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July 28, 2019July 28, 2019

Düsseldorf & Hamburg

A big ole bag of dirty laundry. That’s basically what I was for the 3 weeks I spent in Düsseldorf. I mean, I took showers. Mostly. But I did next to nothing apart from feed a pseudo-annoying cat that had more of a weird jungle growl than a meow.

It was my first experience using Trusted Housesitters as a travel tool. It’s definitely handy to find free accommodation, sometimes for weeks or months at a time. For those of you interested in using it yourselves for upcoming trips or petsitting needs, here’s a referral link.

I almost totally forgot that I took a super quick 2-day trip to Munich to PA on an Audi shoot with my friend Nick and our old company. I honestly can’t believe it worked out even though it more resembled whiplash than a chance for buddies to catch up. But, I’ll absolutely take what I can get. Amazing to see a familiar face.

Transition back to Düsseldorf and me punishing some Netflix. I’m simultaneously embarrassed and impressed at my sustained stamina for those marathons.

The Dorf was a semi small city but I’m sure I still skipped a decent amount. I did develop a nice rhythm of grocery shopping in Aldi every 3rd day. After one trip, I was able to get out of there without anyone knowing I wasn’t German, largely thanks to Apple Pay.

In terms of productive activities, I did take a walking tour of the downtown area. I visited a museum that was all about life in Düsseldorf during the Nazi regime. I also spent one night out drinking in the Altstadt which has a street that’s been coined “the longest bar in the world.” There a few breweries known for their alt bier — you guessed it, a specialty of the region. Customarily, it’s served in a small cylindrical glass and they just automatically bring large trays around to replenish the empties unless they’re asked to stop. A local told me that 16-20 glasses was a proper night out. I didn’t get near that number but I also never properly tried.

Could it have been done? Possibly.
Should it have been done? No.
It wasn’t my favorite style of beer, so the cost-benefit analysis wasn’t lining up.

Aside from wandering around a few neighborhoods, I got invited to the Trivago Summer Party. It was an all-inclusive bash for employees but I lucked into a ticket through my Altstadt drinking buddy, Kamila. Free food and bev. What’s up?? They even had a cheese course. They also waited until 8pm to roll out the liquor, a smart scheduling method to ensure people didn’t get housed too early in the evening.

That basically sums up Düsseldorf. I’d be happy to go back, but I think other places might have more to pique the interest.

On my way out of town, while standing on the platform, my train got canceled 5 minutes after it was scheduled to depart. It didn’t take much to sort out a fix, but it was a bit complex without cell phone minutes or an internet connection.

Either way, I eventually boarded a 4 hour train bound for Hamburg – the biggest city in northern Germany and the 3rd biggest city in the world for musicals. Who knew?

On my first full day, I took another free walking tour. I will forever do this as an easy way to learn the layout, history and current recommendations for whatever city.

In addition to musicals, Hamburg is known for its port (so a lot of water and ships), the Reeperbahn (a street with bars and adult night life where The Beatles notably got their start), and maybe the anti-establishment philosophy of St. Pauli.

I primarily stayed outside of the city center, so I got very familiar with a particular walking loop. I passed the town hall square, the warehouse district and the harbor promenade on several occasions. I also went inside the newly renovated concert hall which cost almost a billion Euros but was free to enter. It had an insanely long escalator but a really nice wrap-around viewing deck of the water.

Another unique attraction was the old tile pedestrian tunnel that runs under the river. It’s something like 60 ft deep and 1,200 ft long. It seems like there’s always someone in there too.

One day, I stumbled onto the FC St. Pauli stadium. This is a team in the soccer world that’s had a very progressive reputation since they formed in 1910. I was really excited to get a tour and gobble up some more of that sweet foundation. Unfortunately, the entire thing was in German. I got a few seldom tidbits of private translation. Millerntor, the stadium, was named after a gate that separated that area of Germany from Denmark’s territory. Also, it’s fan owned, anti-fascist, and LGBTQ friendly. A slogan for the team translates to “No Man is Illegal,” which I love. Lastly, the teams walk out to “Hells Bells” by AC/DC (I’m pretty sure).

For an obligatory night out, I met up with a girl named Anne who took me around the Reeperbahn but to the more local dive bar spots. Miraculously, I avoided being harassed by a lady of the night or strip club promoter the whole time I was in Hamburg. Aces.

Overall, I got a very comfortable feeling from the HH. Once again, it’s a city with the right balance of nature, nightlife and artsy neighborhoods that could be a great spot to live. At some point, I’m going to have to put together a list of how all of these places are ranked.

It’s been almost a full year since I left Richmond. It’s safe to say I’m losing my sense of “home.” Maybe it’s been gone for a while or it’s adapted to a feeling of transience. The lack of consistent routine is an understatement. Not knowing what I’m doing from day to day is one thing — a lot of room for unlimited possibilities in there — but it’s also gotten a bit daunting to try and snatch plans out of thin air. Researching, exploration, decisiveness. I know it’s one of those privileged complaints. I’m not saying I’m over the journey because I still love it. However, I’ve definitely recognized that my momentum has come to a halt and the motivation to push the boulder back up the hill is a work in progress. It’ll be nice to either find a renewed purpose or erase the concept from my head all together.

After I spend a week in Berlin, I’ve got almost 2 months of Workaways lined up. I’m stoked about the prospects. It should be a solid kickstart.

May 1, 2019May 1, 2019

In Summary: Vietnam

How has it been two months already? When I got to Vietnam, I wasn’t planning on staying that long. The extended visit meant that I got to get out of my backpack for a change and remember what a routine was like. Most of that routine consisted of me struggling to teach 4-15 year olds English — something I ignorantly underestimated despite having no experience.

As someone who has never been confident interacting with young kids, allowing me to “command” a full classroom was a highly questionable decision on the part of my employers. Each morning I had to fight past my discomfort to show up and attempt to teach, even though I didn’t know what I was doing. And while there may not have been a real benefit for the students, I did connect with a few of them. I have a newfound appreciation and respect for teachers (and parents for that matter) — especially those with the patience and fortitude to keep smashing head first into the wall that is kindergarten-aged little ones. At a very pessimistic minimum, all of the nerves and sweat helped subsidize an excellent 10-day tour across the country with my friend Jorge.

While teaching had its rough moments, there’s still plenty of things I came to love about Vietnam.

The cities are densely populated and bustling. Streets packed with motorbikes and cars made crossing the road feel like a game of life and death at times. The street food stalls full of people squatting on tiny plastic chairs created a special vibe. There’s a certain type of energy in that claustrophobic lifestyle.

On food: the cuisine was about what I expected it to be. I ate rice almost everyday. I ate parts of animals that I don’t want to know more details about. Some meals almost forced me into vegetarianism. Chicken feet aren’t great. Shrimp sauce is even worse. But the pho was right. “Bread’ aka banh mis became my go-to delicious and cheap option (65¢ a piece).

The people are friendly and emotional. The amount of times I heard “show me your smile…” From what I’ve gathered, they love quickly and deeply. Overall, they seem busy and motivated yet happy. Also, the women are beautiful. But that could just be my new thing.

There’s history everywhere. I feel like every place Jorge and I went on our tour used to be the country’s capital at some point. Temples, dynasties, and wars. I felt like I was staring into the past in some places. The natural palette of brown rivers accompanying muted black limestone mountains and deep green rice fields created an ancient ambiance. Don’t worry, though. There are some developing, modern places that, when finished, will provide quite the contrast. I’ll probably stick to nature regardless.

So, the people, the food, the scenery and the affordability are a worthwhile combination that will beckon me back. When? I don’t know yet, but probably not soon enough.

By the Numbers

Days in Vietnam: 65
Days Teaching: 40
Schools Taught At: 5
Teaching Salary: 19,642,000 VND
Days of Tour: 11
Temples Visited: 12
Boat Rides: 7
VND Spent: ~41,319,325
USD Spent: ~$1,781.98 (Avg conversion rate of roughly 23187.26)
Net Spend: ~$934.88

You can see my full cost breakdown here.

For those interested in visiting one day, here’s a list of where I went and how I ranked stuff:
(click the top left button of the map to expand the list view)

Favorite Places: 1. Saigon 2. Hoi An 3. Hanoi 4. Halong Bay 5. Hue	Favorite Activities: 1. Halong Bay Cruise 2. Mekong Delta Tour 3. Tam Coc River Boating 4. Biking through Hoi An and Tra Que 5. Cyclo in the Old Quarter of Hanoi
Favorite Attractions: 1. The Golden Bridge 2. Hoi An Bridge at Night 3. Backpacker St in Saigon 4. Mua Cave Viewpoint 5. Beer St in Hanoi 6. Imperial/Forbidden City 7. Museum of Ethnology 8. War Remnants Museum 9. Hoàn Kiếm Lake 10. Presidential Palace	Favorite Restaurants/Bars: 1. 912 Factory Bar 2. Bun Cha Ta 3. Tam Coc Garden Homestay 4. Above Rooftop Bar 5. Diệu Anh Bakery 6. Polite & Co 7. Pasteur Street Brewing Co 8. OMG Rooftop Bar 9. BiaCraft 10. Thom Xanh Green Pineapple

Lastly, below is my “best of” album. This country has a lot more to offer than what I captured but hopefully I’ll be back when I’m a bit more advanced in my photography skills.

January 9, 2019January 9, 2019

Central Coast & Byron Bay

I arrived in Gosford after an uneventful train ride and met my host, Peter, in the parking lot.

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.

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.

January 4, 2019January 4, 2019

Sydney Pt. 1

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

December 16, 2018December 16, 2018

Zack & Hannah’s Visit Pt. 1

I waited at the rental car counter for an hour. I was anxious because I had to drive back to the city to get my bags and then back out to the airport to scoop my people. They were already delayed a few hours so I couldn’t be late.

I was told the car was ready over the phone so didn’t expect such a long wait. Should’ve known. It seemed like the place only hired 12 year old blonde girls. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that as long as there’s enough on staff to see to the high volume of customers.

I got it, got my bags and got Zack and Hannah from the airport. Then we were off.

Our itinerary was pretty well planned out. At least our evening destinations were all booked, as well as a few excursions.

Day 1 – Driving to Twizel

It was about a 4hr drive from Christchurch to Twizel (‘i’ as a ‘y’ sound).

The best part was coming over a hill to see Lake Tekapo with Mt. Cook and a few others in the background.

We found a scenic lookout to pull over and snap some photos.

“It’s gonna be a gudday, mate.”
-Zack McDowell

And it was. We picked up some groceries for dinner and the next few days.

We were staying at an AirBnB that turned out to be epic. It was set up to be a ski lodge for a large group. Seemed a bit wasted on the 3 of us but no matter. We made a nice dinner and took advantage of the fire place and comfy sofas. Funny to think that we were probably knocking out our nicest accommodation on the first night. Oh well.

Z&H stayed up late enough for us to enjoy the digs (and hopefully avoid any major jet lag).

Day 2 – Our First Hike and the Drive to Wanaka

I left my shampoo behind. End of the highlights. (Wordplay)

Nah. We made a decent breakfast and packed up.

It was a 45 minute lakeside drive out to Mt. Cook. We were doing the Hooker Valley Track, which was an easy 3hr walk. I had found it on a top 10 list of things to do on the South Island. Boom. Poles and rain jackets were at the ready.

It was another well-kept track, but definitely the most crowded I’d walked in NZ.

Mt. Cook was used as Mordor in Lord of the Rings and you could definitely see it. It was a gloomy day and the damp greenery combined with murky water made for a dramatic setting.

Hooker Lake
Mt. Cook
Swing Bridge

Even with the heavy dose of picture breaks, we made it back to the car in 3 hours. We gobbled down lunch and hit the road again. Off to Wanaka.

We had some good car conversation before Zack and Hannah dozed off. This would become a recurring theme. I will acquire photos.

The thing about New Zealand is, there are some stretches of road without a service station for a while. I knew this and had already had a low fuel scare so I was looking to play it safe.

Shortly into our drive we passed a small town and a sign that had distances for a mountain pass and the next two townships we’d be passing. No problem. There’s gotta be another small place with fuel before the climb up the pass.

Spoilers: There wasn’t.

After we’d gone about 30km and most of the way up Lindis Pass, the fuel light came on.

Not again, you dummy. Playing it safe usually means being overly cautious. So by ‘safe,’ I meant living on the edge.

I waited a bit for the other two to wake up. I didn’t want to worry them, but at some point I’d have to come clean.

We were all holding our breath. I coasted down the mountain so hard. I was acting like the gas pedal didn’t exist. Camper vans and trucks were whizzing past us.

We got down the mountain and kept hoping the next town would be around every corner.

Spoilers: It wasn’t.

There weren’t even signs updating us on how much farther we had to go. I was sure we’d be sputtering to a halt and flagging someone down any minute. The math in my head was telling me we’d gone almost 80km to whatever town was on the last sign.

Finally, we saw a community center. Where there’s enough civilization to warrant a community center, surely there must also be petrol. Shortly up the road we got to the country store that had it. Insane! No doubt we were rolling up on fumes.

Of course we had to go through the whole rigmarole of the payment station not accepting our cards. The clerk was closing up shop but allowed us to use her card in exchange for cash. I still don’t know why foreign cards don’t work at those things.

Either way, the important part is that we got our desperation gas and were able to carry on relatively unscathed.

By the time we got to Wanaka it was raining pretty heavily. Conditions made the tree in the lake a bit less picturesque, unfortunately.

After a brief stop to see it, we went to settle in and clean up at our respective hostels.

We had enough time to get to Rhyme & Reason Brewery before they closed. Zack enjoyed a tasting tray and ended up buying a bottle. Then we had to solve the age old dilemma of where to eat dinner. We ended up picking The Federal Diner, which was hidden down an alley way but likely the best meal we had the whole trip. Spirits were high. It was a good night and we were ready for the next adventure.

Rhyme & Reason Brewery
The Federal Diner

I was on the way back to my hostel when I got a message from Ellen, the Swedish lass I met up with back in Picton. She was also in Wanaka and looking for something to do.

I joined her for a walk around the town, which was silent. After chatting for a while, I invited her to join us on our activities the following day and through to Queenstown. She was interested and said she’d let me know.

Before bed, I got a message saying she was in.

Day 3 – Diamond Lake, Free Wine and onto Queenstown

We convened for breakfast in the morning. I quickly learned how important coffee is to Zack and Hannah’s daily routine. They got the goods.

Next, we went to the i-Site to sort out which walk we were going to do. There were so many in the area that it was difficult to decide.

Once we had our plan of attack we picked up Ellen. The track was just a short drive out of town so getting there was quick. We got a good start and the walk was awesome.

Another 3 hour track – Diamond Lake to Rocky Mountain Summit. There was a little bit of a climb but nothing too serious. There were several viewpoints looking back toward Wanaka over the lake and land. Rather spectacular for how little we worked for it.

Behold Wanaka
A Man & His View
Tools of Ascension
Contemplative Hannah

On our way out, we stopped at Rippon Vineyards. It was supposed to have good wine and awesome views, which it did. They were setting up for a wedding though. The venue price for this place must’ve been a pretty penny. I mean, seriously. The tasting room was still open, however, and the wine tasting was free/donation-based…toight.

Pinot Noir is the main grape grown in the Otago region. That worked because in the rare event that I’m drinking wine over beer, I do prefer reds. They did have this one that was a rare white grape that barely anybody in the world produces – Osteiner, I think. The bartender said that it was cheap but it might’ve been my favorite. No surprise with my simple palate.

After taking in the wine and the views, we ate lunch on the grounds. We literally sat on the ground and made sandwiches. Then we drove through to Queenstown.

Zack was geeking out on the approach. To be fair, driving through Frankton is extremely pretty with the way the houses are stacked up onto Lake Wakatipu.

We dropped Ellen off at her hostel and checked into ours. It was nice getting there in the late afternoon so we had some time to wander around.

I’d been around Queenstown enough during my previous visit to act as a de facto tour guide.

We got some delicious tacos and ate them on a floating boat bar. Zack geeked out again — I believe saying it was the coolest thing he’s ever done? Don’t get me wrong, Perky’s is moored right on the water in the middle of the city. The views were pretty exceptional. But, the fact that the boat had a bathroom on board took it over the top for Zack.

We were getting into a really good pocket of conversation when two young, insanely drunk local dudes came up and forced themselves onto our table.

One of them was somehow Brazilian, Japanese and Kiwi…with purple hair. We weren’t really sure how to parse that all out but he did a lot of talking and clearly had the whole world figured out. Told us some tale of his friend getting stabbed with a screwdriver.

The other guy was incoherent, from Punjab and dropped my camera.

It was an agonizing and endless waiting game for them to finish their drinks and move on. Somehow, we all endured and told them we were heading back to our rooms.

I checked my camera and noticed the viewfinder was no longer focusing. That really capped off the encounter. I later found out there was a diode I could adjust to dial it back in to be usable.

In the moment though, we were all bitter. That ignited a spark to go for another beverage.

We met up with Ellen at a western-themed bar called Cowboys, mainly because they had tabletop shuffleboard.

That dumbass experience was still in the back of my mind, plus karaoke was happening which was grating. Although the guys were killing it, honestly. One dude did like a 3-song set of 90s rap — “No Diggity” being the highlight.

We crushed some games and beers and moved onto another bar that I knew had cheap drinks. It just so happened that the terribles were also there. Thankfully they were too drunk to notice us so we skated by and had a few more beverages.

To end the night, we got Fergburger. It’s a Queenstown institution that usually has an insane line all the time. We got there and felt it was destiny because there wasn’t one. I heard a local walk past and say “Never seen that before,” in her amazing accent.

It’s tough to conclude whether the burgers are amazing or not under the circumstances. Regardless, it hit the spot and was a good way to conclude the evening.

The next day we had a summit to tackle. Depending.