Hey, everyone. Seventy-two hours from now, I’ll have left Queenstown and will be making my way to a campsite at Mount Aspiring National Park. I’ll mostly be sleeping in my van for the next two months. It is bizarre to think my time in Queenstown is almost up. The clock is ticking. I wanted to make a sort of “love letter” to Queenstown, in the same way that I did for Perth well over a year ago. You’ll find that below. But first, a few other things in my final week in Queenstown.

Last Night(s) Out

When I first arrived in Queenstown, I was constantly going out to Silent Disco on Wednesday nights. If you remember, I would go practice slackline along the lake front, get ice cream with Jose, and afterwards, I’d meet up with friends and go dancing until around midnight. Oh, summer, how I miss you. I was looking forward to one final Silent Disco… but it never happened! During the past week, an annual event called Snow Machine has been happening in town. It has essentially taken over. Instead of Silent Disco, there were regular DJs – which was fine, but it was sad to think my last Silent Disco had already ended and I didn’t even know it.

A group of us went out dancing at Rhino’s for a while instead. Lau was leaving (for good this time) and our group combined to form a bigger group. From Rhino’s, we went to Bungalow. And after that, I called it a night. It was a good one, though!

This past Saturday, I planned to have one final Big Night Out. I messaged the hostel group chat and some other friends that have since left the hostel and invited them. I mentioned that beforehand, I’d be singing a song/playing guitar around 9.30pm at the hostel for everyone. Sunday night came and… no one was in the kitchen. I was a little disappointed. I have been here for ten months and while I haven’t been best friends with everyone, I kind of thought majority of the hostel would show up for me. It was a little shocking and kind of devastating. After months living here and interacting with almost everyone, it felt like a slap in the face.

HOWEVER, my Ride or Dies showed up – and hey, they are the ones that matter most, anyway. It is the people that were there last night that I will remember most in years to come. Jasper, Nittsy, Katy, Yvonne, Juanito, Marcos, Rose, Agustin, Renee, Haruka… thank you for being there. I love you!

At 10pm, I sat atop one of the kitchen tables with the guitar in my lap and told the story of the song I’d be playing – Gypsy by Lady Gaga. When I’d first moved to Chicago, I lived with my dear friend Michael. We had the best time during the short year we spent together. And then he left to go to Australia on a Work and Holiday Visa, which was heartbreaking for me. But before he left, I played Gypsy for him… sort of. I was doing drag at the time and was in a competition. I played Gypsy as one of my songs, but he was right in front of the stage and I held his hands during a portion of the song haha. It was sort of a “farewell” to him.

Later, when I was leaving America to go to Australia, I played the song for my partner at the time.
And the morning of my departure, I played the song for my parents – between tears.

And once again, after having such an amazing time in Queenstown for the past ten months, I sang the song for my friends here.

It was a little nerve wrecking to be singing in front of a group of people. I was shaking haha. But I think I did well. Everyone clapped for about thirty seconds afterwards and I was like “AHHHH, stop looking at me” haha.

From there, we left to go to Rhino’s. We danced for some time but the music wasn’t great. We tried to go to Winnie’s, but there was a $10 cover due to Snow Machine. PASS! We tried to go to World Bar, but the line was too long… due to Snow Machine. So we settled on Bungalow. I actually really dug the music. It was house music – you can ALWAYS dance to house music.

Afterwards, we went to London for Latin Party. It was a fun time but I think I was slightly in my feelings. I had this grand night imagined, where everyone I’d met in Queenstown came to support me ahead of my departure. I imagined dancing all night, at all our favorite bars, but due to Snow Machine, that wasn’t the reality. I expected to go out with a bang, but in the end it was more like a whisper.

We did stay out until 2am, but by that time, I was DONE haha. Ready to go home and go to sleep. The music had been so loud, my ears were ringing as I went to sleep.

Queenstown Hill

As I am a big fan of cyclical journeys… I knew I had to return to Queenstown Hill, since it was my first activity when I arrived in Queenstown back in November. Before doing so, I decided to take the gondola up for another view.

Once I arrived at Skyline, I did a 10min walk to get to a viewpoint of Ben Lomond. It felt like ages since I hiked to the summit – and certainly not when there was snow at the top.

After saying goodbye to Ben, I went back down to Skyline and looked down at the Remarkables, Mount Cecil, Walter’s Peak, and Lake Whakatipu. I looked down at the town below and spotted the steamboat in the harbor, the hotel I work at, and my hostel.

Once finished, I took the gondola back into town. Jasper then joined me on the hike up Queenstown Hill.

I think I hiked up to Queenstown Hill twice in my first month in Queenstown. Once was my first full day in town, and the second was maybe a week or two later. I was trying to scope out if it was a good spot to view the aurora. I decided too much light pollution. The hike is also somewhat steep so I just haven’t gone back until now.

It was nice to have Jasper’s company. We talked along the way. The hike felt longer than I remembered.

I didn’t necessarily want to reach the peak of the summit – but instead decided along the way that I’d like to go to the Basket of Dreams and recreate the picture from back in November. There were three people lounging inside the basket and I asked if I could just take a picture real quick. They didn’t understand at first I was asking them… to get out of the basket. Hahaha. Jasper was like, “I can’t believe you asked them to move” LOL. But to be fair, it is a popular tourist attraction and I only wanted it for like a minute. They ended up continuing on with their hike anyway.

While the day started off partly cloudy, low clouds were moving in and it began to drizzle slightly. We hiked back down and got bubble tea afterwards. I’m glad my dear friend & roomie Jasper was able to join me for my final Queenstown adventure. Love you, bitch!

And now for the love letter.

Love Letter

It won’t be a traditional love letter of sorts, but rather I wanted to share some of my favorite memories from my time in Queenstown.

There have been so many blessings during my time here. Friendships, wildlife, gorgeous views.

When I first arrived in Aotearoa, so many things kept going wrong. It felt like maybe New Zealand didn’t want me here. That is how life goes sometimes. Maybe nothing will go wrong for the entire year, and the next year, everything keeps breaking, or it’s difficult to do any task that should be incredibly simple, etc., etc.

I didn’t know if I would make friends. I thought maybe I would just be content doing my own thing – working on art, writing, looking for the aurora. I could have never predicted the experiences I’ve had.

I’ve mentioned this before, but for me, my love for New Zealand was slow growing. With Australia, it was immediate, like a punch in the face. Yes, OK, Australia, I love you. With New Zealand, it was slower. I liken it to a flower blooming. The seed was planted, and months later, after nurturing it, the love bloomed.

It is impossible to deny the beauty of this country. It is everywhere. Even the farmland is beautiful, with rolling hills sprinkled with hundreds of sheep.

I have been able to explore much of the southern part of the South Island. From Queenstown to Aoraki / Mount Cook, to Oamaru, Dunedin, Invercargill, Rakiura / Stewart Island, Christchurch, The Catlins, Wanaka, and of course, my beloved Fiordland National Park. Green Lake Hut, Doubtful Sound, Milford Sound. There have been many adventures, with unparalleled beauty.

I have created some lovely friendships with people from all around the world. I have also had to say goodbye to many of those people. I hope one day we meet again.

I have learned to actually kind of have a conversation in Spanish.
I have learned how to slackline.

I have plunged into the freezing cold Lake Whakatipu a few times. Definitely not in any hurry to do that again.

I have volunteered at Kiwi Park for a few months – allowing me to observe the native creatures up close, care for them, feed them, and clean their enclosures.

I have experienced my first earthquake.

I have seen kea in the wild multiple times.

I had the incredible experience of re-meeting my absolute favorite musician in life – Amanda Palmer. At her show at Sherwood, I had the most incredible, intimate experience of watching her from the front row. She signed an autograph for me, took a selfie with me, and later posted the fan art I made her on social media.

I have witnessed multiple aurora displays, including three major ones, and the strongest solar storm in 20 years.

I had a group of people to go out dancing with again. It was often lonely in Chicago after Michael left. I would try to go out dancing, but didn’t have a “bestie” to go with who liked dancing as much as me, so usually it didn’t feel as fun. I have adored the nights out I’ve spent with friends in Queenstown.

I have spotted kiwi in the wild on Rakiura / Stewart Island, with two particularly special experiences – observing a kiwi searching for food for probably twenty minutes, but more spectacularly: having a kiwi come right up to my shoes and sniff them before walking away.

I have seen all three of the mainland New Zealand penguins, completing the collection.

I have seen glow worms for the first time in my life.

After writing this, I notice that I’ve said the words “I have” a lot. Over and over. But I’ve been able to “have” these things because I believe they were gifts from the universe. These were the blessings given to me. I am so grateful for that. I am very lucky to be living the life I live today. It is so very different from fifteen years ago. I’m thankful I get to share these experiences with you all.

Queenstown – I don’t know if I will be back. Maybe one day in the future. But there is so, so much to see in this world and I want to see as much of it as I can.

So, if I don’t… thank you for the time I’ve been able to have here. I will never forget it. I love you, the people, and all the wonderful experiences.

I am adding some photos below of Everyday Things in Queenstown – for future reference. So I can look at the streets I used to walk down with such frequency.

Miscellaneous

On Monday, Nittsy came by Jasper’s & my room and we talked for a few hours. I am really glad the two of them are bonding – it feels like a special parting gift for me.

On Tuesday, I met up with an old friend Pau. I met Pau (and Anna) when I first arrived in Auckland. He and Anna were both staying at the same hostel as me. We talked outside while vaping one evening and went on a day trip together the next day. Anna and Pau stayed in the North Island, while I went to the South. Pau recently moved here, so I showed him around town. It was cool to share the different experiences we’ve had during our year in New Zealand. It served as an interesting benchmark for my time here. It was kind of nostalgic to think about where I was at that point in time, and everything that has transpired since then. We got Fergburger (which I nearly choked on because I didn’t have water with me lol) and then we parted ways.

On Wednesday, before the Silent Disco that never was, Jasper, Yvonne, Renee, and I went out at MyThai for dinner. Always a lovely time with these peeps.

On Thursday night, Jasper, Nittsy, Katy, Martin and I went to see Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. It was such a delight to see. While not technically the best movie in existence, it was incredibly nostalgic. I absolutely loved it. How cool to see the old cast together again.

On Friday, I hurried from work to meet up with Emily, Emma, and Lauren for dinner. We’ve done a few of these dinners now – I’d deemed this one our Last Supper. Soon, Emily will be leaving and Emma after that.

Saturday was my last night out, as mentioned.

Earlier in the week, I heard thunder for the first time since living in Queenstown. And then again, on Monday – even more thunder. I love thunderstorms, so it was a treat for me.

Jasper and I have been watching these creepy Instagram reels every night. For some reason they started showing up on my feed out of nowhere haha. When we watch these 30sec clips, we get so freaked out that we actually scream haha. I’m sure the other people in the hostel hate us. (Maybe that’s why hardly anyone came to my party? LOL)

While on break at work the other day, I saw a wood pigeon / kereru. I’d never seen one in town before. I saw another one this morning. Beautiful birds!

Art of the Week

I made this one for my friend Nittsy – she asked me for a capybara drawing and so that’s what I gave her! Available on my RedBubble site – link on the sidebar if interested!

Reflections

Now, suddenly, time won’t stop. The world keeps spinning at the same speed. It won’t slow down to let the last moments in Queenstown linger. Perception of time is so funny. When we want something to come, it takes forever to get here. When we want something to last longer, it goes by too quickly. Where is the equilibrium?

But I am ready. I was chatting with some friends recently (and on here in recent weeks) and I mentioned how I am just… SO excited to be traveling full time. Australia was just an appetizer – five months of it once I’d finished working in Perth. But in 72 hours, I’ll have 2 months in NZ + 1 week in Fiji + 3 months home + ~1 year in Asia. A year and a half without working. Just enjoying my life.

While it is exciting, I did have some fleeting moments of anxiety over the past couple of days. I hadn’t felt properly anxious in such a long time, so it felt unfamiliar. I realized it’s because I have had stability here in Queenstown the past ten months. Sure, I’ve gone on adventures, but only on the weekends. I had a job, a “home,” a community. Now, it all goes out the window. It’s all Unknown from the moment I start my car engine Wednesday morning.

But yes. I am ready. Bring it on!

Next time I write you all, I’ll be a Full Time Adventurer.

Until next time, sending you all my love. xx