it was smotheringly hot. There wasn’t really a way to ventilate the tent because you had to keep out the bugs. And that was the second reason I was partially on edge the whole evening. The spider talk was in the back of my mind and I found a weird cricket trying to share rent just before I turned off my headlamp for the night.
I was half conscious when our 7am wake up reggaeton started playing. It took the group around an hour and a half to have breakfast and get ready to depart for our day 2 activities.
It was the best day.
First we drove for a while on the beach to a spot called Champagne Pools. The rocks and waves created a pool like formation that you could swim in. Or you could stand out on the edge and attempt to get swept away by a rogue wave crashing on the rocks. Most people just chilled and watched the “swoosh” happen.
Next we went for a short walk up Indian Head to a cliff outlook with awesome panoramic views. We realized pretty quickly that it was a well-crafted green screen and Dolby 8.12 surround sound. I think that was the number. It still looked really amazing for being fake so we didn’t let it disrupt our experience.
Indian Head Views
Then we did a quick scoot back to camp to have lunch. Obviously wraps. Before we left on our next adventure, somebody found a huntsman in their tent. Aido picked it up and a few people had a run letting it crawl on them. Gnarly.
Once that excitement died down, we made our way to Eli Creek which was kind of a lazy river. I mean, it was really lazy in the fact that it couldn’t be bothered to be high enough to easily float down it on a tube. It also was pretty short and crowded. Still a chill situation with awesome weather.
Two groups took a quick plane ride around the island. It was a tiny little prop guy that took off and landed on the beach. By all accounts, it was worth the $60 price of admission.
On the way back to camp, we stopped at a shipwreck to scope out the rusted SS Maheno. It was nifty to see the skeleton of a ship so close up. I wonder how many years it’ll take to completely rust it away.
For dinner, it was a group effort to cut up a bunch of veggies and get a bolognese together.
As it was the last night, it was the go hard night. Miracles happened that night, some would say. They would mainly be talking about the creation of the world’s newest and carb-friendliest drinking game — PastaPong — and the league that supports it. CLICK HERE for a list of the official rules.
That’s what happens when you combine alcohol, a huge community table and a bunch of leftover penne.
The night digressed a bit from there. Although we did make up a game for cleaning up the errant pasta. There was never a chance it was going to last long enough to get it all though.
After a few other miscellaneous games, there was a good vibe at the campfire. Xavi, a guy from Barcelona, was playing some songs on his guitar, as is fitting, and everybody was digging the situation. At some point Aido came down and was crushing some tunes as well. There were some good jams and I think marshmallows? I didn’t catch that part.
Gradually, the group petered out. A small contingency went to find the party beach but got lost along the way and ended up stargazing again.
I’m not sure how many people were ready for the 7am reggaeton alarm, but there it was again.
It was our last few hours on the island. We packed up our stuff and said goodbye to the campsite.
MegaPrime was sadly infiltrated by two people that wanted their chance to drive. We later found out that they weren’t even supposed to because they didn’t attend the briefing. Our convoy also got stopped and breathalyzed by the island police at one point, which Aido said was like the third time that had happened to his tour in 6 years or something.
Anyway, our only destination for the day was Lake Garawongera. It wasn’t as picturesque as Lake McKenzie, but it was substantially less crowded and offered us a great place to have a swim and chill.
We had our final round of wraps and drove to the ferry to be shepherded back to the main land.
We returned to the hostel around 4pm. The consensus was to keep it going with some dinner and more beer. We played a few games around a nonexistent campfire and made one last pilgrimage to the beach to check out the stars.
The next morning was bittersweet in that everybody was leaving. It was nice how everybody got up and was intent on seeing each other off though.
I was the last man standing, waiting on a 7pm bus.
What an amazing experience. It’s hard for me to rate Fraser Island based on the island though. I think it was really the group of people that made it such a worthwhile trip.
My two hopes are that we keep our Party Pippies Puppies chat alive for a long time and that my Whitsundays sailing excursion can somehow compete with this outing.
Even though I was only about 70km away from Byron Bay, I was in a new state and time zone. Queensland.
I didn’t do much research on this spot but I was able to find an AirBnB that was like half the price of all the hostels over the New Years period.
I found out why when I got to the house. I was in a shared room, which was just two mattresses on the floor. The kitchen was a mess, there wasn’t really any fridge space, there were…5 Brazilians living there and there was only one bathroom. Plus the place was hot as shit without any air conditioning.
I was intending to relax at the place but the amenities weren’t really all that pleasant. There was decent internet which was a silver lining.
One cool thing about Surfers Paradise is that there was water everywhere. There were a ton of random islands and inlets weaving all over the place.
I met up with Karalee (20yo Canadian), a fellow traveler I connected with on a FB Backpacker group. She was dogsitting for a family friend in a sweet house a block away from the beach.
We walked around the town and boardwalk while eventually formulating a plan for New Years Eve. There was a small group of other travelers from the same FB group that were interested in getting together too.
Everybody assembled at pool for a BBQ and hangout. I was the elder statesmen of the crew, which felt kinda weird. The next in line was a 25yo guy from India, then a 23yo German guy, 21 and 20yo German girls and Karalee.
Really pleasant people though. The mood was light and friendly. We had good conversation, took a dip in the hot tub and grilled up some sausages. Nobody was hitting the booze hard or anything. I actually got a 6-pack of Goose Island IPA to have that familiar taste of home.
As it got closer to midnight, we changed venues to Karalee’s place so we were closer to the beach for midnight. We marveled at the dog and played the Australian version of Cards Against Humanity to kill some time. The youngest German girl crushed us all, even with the language barrier.
We got out onto the beach and prepared for midnight. We were in one of the first time zones to ring in the new year. There was a decent fireworks show over the ocean. After the show, the group shared a few lessons learned from 2018 and some goals for 2019.
NYE Fireworks
It ended up getting whittled down to just me and Karalee at some point. We posted up under a blanket on the beach and took a short nap before waking up for the sunrise. That was a somewhat popular idea as there were a decent amount of other people scattered along the beach. A few dudes even went for a chilly swim.
It was close to 7am by the time I got back to Casa de Brazil. All of the tenants seemed to be away so I zonked out for a while and pretty much did nothing until I had to catch a bus up to Brisbane the following day.
Brissy, Brissy, Brissy can’t you see?
It was time for another Workaway. The house was in a suburb about 40 minutes via public transport outside of downtown.
I was greeted by Lozz, the very gregarious host. There was also a pretty Colombian Workawayer, Carolina, that arrived a little bit before me.
Lozz walked us through the basic everyday tasks and was very loose and informal about any other stuff we had to do.
Our daily charge was to walk the dog, look after the chickens and tidy up the pool area. We had a few other random tasks here and there but nothing extreme.
Chili Tofu Tortillas
Carolina and I tackled pretty much everything together. We also cooked some super solid vegetarian meals, as that was everybody else’s dietary preference. The chili tofu tortillas we whipped up were pretty dope.
I was helping her with English and she was sharing miscellaneous Spanish phrases with me.
We all got on very well. It was one of those situations where everybody felt immediately comfortable and familiar with each other. Lozz was so appreciative and positive about everything we did. Her kids, Ryan and Bri (30s), were cut from the same cloth as well. Just awesome people; really bright and energetic.
As far as exploring went, there was a day where I went to a Koala Sanctuary. The koalas (which are large marsupials and not bears) usually sleep for 20 hours a day but I showed up at the right time because the staff was changing out the eucalyptus leaves which meant feeding time. They were up and moving around which was cool to see. Super cute little things munching away. I also got to pet a kangaroo finally. And I was stared down hard by an emu. Unnerving.
I bussed downtown to wander around the city center and a few of the good suburbs. I went to the Gallery of Modern Art which was neat. My kind of museum.
In the evening, I met up with Jonathan, the guy I did Abel Tasman with back in NZ, and we did a touch of brewery hopping.
A few days later, I did a quick 40 minute walk up to the Mount Coot-tha summit, right by the house. Then I walked a few other suburbs, explored a park, checked out the artificial beach in the city and gave a few other beers a try.
Brisbane has a few unique things to offer that some other Australian cities don’t. It might not be as hip as Melbourne, or have as much going on as Sydney, but it still seemed like a good spot to be.
I was actually a bit sad to be leaving. I totally could’ve kept with the vibe and the people for longer.
Next up on the agenda was something tasty though. I was heading north to do a 3 day excursion on Fraser Island followed by a 2 day sailing trip around the Whitsundays.
I arrived in Gosford after an uneventful train ride and met my host, Peter, in the parking lot.
Rainbow After Hail Storm
He gave me a lift to his place which was about a 20 minute drive. Insane property and house. Basically a mansion. It was 3 levels and I’m not even sure how many bedrooms. This was the first Workaway I’d done with fellow Workawayers and we all had our own rooms if that says anything.
There was also an indoor and outdoor pool. Huge bonus.
José (18yo Mexican), Leena (20yo German), and Luca (21yo French) had all been there for a few days already and were doing garden work starting at 7am. I, on the other hand, would be working inside helping Peter make some videos for his personal development business. He was looking to gain more of a following on social media as well as drum up interest for his year-long 2019 program.
It was back in saddle for me. Did I remember how to make a video out of nothing? I was working with very little creative direction and assets. That was the norm for the job I left back in the States. It was an experiment to see if I could still apply myself and harness the old creative problem solving skills.
We started by having a conversation about exactly what he was looking for and how he viewed his business. I had to some of his insight in order to utilize it in the vids. Plus I had to bone up on the whole personal development scene. I didn’t know any of the intricacies.
After diving into some YouTube clips and digesting the info session, we began the production phase. He had a daily series of videos called “For Pete’s Sake” where he discussed a particular topic a person could address to make an easy change in their lives. Sometimes he would take on a more controversial subject to get a rise out of people. His stance on the “traditional Christmas” that people celebrate was unique and hilarious. Likely offensive for the average person as well.
We started small by making a simple one and getting the look down. Once that was dialed in we cranked out a few more so the rest of the week was stocked up. Then I began to tackle the promo/teaser for his Odyssey program. That was the big boy because it was supposed to be intriguing, enticing and inspirational. And we had almost no footage of past success stories or anything.
Over the course of the week, I fell into my old pattern of spending way too much time on something to make it perfect. I overworked the hell out of this joint. I completed the requisite amount of Workaway hours in like 2 days. I even edited another video for him on the train after I left. Needless to say, I have a weird relationship with video editing. It’s an awesome exercise in creativity but probably an unhealthy level of commitment.
Outside of all the time I spent staring at my computer and pressing buttons, it was a fun time. Peter and Mel were both interesting people who were very accommodating.
The group went on a field trip out to this park with the promise of being able to see and pet wild kangaroos. When we got there, there was a lady who’d blocked off access because she was their “caretaker” and thought they were being mistreated by the public who was visiting them. The thing was, it was at the entrance of a mental hospital, so we weren’t sure if she was legit or just a random patient. It was a really strange and unlucky situation. We took a brief walk in the bush and ended up seeing a ton hop off from afar. I really wanted to see a buff ass, gym rat ‘roo but I’d have to save that for another day.
That was the most socializing the group did. Dinners were usually pretty quiet and they all went to bed early since they were waking up to work.
Everybody left on the Friday before Christmas. I had a different arrangement since the editing was working out. Peter and Mel were comfortable letting me stay for a party they had planned.
They hosted a few of their friends and kids for a day and night. It ended up getting pretty wild because they were crushing beer and wine like water. There was beer pong (undefeated) with some random streaking, a gift exchange with some scandalous presents and a late night swim and hot tub sitch. All good fun. Super nice of them to let a relative stranger take part in that.
I waited too long to book my transportation to the next place so I ended up staying on Christmas Eve and helping with more videos. They were also totally cool giving me a lift to the train station on Christmas morning.
I spent almost all of Christmas Day in transit. It was a gnarly 10 hour train ride followed by an hour+ bus to Byron Bay.
The only interesting thing about the train ride was that two super drunk dudes rode it for like 4 hours before getting kicked off because they didn’t have tickets. They were hammered at 10am when they boarded too, so it was mildly impressive.
I was told how nice Byron Bay was from a few different travelers. The added bonus was that Stephany and her friends were there too. That was a partially motivating factor to go there in case any holiday loneliness set in.
I woke up at the ass crack on Boxing Day and took a 40 minute walk up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse to see the sunrise. I think it might be the most eastern point in Australia? At least in Byron Bay. It was a pretty solid morning. I also got to video chat with some of the fam as they were opening gifts.
Cape Byron Sunrise #1
The main draw to Byron Bay is all of the beautiful beaches. I was determined to darken my shade of whiteness so I hit the sand in the afternoon (Main Beach). The trick was to not get burnt. And that was actually quite difficult because the UV index was continually at a high of like 14 – “extreme risk.” I used an extreme amount of sunscreen so I was safe after day one.
On day two, I met up with the crew at a different beach (The Pass) and chilled out. The water was insanely blue and refreshing. Beaches, man. They’re pretty awesome apart from the sand. I’m not the only one that thinks it’s a nuisance, right?
We all got cleaned up at our various places after getting our fill of sun and reconvened at the girls’ AirBnB for dinner. They went HAAM on buying food when they first arrived so it was one of those meals with a collection of miscellaneous sides that was awesome. There was promise of going to a brewery after but everybody bailed from sun fatigue.
I went back to the hostel and met up with one of my roommates. Philip was from Sweden and he was hanging out with a few guys who lived in the Netherlands. We all went out to a bar that had live music for a beer. It turned into several.
We changed venues to a place called Woody’s, a pseudo-club. One of the dudes was the most friendly drunk ever. Pretty sure he introduced himself to everybody in the establishment. Toward the end of the night he was going around and collecting half-empty drinks. Bold move. He has herpes now but he saved a decent amount on alcohol. Worthwhile trade off?
In the morning, I met the group at their spot again. We had a pretty solid breakfast and then went to yet another beach (Little Wategos). It was a somewhat secluded spot that also had a nice shady area for me to take refuge in after I felt the burn coming on. The sun variety, not the herp. I didn’t share any of the foraged drinks.
The Pass Beach
Surfers Going In
Little Wategos
It was everybody’s last night in Byron, so we planned to go to the brewery for real and then go from there. After a sunset beverage, they called an audible. I couldn’t take a two-day brewery tease with no payoff so I split from them and agreed to meet up later. I rendezvoused with Philip and we started walking.
We were almost there when some people heading the opposite direction told us they were at capacity and not letting anybody else in. Dammit.
We ended up going to a converted railway station. It was a super popular spot with a large outdoor area. They also had music on and the band was crushing it. They did pretty exceptional covers of Bohemian Rhapsody and Hey Jude.
Once the band was done, we met everyone at a bar called the Sticky Wicket where there was also live music. It was all relatively well behaved until things moved upstairs to the dance floor. The night seemed to end in a quick blur from there. We closed the place down and I said a brief and segmented goodbye to all of the lovely people I’d hung out with there and in Sydney. Then I went back and got terrible sleep in my sauna of a dorm room.
In the morning. I repacked my bag and hopped on a shuttle bounds for Surfers Paradise. This is where I would spend New Year’s Eve.
Even though the trip to Blue Mountains was a long and draining day, I was up at 6:30am the following morning. Not just because the heat and city noise in my room was next level, but because I was headed to watch a soccer game.
Tottenham were playing an important Champions League match away to Barcelona and the 7am kickoff time was manageable. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to watch it with the local supporters group. And my hostel’s internet was dog shit so I wouldn’t be able to stream it or pull up a replay later.
The Sydney OzSpurs met at a hotel (bar) in walking distance, so that was convenient. There was a turnout of probably 25 people. There were having projection issues for the first 5-10 minutes so a few people had pulled it up on their phones.
It got sorted out and we all watched anxiously as it took to the 85th minute for our boys to draw level and get the result they needed to advance to the next stage of the competition. It was actually a super fun moment when we scored. The place went nuts and I pumped my fist so hard my bracelet flew off (it was later found). That meant everybody was leaving happy, to start their days at 9am.
I bumbled around town for a little bit. Nabbed some internet from a cafe and had a small bite to eat. I went back to the hostel around noon and ended up taking a critical 4 hour nap. It felt like work to rouse myself from the dead.
Once I was alive again, I went to check out the architecture of the Queen Victoria Building and The Strand Arcade. Both were nice looking indoor malls.
Then I walked down to the Circular Quay to scope the Opera House at night. I had a good time finding different setups and learning some new capabilities of my camera.
In the morning, I checked out of my hostel and transferred all of my stuff to Stephany’s place in Bondi. Maria returned home, so Steph was nice enough to let me crash on the couch.
After a lazy afternoon, we caught a bus down to the beach and she showed me some cool spots. We hopped on some rocks to a lookout called Ben Buckler, then walked North Bondi to Dudley Page Reserve, which had a great view of downtown Sydney.
Our intention was to watch the sunset there. Instead, we were watching a gnarly lightning storm over the skyline. Some guy set up a full news-style camera next to us. That should’ve been a hint. It seemed like the clouds were moving closer to us, but not at an alarming rate. I had just stopped filming myself when lightning struck incredibly close to us. I could feel a small electric pulse from my camera. The dude next to us “beat feet like a fuckin track star.”
It was for sure the closest I’ve been to being struck by lighting. We immediately headed for the bus and hoped it would be there before the downpour came.
Lightning Strikes at Dudley Page #1
Thankfully, we were still dry when we got scooped up. By the time we got dropped off, though, the rain was comin on down. We had to wait under an awning for 10 minutes before it was tolerable enough to brave. Even then, we had to wade through an ankle deep river in the street.
This started a trend of intense evening rain after getting off the bus.
The next morning, Steph and I put on our walking shoes. We were set to do a coastal walk from Watson’s Bay back to Bondi with a few detours here and there.
Diamond Bay Reserve Gateway
It was a warm day. We were getting some good views and an obvious sweat on. A few kms in, we reached a sweet bluff and cove called Diamond Bay Reserve. She took me down a pseudo-secret path that led to this gateway to death.
I took out the drone and was getting some tasty footage. I was starting to get good at 3 part simultaneous movement.
Then I crashed it on some rocks close to the water. Oops.
We followed its position on the map and Stephany spotted the lights. It was in a dangerously inviting spot. There was a few ropes and a ladder that sort of led down to where it was. But it was way too unsafe to venture down there without a harness or any sort of safety equipment. Stephany was game to climb, but I didn’t feel good about that optjon. As much as I wanted it back, even if it was damaged, it was too risky.
I hopped on a few Sydney forums to see if I could get in contact with somebody that had done the climb before without any luck. We had to leave it behind. Brutal. A very costly mistake. So many thoughts in hindsight.
An hour later when we got off the bus near her apartment, it started raining heavily yet again. That along with waves crashing on the rocks would’ve claimed the electronics anyway. Still sucks. A repair is cheaper than a full re-buy. Also, the sweet footage.
But that was that. The only way to make it better was to have a beer.
The solution to that was Marta’s office Christmas party. Coincidentally it was in a WeWork space, which is the company my brother works for.
The event was catered and there was booze galore. Draft beer FTW.
All of Stephany’s friends from the pool party were there. I also met a few other people throughout the evening. Potentially the most miraculous thing is that I lost at tic tac toe like 3 times. Not even sure how that happens. There was some rough karaoke to take my mind off of it.
Once it wound down, the group went to a place called Retro where there was dancing. I saw the real-life version of that Dane Cook joke about girls putting their purses in the middle of the floor and dancing around them.
After coming out of the bathroom, I got approached by a random dude. He was trying to sell me hard on photographing his friend’s wedding on some island in a few months. I kept trying to tell him I was amateur at best and couldn’t even figure out how he knew I had a camera to begin with.
Eventually, it came time to eat a late night kebab and catch a bus back.
The next day Stephany was working a concert. I went back to the scene of the crime to see if 1) drone baby had been swept into the sea or 2) people were out for their Saturday afternoon climb and could help a brother out. The answer was ‘no’ to both scenarios. Still didn’t have a solution of how to get it back so I said a fond farewell.
Apart from arranging my next Workaway, that was pretty much my entire day. Cool.
On Sunday, we hung out for a little bit by the pool. Then we went to another person’s place to have a few bevs and snacks on the way to see “Christmas Carols” on Coogee Beach. Unexpectedly, it was a full on concert with a ton of different acts and a million people. They did have a pretty good firework show at the end before everyone dispersed.
Since it was my last night, Steph busted out some solid Japanese whisky and we debriefed on my time in Sydney.
Her hospitality and guidance around the city was an obvious highlight. The lowlight was clear. Tried not to dwell on it. We had a nice chat and then I repacked my bag as is necessary every few days.
I got up the next morning to catch several modes of public transportation up to the Central Coast.
Sydney is not the capitol of Australia FYI. From what I heard, the rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney led to a compromise which saw Canberra receive the honors. I thought that was an interesting tidbit.
My bus had a quick pit stop in Canberra on the way to Sydney but I can’t say I saw much of it.
We arrived in Sydney around 930pm. The Central Station stop was right across the street from my hostel. Clutch. Sydney’s CBD was much more spread out than Melbourne’s but being by this hub was perfect.
I checked into my hostel, Wake Up!, and had a look around. It was a relatively new place with modern amenities. It had good reviews and reflected that in the cost.
I was in an 8-bed dorm. The first night I was woken up to a guy pissing on the floor at 6am. The last time I experienced something like that was in college. Bros. Ugh. My bag was so close to the danger area too. The dude checked out in a cloud of shame the next morning. Or he was just moving on anyway, but I’ll pretend.
A big benefit was that the hostel offered a free walking tour so I hopped on that. It was a big group and the tour took around 4 hours. I enjoyed the walking aspect and the places we stopped, but it was less informative than I thought it would be. Either way, it was a good intro to the city.
It was Friday and the adjoining bar was offering free drinks to hostel guests, so I capitalized on that. It seemed like watered down Goon (Australia’s Franzia). In any event, there was a limited amount so bottoms went up.
That led to a few hours of dancing. There was a DJ that played live saxophone along with a few songs. I hadn’t experienced that before. It made the set marginally more interesting.
The next morning there was another group walk to the Glebe Markets. At first I was underwhelmed by the amount of thrift clothing tents but then I found my jam. It was a guy making one-of-a-kind items from up-cycled materials. There were some fresh hats. Two for $50 which really wasn’t bad but I didn’t neeeeeeeed it. I did a few more laps around the market to see if it continued calling to me. I popped my head in a few more times but couldn’t pull the trigger.
I still want one.
I never got a card and don’t know what the shop was even called. Amateur hour. I did overhear the guy saying he was working on getting his website and Instagram accounts up and running. Damn. I may never find them again.
Regardless, I had somewhere to be that afternoon anyway. There was a pool party going down in Bondi. I was connected to this sitch through a friend of a friend (thanks, Makaye!). Stephany used to live in Richmond but has resided in Sydney for the last 2 years. She’d been advising me on cool shit to do and also invited me to hang out with her and her friends. One of whom, Maria, was in town from the US and formally lived in Richmond as well.
Pool. Party.
*Photo Courtesy of Maria
I was mad excited to chill at a pool with a group of people my age who were residents of the place. There was a BBQ, there was beer, there was sun and everybody was really nice to talk to. It was also an informal congratulatory party for Jules and Denise getting engaged.
I later ended up going back to their place to borrow some clothes from Jules to go out. He also took me on an impromptu tasting of some whiskeys and piscos. Incredibly fun and passionate people.
We rejoined the rest of the crew at a hoity-toity cocktail bar called Mrs. Sippy’s. Everybody there was paying someone to bleach their teeth and their assholes. Separate people, probably.
It wasn’t really that bad. But it kinda was. Also, the only piece of my outfit that belonged to me was my underwear. I’d like to think that played no part in my assessment of this bar.
Eventually, we moved to the Coogee Bay Hotel & Bar. As an aside, “hotels” are largely just bars. I don’t think they let drunk patrons sleep there, or anyone for that matter. I don’t know. Maybe they were all hotels during the Gold Rush but then converted to restaurant/bars at a certain point.
Either way, this place was massive. It had several bars, a live band with a dance floor, and a grill with some delicious looking sausages.
There was a moment where two of Stephany’s friends dragged me on the dance floor and told me that I had to enjoy this song because it was the most Australian song ever written. I have no idea what that song was. I recall it being relatively dad-rocky, but have no clue beyond that.
Around 3am, I decided it was time to head back. I got a bus card and rode that puppy home.
The following day was a Santa-themed pub crawl around Manly Beach. I caught the ferry out of the city in the early afternoon. On Sundays, it only costs $2.50 for unlimited public transportation which was sick. Nice to get that perspective of Sydney for so cheap.
Sydney from the Water
Myself, Stephany, Maria and Marta lounged in the sand for a bit before donning our Santa gear. The girls all looked great and I looked ridiculous (on purpose). I was wearing a scandalous apron. Notice the strategically placed mistletoe.
The crawl began. Apparently it had been off to the races for a while. At the first bar we went to, which seemed completely chill, a chick vomited through her hand onto the floor. It was 2:15pm at best. Giddyup. The second place had music blasting and a saucy dance party happening insane. The line outside, however, which we were in, came to a stand still right when it was getting good (video doesn’t do it justice).
We went to another hotel (bar) and chilled on the balcony for a few beers and snacks before catching the ferry back to downtown. Stephany took Maria and I to a semi-classy rooftop spot with a solid view of the Opera House.
In case you were wondering, I was still wearing the apron. Two people were kind enough to mime some extremely sexual actions while I ordered my drink. It was an experience.
Light Show at St. Mary’s Cathedral
We ended the night by watching a holiday light show displayed on St. Mary’s Cathedral. It was a story for children about making friends or something. The voice actor had to do some weird singing and “meowing.” Nonetheless, a solid cap to the evening.
The following day I wandered around the city some more. I retraced a few of the walking tour steps to spend more time at a few places and checked out some carnivorous plants. Then I met up with Stephany and Maria to head to the fish market. It was almost closed, but we were able to snag a sushi donut for $10, which I’m told is a steal. I wasn’t familiar with the concept before. To clarify, it’s various types of sushi in the shape of a donut. There is no actual dough. The construction and taste were quite fantastic. I’d highly recommend if you’re ever in the area.
ANZAC Memorial
The Calyx #2
Sydney Fish Market
Next, we took a train over to Newtown, an artsy suburb, to walk around. That meant finding a brewery and getting a flight. I was in my element. The beer was aight. We went to yet another hotel and I got a local Strong Ale. Again, deece/sub-deece.
We made a plan to venture out to Blue Mountains in the morning, so we went back to our corners to rest up.
It was an early morning rendezvous at Central Station to catch a train to Katoomba. We had visions of doing a 3 hour trek around the Three Sisters before doing a 3 hour canyon walk. The guy at the information desk essentially laughed at us because there just wasn’t enough time in the day to complete it all.
Three Sisters
Instead, we hit the lookout and also walked down to touch the Three Sisters. Then we went on some crazy track down the Furber Steps. Aptly named because there were so many steps.
Along the way, we heard a sonar-like ding, echolocation noise happening that was really bizarre. Turned out to be Bell Miners (birds), even though we couldn’t see them.
At a junction on the trail, we came to one of the strangest signs I’ve ever seen. There were two options that would both take 45 minutes — one was “medium” and the other “moderate.”
Very curious if there will be a clear consensus on this question.
Anyway, we chose the moderate path and continued on. I was leading the group and we walked through a section that was very much in the bush. I kept thinking that I was going to either get webbed and bitten by a spider or step on a snake. Thankfully none of those things occurred. We found a cozy picnic table under a canopy and had lunch before furiously climbing a shit ton of steps.
In the town of Leura, we had a victory drink and then boarded a train back to Sydney.
As Stephany napped, Maria and I had a solid conversation about spirituality, death and legacy.
I’m abusing polls now for some reason.
I walked back to my hostel as they caught their connecting train back to Steph’s flat. It was nice to do a decent walk in Australia. I’d been missing that since leaving New Zealand.
I flew into Melbourne and took the bus from the airport to the CBD. My hostel was in the thick of things — Flinders Street. I walked 1km to get there and was embarrassingly sweaty when I got to reception. It was 10am.
I dropped my bags off and looked for a quiet corner where I could lounge for a bit. I got less than 2 hours of sleep the previous night and didn’t sleep much on the plane.
After struggling with internet connectivity and keeping my eyes open, I found the TV lounge. An oasis. There were 3 levels of bean bag type chairs. Booyah. I sat down and put Horrible Bosses on. That movie is hilarious so, again, I didn’t sleep much. Then somebody came in and started No Country for Old Men.
By the time the movie marathon was done, I was able to check in. Thankfully, I drew a bottom bunk. It was in an 18 bed dorm. I honestly didn’t know you could fit that many beds in one room. It was real. And actually not that bad.
Partially because like 12 of those 18 people were attractive females. Something I noticed about Melbourne as a whole. So many attractive people. A combination of the amount of people and Melbourne being a popular destination for backpackers I guess. Fine by me.
I got my SIM card sorted out and nabbed some groceries. By the time I was situated, I was ready for a goodnight’s sleep.
I went down in the morning and was stoked to remember that this place had free pancakes, cereal and toast. So clutch. They also had free rice and pasta available any time. It was a real coup in the complimentary food department.
There’s this company that does free walking tours of the city each day. Choice. I missed the departure from the hostel but was able to rendezvous with them before it actually began. There was probably around 20 people or so in attendance. A surprising turnout.
Walks 101 – Free Melbourne Walking Tour
Our guide, Nicole, took us through the cozy laneways, showing us the cool shops and street art. We went past the art gallery, Federation Square, the train station (where the phrase “meet you under the clocks” became popular), and several other arcades/malls.
Under the Clocks at Flinders Street Station
Interesting tidbit: Melbourne was originally called “Batmania” after its founder. We also learned about the Ned Kelly gang who were Robin Hood-esque. I forget why that story was so influential. It was a 4 hour tour, so there was a lot of information being thrown about.
Free Tram Zone Around the CBD
The tour disbanded and I did a lot more wandering on my way back. There was a free team zone that covered about a square kilometer of the CBD which made it easy to get around.
I relaxed for a bit when I got back to the hostel and made a decent dinner. Yes, it involved pasta. This was actually the first time I’d made pasta and sauce even though everybody pegs that as the quintessential backpackers meal.
I decided to take the advice of our tour guide and go to the Shrine of Remembrance to try and catch the sunset over the skyline of the city. It was a 20 minute walk from the hostel and a pretty nice vantage point. There was a tower I could’ve gone up but that junk cost money.
Sunset Over the Skyline
Shrine of Remembrance
Night Colors at the Shrine
The following day was somewhat lazy. I obviously capitalized on free pancakes. From there I went to a cafe and worked on some photos.
In the early afternoon, I did a hidden bar crawl with the same company that did the walking tour.
It was an interesting group. Two 20 year olds that barely knew what drinking was, a British couple that mostly kept to themselves, a dude from Minnesota, a miscellaneous Chilean and a chick who was working in New Zealand but originally from Charlottesville (an hour’s drive east from my house). Classic travel encounter.
To my relative disappointment, we weren’t really “uncovering hidden laneways bars” as the name of the crawl suggested. There weren’t any secret knocks or passwords to enter. The first stop was right off a main drag. That being said, the places did have a sweet divey feel.
First, we went to a whisky place where I ordered a Boilermaker. It’s the same as an RVA Happy Meal. For those who still don’t follow: it’s a shot and a beer. I chose the Australian variety, because when in Australia…
Apparently whisky and craft beer are really starting to catch on but there isn’t much supply so it’s all expensive. I think the bartender said Jack Daniel’s produces in 11 seconds what the entire Australian industry produces in a year. Yowzers.
Then we went to a converted shipping container (beer bar), a basement spot (cocktails) and an old brothel rooftop (cocktails).
Now that I’ve written that out, I suppose the places were decently unique.
Boilermaker
Whitehart Bar
Beneath Driver Lane
Dark & Stormy
A few people elected to go to another area of the city and explore. It was time for my free pasta fill up though. I did have a night cap at the downstairs bar with a few people before calling it a night.
The next day, I checked out the National Galley of Victoria and the ACMI museum, which is an exhibit dedicated to moving images. I enjoyed Federation Square once more and walked along the Yarra River for a bit.
NGV #3
I decided I would create my own informal rooftop bar crawl that evening. I was attempting to find another good spot to catch the sunset.
Unfortunately, I set out too late and my first selection was only a 3-story roof that was dwarfed by high rises. It was still a really cozy spot. I had a quick beer and moved on.
The following place was really close by but I was having trouble finding it for some reason. I noticed two ladies having the same issue so I joined forces with them and we immediately located the door because it was right in front of us.
We rode the elevator together and chatted a bit. Then we were going to part ways once we got inside but they invited me to hang out with them. Sweet. They were also babes.
We had a really awesome chat. One was an American living in Melbourne and one was from Melbourne living in Seattle. Odd things. They were super nice and offered me a place to stay if ever I was in their cities again. They also bought my beers which was incredible.
I went to another hip spot where I had the opposite experience of talking to no one. Thems the breaks.
I got up early the next morning to catch a bus tour along the Great Ocean Rd. There were probably about 18 of us total. It was a full day thing and I was looking forward to seeing some sites.
First, we pulled over at the official sign marking the starting point. I mean, ok. It was a sign with predictable words on it. Nothing crazy. There were some decent views on the drive to our next stop. Again, somewhat similar to the California PCH, but with bluer water.
Next was a brief stop to interact with some wildlife. And it wasn’t really by choice. There were two types of parrots that were very keen to land on peoples’ heads and chill for a minute. There was also one koala sleeping way up in a tree. I saw its furry bum.
From there, we had a break for lunch in Apollo Bay. There wasn’t much view of the bay from where we were though. I chatted with a Dane, a German and a Brit.
Mait Flats
Shortly after that, we did a brief nature walk in Mait Flats. There were some large trees and a slight concern about a poisonous black slug but I didn’t come across any. Seemed like kind of a pointless stop.
The next 3 were the main attractions anyway. There was two large rock formations in the ocean named Gog and Magog. I took the Gibson Steps to get a view from the beach as well.
Then there was the 12 Apostles, which are also rock structures in the ocean. It was a straight zoo of people though. By far the most touristy situation I’ve been in since leaving home. Kind of undesirable.
Finally, we were given just under an hour to explore Razorback, Shipwreck, Loch and Gorige. I hustled to see all of them cuz I was missing a good walk. I saved the best for last because I was able to actually dip my feet in the water. It felt nice.
Gog and Magog
12 Apostles
Loch and Gorge
Overall, that was the highlight of the day. I was disappointed in all of the stops being insanely crowded with people. I wasn’t expecting that so it threw me off.
We had roughly a 3 hour drive back to Melbourne. The upside was that we got dropped off at the Queen Victoria Market, which just so happened to have a night market going on.
Queen Victoria Night Market
It was a large tent with a ton of food and craft vendors, bustling with people. The smells and styles were cool to take in. The city backdrop was quite nice as well.
I captured a few of the night scenes on my way back to the hostel. Then I packed up my stuff.
In the morning I checked out and boarded a 12 hour Greyhound to Sydney.
The place of kiwis. The place of mountains. The place of bays and glaciers and unique wildlife.
The people were kind, the scenery was stunning, and the hiking was next level.
In reflecting on my time in New Zealand, it’s a struggle to vividly remember it all. Three months is a lengthy adventure.
My arrival in Auckland seems like a year ago. Either that’s because my memory is as shit as I think it is, or time has been distorted by the amount of experiences I fit into that glorious 90-day window.
I met heaps of people. Many of them fleetingly, but a few kindred spirits that I could easily contact if/when visiting their home countries (and vice versa). I also picked up a little bit of lingo if you didn’t catch that usage of “heaps.”
On that note, probably the most valuable part of this trip has been the immersion into another culture. Even though it may have only been a subtle contrast to that of the U.S., it’s still an important process. I’m not going to sit here and say I’m a changed person or anything, but seeing the way other people live everyday life can at least open your mind to a different approach.
I wrote about the “no worries” attitude before and that’s something I hope I’m able to keep with me as I go forward. Everything doesn’t have to be taken so seriously. Things work out. There’s a lot of stuff out there we can’t control, so just take it as it comes. No worries.
By the Numbers
Days in New Zealand: 91 Days at Workaways: 43 Days with a Rental Car: 28 Nights in Hostels: 39 NZD Spent: ~$7,425.84 USD Spent: ~$5,017.46 (Avg. conversion rate of roughly 1.48)
Also, here’s my Trip Advisor profile. I was reviewing things pretty heavily up until I wasn’t. Maybe one day I’ll finish it out but it doesn’t seem likely.
Finally, I still don’t really know what I’m doing, but I think I’ve taken some decent pictures along the way. Kind of hard to screw it up with scenery that good. Below is an album with my favorite photos from New Zealand.
We forgot to buy coffee at the grocery store. This was a grievous error.
We were out of bed by 6am, on the bus out to Milford Sound by 6:30am and Zack and Hannah were caffeineless. Danger.
The drive out was actually pretty hilarious because they took like 4 separate naps.
Ethan, our driver, was giving us a commentary on the ride and they missed the majority of that.
We were extremely lucky with the weather we were getting though. We made a pit stop at Mirror Lakes because the conditions were perfect. Such still water, the reflection was pristine.
Mirror Lakes
We also passed by Lake Gunn, which looked even better. Unfortunately, we didn’t stop. I regret not asking him to pull over. It would’ve been an epic picture as the water was reflecting the snow-capped mountains in perfect symmetry. The golden light of the morning also gave an amazing contrast to the blue of the sky and the white of the snow. Man, what a scene.
Next, we pulled off to the side of the road where there was a Kea waiting for us. A kea is an alpine parrot species that’s become a somewhat pesky critter since tourists have been feeding them. They’re pretty cute the way they hop around though.
This one was familiar with Ethan apparently. It greeted everyone kindly, apart from Zack. It didn’t like the cut of his jib I guess and ended up biting his toe. Lolz.
This did not have a lasting effect on Zack as he went back to sleep when we boarded the van again.
After another 20-30 minutes drive we got to Deep Water Basin, where our kayak trip was launching.
Two consecutive days on the water was going to be epic. And the weather was even better than the previous day somehow. That’s really saying something because they get like 200 some days of rain in Milford Sound.
We met our guide, Mossimo, and got outfitted with gear.
The good news: GoPros would be in action. The bad news: the sandflies were absolutely everywhere and eating us to bits.
Once we were on the water it was alright but it was straight brutal beforehand.
Everybody else was coupled up, so I got paired with the only other single person – a girl from Slovakia named Makayla. Our boat fucking killed it too. I was steering in the back and we were in perfect synch. A decent amount of our day was spent waiting for some of the stragglers to catch up.
The water was abnormally calm for the first part of the day and the scenery was epic. It really was a redemption song from my first experience.
About an hour into the paddling, Hannah seemed like she was hitting a wall. Hunger and a lack of coffee was getting the better of her. I looked over at one point and she was draped over the kayak. Seemed dead.
It was a little bit of a stop and start situation again because there was one couple that was always lagging behind. We also had to cross a few boat channels which meant rounding up the group. Honestly, in terms of distance we didn’t make it all that far into the sound. If given the opportunity, I think Makayla and I could’ve seen a decent amount more.
The Dream Team
As the afternoon went on, the wind picked up and the water got more choppy.
The rocky beach where we had lunch was an awesome spot though. Hannah was happy once she satisfied the food and caffeine-shaped hole in her stomach.
For as beautiful as the scenery was, the sandflies were nearly intolerable during lunch. I think they’re particularly fond of Western blood because Zack and I were getting demolished. They really should’ve supplied some spray.
Our spot was quickly disappearing as the tide was coming in so we finished eating and got back out there. It wasn’t too far to paddle back to base.
Before we went to shore Mossimo told us the Maori legend of how Milford Sound was created. Kind of a fun tale if you care to read it.
I really enjoyed our time on the water. I’m a big fan of kayaking and rafting in general. With this scenery too, it was hard to be mad.
We shed our gear and then Ethan picked us up to drive us back to Te Anau. We made a few other brief stops on the return.
The Road to Te Anau
Lake Gunn in the Afternoon
The Chasm
It was a long day of being out but a sweet experience. With the extra stops and guiding, we felt like we got more than we paid for which was cool. Ethan did pretty well on tips too, so we joked that the beers were on him.
When we got back, we checked into our new room together (with a bed for me!) and showered up.
We ventured out into the burgeoning metropolis of Te Anau for a meal. Of course, we ran into Ethan at the restaurant. There was a wait for a table so he invited us to join him and a Swedish guy who was on his tour the day before us.
Amazing happenstance. Getting to know both of them was hilarious.
Ethan was like 24 but had been a sponsored BMXer, the skipper of a Marlin charter boat and a gold miner in Canada. He was also a ladies man with some comical stories. For example, he told us how he had a crush on this girl but ended up hooking up with her Mom when he was younger. Those days are apparently behind him now. He said he was ready to settle down and find a long-term relationship.
“Yeah. I’m the kind of guy you can bring home to Mom…Please bring me home to your Mom.”
-Nate Impersonating Ethan
Peter was a behavioral scientist for animals, working at various zoos and sometimes traveling the world as a keynote speaker.
We went to the “hip” bar for a final round. Ethan responsibly left first since he had another tour in the morning and then we parted ways with Peter. Another great evening.
Day 7 – The Imbalanced Ratio of Driving vs Stopping
We weren’t in a hurry in the morning, but we knew we had a long time on the road.
Our plan was to do what I had done a week prior and drive south through the Catlins to see some of the sights on our way to Dunedin. Only this time without the flooding.
It was roughly 5hrs of driving, not including stops. We had the key ones picked out.
After breakfast, we pushed off on our first leg of the trip — a somewhat plain drive through Invercargill (stop to pee) and onto Curio Bay.
Three hours later, we had arrived. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see any of the wildlife around but it was a solid vista. It was only a brief stop before we were onto the next.
Curio Bay
Then after another 45 minutes and some car sickness, we made it to our second stop — Purakaunui Falls. It was a short walk to one of the more unique ones I’ve seen.
Zack & Hannah at Purakaunui Falls
It was about another hour or so to Nugget Point. We had a solid chat about the healthcare system in America before we arrived.
It was a 40 minute return walk to the lighthouse that had some unique cone-shaped rocks just off the coast.
Nugget Point
Got back in the car. Roughly another hour long drive to Dunedin. Pit stopped near Balclutha to refuel and pee. Some more car naps. I was fading. Bland scenery? Unusual for New Zealand. At least we didn’t have to ford any floods. It felt a lot later than it was.
At long last, we entered the Dunedin city limits.
View from the AirBnB
We stayed outside of the city center at an AirBnB that was situated on a hill overlooking everything. It had a pretty awesome view.
The host was out when we arrived so we let ourselves in and got comfortable.
There was a debate on whether we should just make food and relax there or venture into the city.
The energy level was low.
I tried to encourage going to see some sites since they might never be back. That won out in the end and we had a pretty awesome dinner, featuring tasty pasta dishes and a full liter of wine. A full liter.
We met our host briefly when we returned. It was basically to set up our breakfast time for the morning.
Day 8 – The Swan Song
The Airbnb reviews really talked up Georgina (the host).
She provided some muesli and toast for us. She was definitely the chatty grandmother type. I think we left like a good 30-45 minutes later than we would have since she got on a roll.
It was good. Apart from the drunk shitheads in Queenstown and playboy Ethan, Zack and Hannah hadn’t had much of a chance to connect with a local.
She made some recommendations of places to stop on our drive up to Christchurch. It was another long day in the car. We had to get back at a certain point to drop off the rental as well.
We did pull off to see the Moeraki Rocks, do a quick drive by of the Oamaru steampunk museum and grab lunch but I don’t remember too much else.
Car naps? Oh, mos definitely.
We made it to our final destination a little before 4pm. We hustled to unload our things so we could knock out the airport excursion and get into Christchurch to explore.
Again, the 12 year old girls took a while to process our return (we’ve come full circle) but it got done and we caught the bus downtown.
I showed them the main highlights I’d seen – New Regent St, Cathedral Square, the Bridge of Remembrance and a few of the shopping streets.
We went to an “upmarket food court,” as a shop owner described it, for dinner. It was a large building with a ton of tasty looking restaurants all side by side.
Last Meal at Little High Eatery
I went HAAM on my last meal in New Zealand. A huge plate of seafood fried rice, some sushi and a big boy beer.
We decided it’d be a nice trip finale to go have a drink at one of the cool spots we’d seen on New Regent St.
We chose The Last Word, which looked like a vibey whisky bar. After a drink there, we were like why the hell not and went to The Institution across the street. They were both divey bars with a good selection and fun decor.
We had a comfy time on some couches finishing that beverage. Then the question of what we were doing next came up. Well damn. I’m usually not one to derail a night out but I had to leave a 4am to head to the airport. It was already 10:30pm and I still had to repack my things. The intelligent part of my brain said we should probably go back. I was up for whatever, so let the other two decide.
Hannah felt like staying out so we went back to The Last Word to have the last word.
I just thought of that.
I’m glad we did. Zack and I got in a giggle fit about how introverts could meet other introverts and get in a relationship without saying anything to one another.
It was an excellent way to finish off our time together, and my trip as a whole.
We Uber’d back to our…hotel room? It was a unique, boutique type accommodation with a bit of a weird vibe if I’m being honest.
The three of us destroyed our room rearranging all of our belongings. We said our fond farewells.
I got less than 2 hours of sleep. Thankfully, I woke up to my alarm and met my taxi.
After 3 months of living in New Zealand, I hopped on a 6am flight to Australia.
I was leaving what had become familiar territory to start a new chapter of this travel adventure. Mixed feelings that I’m only just now processing.
The Last Coin
The incredible thing, is that I somehow only ended up with this single 10¢ coin.
I’d say my experience was worth a whole lot more, but an overall rating of 10 wouldn’t be too far off.
I’m sure we all woke up a little groggy. We were getting an early start.
The plan was to hike Ben Lomond, which was a challenging uphill climb with variable weather conditions. First thing, we went to DOC to check on the status and get some details.
I think we were all questioning it. I was worried about my knee on the way down and they were hesitant about the temperature and grade. The response we got from the ranger was, “It snowed up there a few days ago so it’ll be slushy. You’ll have to take care where you put your feet in certain sections because there’s a quick drop off.”
It wasn’t necessarily a vote of confidence. The unspoken consensus I was picking up was that we weren’t going to the summit.
The compromise we made was to ride the gondola up (skipping the first part of the track) and go for as long as we were comfortable. We’d luge afterward since that was at the top of the gondola anyway and then call it a day.
We went back to prep lunches and snacks and got ready to go.
The gondola ride up was nice. At the top was an exceptional view of Queenstown.
Queenstown from the Gondola Lookout
There was definitely a difference in temperature just where we were. I think motivation was low group-wide but we started the walk.
It was a decent grade at first; not too terrible. Hannah commented early on that it was already better than she thought it’d be. Then what was a gradual ascension began to get more intense.
About 20 minutes in there was a sign noting the saddle was 1.5hrs and the summit was 2.5hrs. So a 5hr return. It didn’t seem in the cards.
As we continued, they fell behind me at a few stages. What I didn’t know was that they were already calling off the summit while talking amongst themselves.
We made decent time getting to the saddle and had a snack. Looking at the peak from where we were did seem ominous. A persons’s silhouette was the size of an ant on the ridgeline. Kind of sweet though.
Up the Saddle Toward the Summit
We decided that we might as well keep going for now.
The last leg of the climb was obviously going to be the most difficult. To add to the challenge, the wind decided to start whipping. Chilly gusts of 20-30mph that we were leaning into.
At some point, the trail got muddled with wash outs. We were rock hopping and doing switchbacks.
Hannah shot out of a cannon. Whether it was anger at the cold or the morning coffee taking full effect, she crushed the final ascent.
Before we knew it, we’d hiked Ben Lomond. The altitude is 5,150 ft, of which we climbed 3300+ft. It felt like a special accomplishment. And shortly after arriving, we got our reward in the form of mint chocolates from a very kind Japanese man. He bowed many times.
In the Mountains, In the Clouds
Ben Lomond Summit
The view was worth it. There was a dude up there in shorts somehow. Cruising. Said he could see his house. Props. He mentioned something about “l’appel du vide,” the French term for “the call of the void.” Like there’s a voice in the back of your mind when being at heights like this that tells you to jump.
I was like nah, but I might get blown off by this wind and try to ride it all the way to the bottom.
On the way down, the wind conveniently shut off. No surprise there. We ate our lunch at the saddle and pressed on.
I’m not sure how long it took us in total, but we took a deserved rest when we got back to the gondola station.
We got a classic line from Hannah after a little while of sitting at a table outside.
“My legs are cold. Zack, can you put your legs on my legs?”
-Hannah Chartouni
I can safely say I’d never heard that request before. Now I can tick it off the list.
Before it was time to take our gondola ride down to the ground, we had luge tickets to use.
It was basically like real life Mario Kart without the weapons. It looked kind of cheesy as we watched people go by, but it was actually really fun trying to get as much speed as possible. There were some sweet downhills and curves in there. We got 5 runs and took a very scenic chairlift up to the start each time. We were all pretty happy with how the day turned out.
Fat Badgers Pizza
Back at street level, it was time to satisfy the appetites we’d worked up. We went to a place called Fat Badgers where Zack and I got a massive pizza, wings and a beer and it was pretty much lights out after that.
Solid accomplishments.
Day 5 – Kind of Shotunder, Actually
It was rafting day and I was hyped. It was also a great day for it. The weather was pristine.
Based on my previous rafting experience in New Zealand, this was going to be sick. It was also another level up. We’d be on class 4 and 5 rapids in the same sweet as canyon where I did the swing and zip line. Stoked.
The downside was that they didn’t allow personal cameras for safety reasons. Based on the videos they were playing in the office, it did actually look pretty gnarly. The river was running higher than normal so it was going to be churning.
They said that they weren’t operating a few days ago because of the water level and also told us that at least one boat was flipping every day.
Scandalous.
Another exciting detail about this trip was that to get to the drop in, we’d be on one of the worlds top 10 most dangerous roads.
Skippers Canyon Rd. – *This is not my image. No copyright intended.
Seeing it in person was crucial. Our driver had steel testicles, that’s for sure. I would’ve nope’d out hard in a regular vehicle, yet here he was maneuvering a bus full of people with a trailer full of rafts behind it.
We’re talking about a one lane (generous), winding dirt road that’s high as shit with no guard rails. And there was another vehicle + a bulldozer trying to come the opposite way at two points. Crazy.
In any event, we made it safely where we needed to. For the driving portion at least.
At the launch point, we got our final safety briefing and our boat assignment. We were paired up with 3 employees from the company who were kayak guides. So basically our raft was mean as hell. We were the lead boat down the river because of how sick we were. That is not factual, but a safe assumption per my unskilled observation.
The early stage of the Shotover river was pretty smooth sailing. There were a few class 2 and 3 rapids but nothing too gnarly. There was also a spot where we got to jump out for a swim. Pretty frigid river but when in Rome.
It was kind of surprising when we got to the halfway point. We’d only conquered a handful of rapids so far and nothing that intense. We were at the chief section though.
Our guide gave us the run down and we went full steam ahead. There were 6 rapids in pretty quick succession. After powering through the first 2, we had to pull over and tie up to be on safety watch for the other rafts going down. This was good practice, but we had to do it repeatedly and each time was like 10-15 minutes long. It really interrupted the flow of the trip. It seemed a bit overly cautious, so we were all wondering if there’d been some kind of major accident.
The rapids in the chief section were pretty extreme and definitely gave me a rush. It would’ve been nice to run them back to back to really feel it. Our guide said our line was perfect and then admitted it was a redemption run for him because his raft flipped the day before. Clutch. Also, smart to withhold that info until afterward.
The big finale of the ride was going through a 200m tunnel (super sweet and unique) right out onto the last rapid, “Cascade,” which was a 7m drop.
That was a fun spell. I actually thought the drop was going to be crazier but it was all good.
At the end, me, Zack and Hannah talked it over. We were a little underwhelmed overall. In total we were on the river for about 2hrs but 30 minutes or more was spent pulled over waiting. There were only around 12-15 rapids in all over that whole time. Plus, they didn’t allow GoPros and didn’t take any pictures of their own, which was a service they said they provided. Mildly disappointing not having any evidence of the journey. For me at least, the Tongariro rafting was a better experience in even though the rapids were smaller. One man’s jaded opinion.
Bandana Bros
Back in town, we found some lunch and ate by the water. There was no rush. We had a 2.5hr drive to Te Anau but nothing planned for the evening.
On the way, we stopped at Amisfield Winery which had a good reputation. We were comically underdressed but still got a tasting. Another solid Pinot Noir. Z&H enjoyed a glass as we chilled outside on their sweet ass patio.
Views
Vino
Vines
I also forgot how nice the drive out of Queenstown was. Whoever planned the roads wrapping along the mountains right next to the water was smart. I suppose that’s the easiest way to do it, but I still appreciate it.
Car Napping Like a Boss
After a bit of chatting and some more car naps, we got to Te Anau. We topped up our groceries in preparation for our trip to Milford the next day. Then we went to check into the hostel. I was staying in a dorm the first night and then we were all staying together the second night.
That’s how it was supposed to be.
During preparation, our plans moved around a little bit and in redoing the reservation, I made it for the wrong day like a dummy. Oops. I had a feeling about it earlier in the day too.
There was no vacancy at any of the affordable places in town either. Screwed the pooch. Thankfully, Z&H let me stay on the floor in their room.
It was an early wake up call too — our shuttle was leaving at 6:30am the next day.
