beer Archives - Page 2 of 2

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.

December 18, 2018December 16, 2018

Zack & Hannah’s Visit Pt. 3

Day 6 – 1 in 100 in Milford

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

December 7, 2018December 7, 2018

Fording

Pop some popcorn. I’m going to take you on a word adventure.

My journey up to Dunedin was brutal, you guys. I think I ran the gamut for vehicular challenges encountered.

My goal was to have a nice drive along the south coast with a few pit stops in key areas. The weather was shitty, but I was hoping it would turn good when I got to the eastern part of the South Island.

It didn’t.

[This has definitely become a blog complaining about the weather.]

I cruised through Invercargill and headed for a recommended spot – Waipapa Point. There was a lighthouse and shit.

As I arrived, it was, of course, raining but the wind was insane. It was blowing the car sideways at times. I got out and did a quick walk up to the lookout. Unfortunately, the view didn’t outweigh the unpleasantness of the elements. I decided to keep driving and just get the flavor of some spots from the car.

Waipapa Point Westher

I was almost all the way through the “Southern Scenic Route” before i had to turn around because of a road in flood. There was so much rain that rivers were spilling over onto main roads. I tried to troubleshoot the way around with another set of travelers. No luck. I spent a half hour on the phone with various NZ services trying to get information about additional flooding and alternate routes. I didn’t have any more cellular data and there was spotty reception anyway. It was a part of the country with a bunch of small gravel roads, so GPS wasn’t much help either.

Flood at Papatowai

I wasn’t given any useful info from the transit authority or council. I looked at a map and sorted out some possible options. The first few were a bust — I encountered several more impassable roads and a fallen tree obstructing another way. I tried to pull the branches apart for a bit and make a path. It looked like a car had somehow gone partially over it recently. In attempting to drive on the “shoulder” to pass it, my car got stuck in the mud. Thankfully I was able to reverse and get out. Close call.

I had to back track an hour and a half to find what I thought would be a reliable main road. I mean, look how close I was to being through it. Because of the extra winding, weaving and retracing, my fuel tank was on empty. I had a partially flat tire to boot and only a donut in the boot (trunk).

After adding 3+ hours of driving onto my day, I thought I was in the clear and bound for a late arrival at my destination, but an arrival nonetheless.

I came upon another flood just outside of Balclutha. It seemed small enough to drive through if I went on the wrong side of the road.

Success.

It was dark by now, and the relief I felt when I got on the main highway was quickly evaporating. The stress was creeping back in. There were no other roads I could use to circumvent any more blockages.

Then I came upon a road crew stopping traffic. To the right, I noticed somebody’s house under several feet of water. That fucking sucks. There were people trying to help move the water but…where was it going to go?

That’s when I noticed what was in front of me. Major water flowing across the road. This was the last main township before Dunedin. I was so close. Please.

One of the crew motioned me up to him. I thought I’d reached the end of the line.

He said my car would probably make it through alright, I just had to go slow. They were only letting through one person at a time so the water didn’t wake and splash up onto peoples engines.

It must’ve been just over ankle deep and my car was not tall. I didn’t see much of a current though, so that was a silver lining.

Two cars came through from the other way and it was my turn to ease through it. High anxiety.

With the depth of the water and darkness, I couldn’t make out the lines on the road. I was instructed to hug the high side but I couldn’t tell what was what or where it ended. Holy shit.

I turned a slow corner, spewing water from both sides and saw the other part the road block. Phew.

I came up the unintended boat ramp and wiped the flop sweat off my forehead. I waved politely and ventured on.

I’d barely gotten back up to speed when I saw yet another flood ahead. This one seemed deeper and with more of a current. There was no road crew ushering people through or to give advice here.

I’d made it this far and figured they wouldn’t be letting people through at the other checkpoint if it was dangerous. I slowed down and drove into it.

Once again, no road markings. No lights or markers in the distance giving me an idea of what line to take or direction to maintain. Occasional water splashing up onto the hood. The fan belt screeching from getting wet — and being a bit loose and shitty, but that was a separate problem.

I was moments away from fully freaking out. It was starting to rain again and the windshield was fogging and the wipers were being temperamental. I noticed, again, that my fuel gauge was bordering on ‘E’. What other issues could there possibly be? Was some sort of ancient river monster going to swim up and swallow me whole? In that moment, I might’ve welcomed that.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it was my birthday. Sweet. The beer was somewhere in the distance. I was determined to get there.

Finally, I saw some reflectors up ahead. I stayed on track and made it through ford number three? Seven? Twelve? Lost count. But thanks, Oregon Trail, for all of the practice as a youth. Couldn’t have done it without you.

The low fuel light came on again, so I pulled over in the next “locality” to fill up.

It was a small town, so all the shops were closed. They have single pay stations, as opposed to the pay-at-the-pump options like we have back home. Even though I did this procedure earlier in the day, it was refusing my card. I selected credit but it was requiring a pin. I selected checking but still declined. “Techmology – is it good or is it whack?”

I had no choice but to keep going. I fired up my GPS to check how far away I was. 32 miles. That seemed pretty sketchy to ride on empty.

A few miles later, I came through another small town. There was somebody filling up at this station too. Good deal. Maybe this payment system would be different.

As I pulled in, the other person was getting back in their car. I ran through the whole process and my card got declined again. Fuck. I had to stop the person from driving off to ask if they could use their card in exchange for cash.

The guy was like, “I’ll have to transfer money over. The most I could do is $20.”
“Whatever you’re comfortable with. Will $10 get me to Dunedin?”
“It should get you there.”
“K.”

Holy S. $10 equated to a little over 4 liters, which is barely a gallon of gas.

It proved to be enough. The light came on again as I entered into the sleepy city center of Dunedin. It was 10:30pm. About 12 hours of problem solving had gotten me here.

My hostels reception desk was at the bar of the downstairs pool hall. I ordered a shot of whiskey while checking in. Two birds.

I hurriedly dropped my bags in my room and b-lined for the nearest bar. I realized I forgot my passport and usually they don’t accept a foreign drivers license as an ID. I almost turned around to give up but said fuck it and waltzed up to the place. No door man, thankfully.

I snagged a stool and a pint. Victory sip.

Then some incredibly gregarious, old Danish man started chatting me up when he saw I was left handed. After telling me why we were sinister, he asked to see my tattoos, asked if I was a numberphile and gave me all of his contacts so he could give me Danish lessons via email (without being prompted).

It worked out in the end because he had a cool, also tatted coworker who bought a round of scotch for my birthday. Gorm followed that up with a round of 22 year old Balvenie aged in Portwood – $28 per taste.

Deece.

We closed the place down and then I got invited back to have hot chocolate + cookies and watch Al Jazeera…at 2am.

I’ve always got time for the news.

Not really. But I did that night.

And that is the story of my 32nd birthday. Highs and lows. Life and death. Sinister and scotch. Hot chocolate and the news. I’ll take it.

November 2, 2018

Welly is Swelly

A long bus ride from Taupo.
An even longer walk from the depot to the hostel.

I hadn’t had a proper meal and was feeling destroyed from a brutal mountain biking session earlier that day.

When I walked into the backpackers, I think exhaustion was written all over my face. The receptionist was the nicest person and helped me take a bag up to my room.

Last bed in my room and basically no room on the floor for any bags. At any other place, that would’ve been an ominous sign, but this place was different.

The Marion is an incredible hostel. It’s only been open for five months so the secret is only half out. The place had a modern design, lounges on every floor, a rooftop hangout area, rain shower faucets as well as curtains and outlets for every bed.

Amazing place for a hostel price point in a great location. Solid times.

Wellington is a pretty awesome city too. It’s got an energetic and artistic vibe. Coffee, craft beer and quirkiness were all highly encouraged.

There were a ton of murals, cozy alleyways and markets; plenty of quaint cafes and fun bars; a harbor walk, beach and a simple mountain walk. I got shades of San Francisco and Boston.

There seemed to be a lot of working-holiday travelers happy to set up shop and find a job in Wellington. If I had that type of visa, I’d probably consider that option too. I think there was a decent amount of opportunity in additional to culture, nature, nightlife and…beer.

They have a craft beer trail similar to Richmond’s. The problem was that the prices were too steep to complete any leg of it. $80+ in beer for a t-shirt at the end wasn’t quite enticing enough.

The only other detractor was the wind.

In the two days I had to explore, I did a lot of walking. Met up with Coen (from the Tongariro Crossing) and went up to the Mt. Victoria lookout. Enjoyed some exhibits at the Te Papa Museum, spent a decade trying to find the cable car up to botanical gardens and wandered through a night market on Cuba Street.

All good things.

As with every city, there’s a list of activities that went undone. If/when I’m able to make it back, I’d like to take a (free) tour of parliament, check out the Wellywood sign and movie museum in addition to catching a rugby game if they’re in action.

For now, I’m off to catch the ferry to the South Island.