Hey, everyone! I have SO MUCH to fill you all up on. It has been a pretty loaded week. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and type this out until now… I’ve been busy driving around the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand and sleeping in my van haha. However, I am currently in a proper bed, in a private hostel room with Wi-fi, typing this up. So, here we go.

Goodbye, Queenstown

In last week’s blog post, I wrote about my final weekend in Queenstown, which was slightly disappointing in some ways. Notably, Snow Machine taking over the town/club scene, and with lots of people from the hostel not “showing up” for my farewell. However, my final days in Queenstown certainly made up for that.

During the work day on Monday, I took Catherine and Jen out for coffee as sort of a goodbye chat and a “thank you for hiring me and the opportunity you offered me. Being able to live in Queenstown has been one of the most amazing experiences in my life.” Etc. etc. And, shockingly enough, we had just found out that Catherine is leaving the hotel after working there for 16 years. Just like Jim! TIMES ARE A-CHANGIN’! It was a nice catch-up. Catherine mentioned how during all her years working there, no one had ever offered to take her out for coffee before. I found that pretty bizarre but was honored to be the first and potentially last.

On Monday night, I quickly met up with my friends Liv and Jack (slackline buddies) who had just gotten back from a trip to Tonga to swim with humpback whales. It was awesome to hear about their experience and to see the videos they got of the humpbacks. Incredible! They walked me through their time on Tonga as we enjoyed tea and chocolate. They were met with lots of crazy experiences – cancelled flights, missed tours, getting caught in riptides, etc. I shared with them what’s next for me and expressed my slight anxiety about what was to come – which was, essentially, The Unknown.

As I was leaving, Liv gave me a hag stone which she brought back from Tonga – it is a beach stone that has a natural hole in it. It is a talisman for protection and healing, warding off hexes, curses, etc. I have been wearing it around my neck (along with my mom’s pendant) since she gave it to me. I wasn’t sure I would have time to see Liv and Jack before leaving – I’m glad we made it work.

Tuesday was my final day at work. It was, in all honesty, a very cruisy day. I had a few minor things to take care of, but otherwise I was just catching up with people. Jen took me out for a business lunch, which was… a free lunch, but all we had to do was talk with the restaurant manager for a few minutes LOL. And the lunch was absolutely delicious! We talked about where she sees herself in five years, where I see myself in five years, etc. I shared some of my anxieties about the upcoming travel with her as well. She told me it makes sense – I’m traveling alone, and that’s probably what makes it feel scarier.

Once our work lunch was finished, we returned to the hotel. Not longer after, they threw a SAMOSA PARTY for me! Everyone knows how much I love samosas haha. Catherine gave a speech about hiring me and how well I did in my role, etc. And then Jen gave a speech and she started to cry a little, which made me tear up, too. She mentioned how I was the best coordinator she’d ever had which was very sweet of her to say. I gave a speech, talking about how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to work in such a beautiful place, how different it is from the place I’m from, etc. Afterwards, we ate samosas and I caught up with colleagues. We said our farewells. Lots of well wishes, which was nice.

My original plan for the evening was to get dinner at this Indian restaurant I ADORE – but to be honest, I was completely stuffed from eating all day… and Nittsy had mentioned she, Katy, and Valeria were going to make empanadas for me. Instead of getting dinner, Jasper and I went for bubble tea and then went to the hostel kitchen.

Nittsy, Valeria, and Katy had the empanadas waiting for me. They explained these were PROPER Chilean empanadas. The empanadas that had been made for parties in the past were basically just ground beef. But these ones had meat, eggs, and olives as well. And they were DELICIOUS. It was really touching to have them make a farewell meal for me. Cooking is such a love language with the people in my life, isn’t it?

Daisy and Dev had also made a Filipino dessert. I can’t remember what it was called but they explained it was sort of like a mochi. Really yummy!

Renee also brought me these chocolate bars from Blenheim that are literally to die for. I will be stopping in Blenheim specifically to buy more of them haha.

I spent the rest of the night in the kitchen with the girls. Others stopped in to say goodbye. Jasper and Renee hung out at the table, too. We went around the table and shared what the next five years looks like for all of us. Travel, marriage, babies, stability, etc. Nittsy said one thing that I had never heard before – she said something like, “I’d like to find my place in the world.”

Eventually, Valeria had to go home as she’d had a long day. I walked her out and thanked her for everything. Shortly after that, Katy was leaving, too. We walked down the corridor together and the grief struck me pretty suddenly. By the time we got to the door, I was crying. In Spanish, I explained to Katy how important her friendship was to me – how she really shaped my time in Queenstown with all the friends I’d made practicing Spanish, etc. She was absolutely the catalyst for that. It was a really beautiful moment. I actually am tearing up while writing this haha. She shared similar feelings, wished me well, told me I’m a wonderful person, etc. We said one day we would meet again – in Chile.

By the time I got back to the kitchen, I couldn’t really stop crying. The sadness was rolling through me like waves. At this point, it was just Renee, Jasper, and Nittsy. It was kind of funny but Renee started to take video while Jasper and Nittsy were soothing me. I was like trying to smile for the camera but then kept crying haha. But she caught a really beautiful moment on video – with Nittsy and I hugging and then Nittsy caressing my head as she started to cry, too. God. Such bittersweet moments. Life is such an incredible thing – AND AN EMOTIONAL THING.

We were all crying lol. Crazy.

And then it was time to wrap it up. I would see all three of them separately again in the morning.

Day of Departure

Come my day of departure, I woke up earlier than usual to say farewell to Jasper. I grabbed some things to take to my car as he finished getting ready for work.

It was one of those things where words just didn’t feel like they could do our friendship justice. No matter what I could say, and I tried to say all the meaningful things, it just felt like it fell flat (there is an epilogue to be shared later.) I had something similar back home with my friends Joey and Rob. As we were saying goodbye, yet again, I mentioned how “it’s funny how something so big can feel so small.” Joey agreed and said, “It’s like a really great series is ending, and more than anything, you’re just sad you won’t be able to follow the characters anymore.”

We walked to the hotel and took a picture next to Lake Whakatipu. Then we hugged and said our goodbyes.

I dropped some things to my van then returned to the hostel to shower, and make sure I had everything all packed up before leaving. On the way, I saw a kereru. This was the second time I’ve seen a kereru IN TOWN since I’ve lived in Queenstown. The first time was literally the day before. Since leaving, I have seen kereru every day. I think they are my guardian angels.

I ate some leftover empanadas and said goodbye to Renee and others at the hostel. As I left the kitchen, tears started welling up again. I am an emotional guy – I can’t help it, people! You have to understand, this hostel has been my home for the past 10 months. I have met a lot of incredible people and have made amazing memories while living in Queenstown.

I grabbed my bags and set them down at reception, where I would be checking out with Emily moments later. But first, a farewell to Nittsy. I had to stop back in my room to calm down a little bit before knocking on her door. And yet, I couldn’t help the tears. There wasn’t much to say. We hugged while we both cried. She told me I will always be her capybara. I told her she will always be mine. And we said one day in the world, we’d meet again. She walked me to the stairwell, both of us crying while getting our final looks of each other in.

I do feel guilty that it was sort of a “sad” farewell – but sometimes, that’s just the way it is. Even when saying goodbye to my parents, it’s like – I just want them to see me HAPPY and excited to be going on my adventures. But the reality is, it’s hard to say goodbye, even if it’s only temporary. In the case of my Queenstown friends, while I hope this isn’t the case, there is a very real possibility it’s the last time we’ll ever see each other. That’s sad!

I texted Emily that I was ready and she came down to check me out. If you know Emily, you know she is one hell of a personality. From Ireland, total character. Fun, can drink anyone under the table, known by seemingly everyone in town. I think she was in for a shock when she walked down to see me in tears haha. “Ohhhh, we’re having a sad morning,” she joked. She gave me back my bond refund and wished me the best, told me to stay in touch. She was so casual about it haha. Gave me a big hug. Despite me being a total mess, I really appreciated having her there as I left the hostel. Her nature lightened the situation, which was quite sad up until then. She was also the first person I’d met in Queenstown, so it was very fitting that she was the person to see me out.

And then I was off.

Destination: Pleasant Flats Campsite

My plan for the day was to get groceries, get butane gas for my camp stove, and then head towards Haast. So that’s what I did!

It was a little surreal feeling to be leaving town. “Goodbye, Mount Cecil, goodbye, Remarkables,” etc. And then they were out of sight. I was on my way to Wānaka.

There was a certain point when arriving at Wānaka where I realized “I’ve never driven past this point before.” And then I drove down that road. Venturing into the Unknown.

I had only one main thing on my agenda for the day, and that was to go check out the Haast Blue Pools. Unfortunately, the track is closed but there is sort of a “detour” track that allows a view of the pools. I went on the detour and while the scenery was really nice, I wasn’t all that impressed haha. The Blue Pools were directly across from my campsite. I had looked at another campsite option only half an hour away that had two waterfalls nearby. I figured I would push on and check out those waterfalls. I re-booked my campsite. The next day, I planned to head to the West Coast.

First waterfall of the day was Fantail Falls.

There were cairns stones balanced on a fallen tree next to the waterfall which I thought looked pretty cool.

Later, I crossed the “Gates to Haast” bridge and came to Thunder Creek Falls. That was a nice waterfall, too. What else is there to say about waterfalls haha? Honestly, I have seen so many waterfalls in the past week that I’m a little jaded at this point. “Oh, cool, another waterfall.” But really, waterfalls are beautiful and I love them and I’ll always stop to look at them. I think it’s funny to compare it to the waterfalls of Iceland, though, that are just INSANE and incredibly powerful.

After checking out Thunder Creek Falls, I arrived at my campsite – about an hour and a half from Wānaka. I found a nice spot for my van and then went out to the picnic tables to eat some snacks. The sandflies were on me immediately, biting my ankles. Bastards. They are THE WORST!!!

Remember how I mentioned a few sections back that there was an epilogue to the Jasper storyline?

Around 5pm, I got a message from Jasper with a picture of a bag. “Did you forget this?”

My heart dropped. I had completely forgotten to bring one of my bags – it had all my underwear, my socks, and some of my favorite shirts, most notably the couture shirt Jose made me a few months back. I had to go back for it. I asked Jasper if he could meet me in Wānaka. My ANGEL OF LIFE agreed.

An hour and a half later, I was back in Wānaka. Earlier in the day, this was the spot where I had mentally noted was the furthest west I had ever gone. And suddenly I was right back again.

I ran up to Jasper’s car and he came out. “I’m soo sorry,” I repeated over and over, thanking him for meeting me. He went full Asian mother mode, scolding me in a semi-joking manner. “You are going to be alone now, you don’t have anyone to take care of you! You have to be careful!” I apologized and we laughed. The whole situation was so absurd. Driving an hour and a half for underwear and socks. Lord. (To be fair, each of my socks are like $20 each and they’re the best socks in the world, so it was very worth it for that alone). Our meeting was very hurried. Jasper hates driving in the dark and we were operating on very limited daylight at this point. We hugged and said goodbye. Later, Jasper told me how it’s nice that it ended up that way – it made our final goodbye funny instead of sad. Which I prefer.

I can’t help but think it was meant to be that way. Jasper was supposed to be there to “see me off” – to ride off into the sunset, if you will. We had to have one final, zany adventure before parting ways. Jasper, thank you SO MUCH for meeting me halfway. You are such a legend, an icon, a great friend! LOVE YOU!

I drove another hour and a half back to the campsite… my booked campsite could have been much closer had I not chosen to drive another 30min to see the waterfalls earlier in the day lol.

What. A. Day.

And this is only the beginning!!!

West Coast

The following day, I was met with… rain. Rain, rain, and more rain. For the next few days. Such is life on the West Coast.

I drove from Cameron Flats to Haast and ate some breakfast. I continued on towards Jackson Bay, where I was able to see the ocean. Oh, ocean, how I love you. If you’ve been following along for a while, you know how much I love the ocean. It was very dreary on this cold, wet day. But even still.

I stopped by the Haast Visitor Center since the rain was pelting down. While inside, I stumbled across an amazing tidbit – penguins could be found occasionally at the nearby Monro Beach. Umm, count me in! Originally, I was going to go to Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, but this seemed like a wonderful detour.

I stopped off at the parking lot for Monro Beach and began the forty minute hike. I walked through rainforest and dodged puddles. Occasionally, it couldn’t be avoided and my shoes got wet. I was the only person on the hike, which is my favorite.

I then reached the beach and saw a sign which showed where the penguin nesting grounds were.

I was really surprised by how beautiful the area looked, even with overcast skies and drizzle. The pictures don’t do the area justice (when do they ever?) but the rock formations coming out of the water were incredible.

I spotted something off in the distance. Something… white. And… penguin-sized?

I used my camera’s zoom and… SURE ENOUGH! A Fiordland crested penguin! I tried to stealthily hustle over to it, but it was very far away and we’re not supposed to disturb their nesting grounds. As I walked a little closer, I realized it was heading towards the water. Damn.

I snapped a few pictures and laughed to myself as it hopped along the sand and then jumped in the ocean.

But what a sight! The unexpected penguin. One of the rarest penguins in the world and I got to see them once again. Yahoo!!!

Fox Glacier

After Monro Beach, my last destination of the day was Fox Glacier. I figured I’d check out Franz Josef the next day, assuming the weather would be better.

I was hoping I could get quite close to Fox Glacier. Actually, you’re not able to get close to it at all due to safety concerns.

The hike was about forty minutes. Along the way, I saw a number of kereru up in the treetops. Lots of beautiful, lush forest surrounded me.

And then I’d arrived at the glacier viewpoint! It looked quite ominous, with rainclouds clinging along the mountaintops. Incredible.

Afterwards, I went to my campsite and cozied in for the night. My sleeping arrangement is as such: During the day, my bed (aka cot) is folded up in the back of the car. I have bags all over the place. Bags with clothes, bags with food, bags with electronics, etc. But at night, I have to take off the head rests, flip two of the back seats on top of the front seats, unfold my bed, rearrange all the bags, hang up the curtains for privacy, etc. My first night of sleeping in the van, I asked myself, “How the FUCK am I going to do this every day?” but actually, it ended up being fine. I am very much in the groove of it now, and it takes all of maybe five minutes. I think re-organizing has helped too.

Overnight, rain continued to pelt down. I had a hard time sleeping because at times, it was raining so hard I worried the campsite would get flooded. In the early hours of the morning, I occasionally looked out my window to see if my car was surrounded by a small pond. Luckily, no.

Exploring Ōkārito

I forgot to mention that the previous night, I actually drove down to Ōkārito and did a one-hour night hike. The purpose being, I was searching for the rare, Ōkārito kiwi. They are the rarest kiwi in the world! I was really, REALLY hoping to do the kiwi tours run in Ōkārito, where they use special equipment that can actually locate the kiwi. But unfortunately, the tours don’t run until October. Damn it! I asked the tour operator if he could do a private tour with me, but he never responded. So, I was left to my own devices. I went on two night hikes in a row looking for the kiwi but actually didn’t even hear them calling. I’ve since heard other varieties of kiwi calling at night – in both Hokitika and Arthur’s Pass. No sightings yet, but I have my fingers crossed.

Anyway, the day after Fox Glacier, I decided it was too shitty of a day to go to Franz Josef. I might not get a good view. Instead, I went back to Ōkārito and did a three and a half hour hike. The idea was to get to the Three Mile Lagoon.

Before doing so, I stopped by the beach. Another gloomy, rainy day. But at the beach, there was a waterfall! I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a waterfall located on a beach before. Into a lake or a fjord, sure, but not onto the beach where it forms a little river leading to the ocean. It was pretty cool!

From there, I went on the hike. It was pretty grueling with lots of inclines, and I was doing it in Birkenstocks. My shoes were so soaked, there was no use. In the future, I’m just going to wear my Birkenstocks when it’s raining. Sure, my feet will be a little chilly, but it’s better than waiting for my hiking shoes to dry out over the course of three days.

When I got to the lagoon, I was a little underwhelmed. I thought there would be… I don’t know. SOMETHING. Instead, I was met with a sign that said there was ANOTHER trail, around the lagoon. Fuck that, I still had more hiking to do to get back to my van haha. Instead, I enjoyed the views and headed back.

The trail actually had a coastal trail counterpart that I could have taken to get back to my van, but I was a little unsure on the tide times and it’s not recommended to take during high tide. It looked pretty high to me, so I decided to just go back up the way I came.

By the time I got to my van, the rain had subsided and it actually cleared up the rest of the day. I considered going to Franz Josef but decided I’d just wait for the following day. I’m learning to slow down, change plans when necessary. It’s a nice lesson to learn.

Instead, I went back to my campsite. For the first time ever, I used a camp stove by myself. I was slightly intimidated about using the gas canister. It ended up being fine. I haven’t blown anything or anyone up yet. Fingers crossed I won’t. It might seem silly, but it actually felt like a big win for me to get the camp stove working. I AM A CAMPER MAN NOW!

While eating and for the rest of the night, sandflies tried to eat me alive. Again, BASTARDS. The West Coast is notorious for sandflies. That is probably the only reason I’ll be happy to see the West Coast in my rearview mirror.

After having dinner, I laid out my mat and practiced yoga on a picnic table. It was exactly what I needed. Long hours driving, hiking, and sleeping in a shitty cot in my van don’t exactly do wonders for the body. I would like to make a conscious effort to practice yoga as much as I can while on this adventure.

Once I’d finished yoga, I went down to the lake. I’d checked it out the day before, but it was overcast and there wasn’t much to see. But now… incredible! You could see the mountains where Franz Josef glacier resides off along the horizon. As the sun was starting to set, it was a truly majestic sight.

A fellow camper, Holly, was sitting there. Earlier, when she arrived at the campsite, she complimented my bright yellow rain jacket. At the lake, we proceeded to talk until the sun went down. She was working in Nelson for the winter season and was on her way back down to Hawea near Wānaka. She works as a hiking guide. So she essentially is contracted to do guided walks with people. What a job! It was nice to chat with her.

Franz Josef

The following morning, I drove to Franz Josef to hike to a glacier viewpoint. Again, I had my fingers crossed I would be able to get pretty close to it. NOPE!

I had a few hiking options – a few of them were short, twenty minute hikes. Another was something like six hours. I decided to check out one of the short hikes before making a decision.

Waterfalls cascaded around the mountainsides.

Off in the distance, the Franz Josef glacier. It was pretty far away, but it seemed like even with the super long hike, it would still be pretty far away.

I went on another short hike to get a different vantage point of the glacier. I felt that sufficed. While I love to go hiking, I think I am pretty good at setting limits. My body was still recovering from the long walk of the previous day.

Instead, I drove further north. My end goal for the day was to end up near Hokitika – to see the Hokitika Gorge and also the local glow worm colony.

Hokitika

On the drive to the gorge, I would be hit with brief downpours of rain. It would be completely dry for miles and then all of a sudden, full on downpour for all of twenty seconds, and then it would be gone. It was on an off like that. But still, the weather was so much better than the previous couple of days. I was really grateful for that.

Hokitika Gorge was a short walk which offered lovely views of a glacial river. Glacial water is so cool because it’s a really unusual color. It’s sort of a vibrant, milky blue. If you remember the trip to Aoraki / Mount Cook, the water was a similar color.

The walk was easy enough. It crossed a suspension bridge (which I love) and weaved through the forest. It wound up at a little beach, which had a bunch of grey boulders with moss on them.

I enjoyed the views for some time. Eventually, the sandflies found me, so I left to continue on with my day.

I arrived at Hokitika and walked around the small town center.

I refilled my water bottles and then near the water. I did yoga next to the beach and afterwards, worked on a drawing at a picnic table. I stayed until the sun set. I felt so good, being near the ocean on a sunny day, with nothing I needed to be doing. I think that is where I’m at my happiest, taking life slow, with nearby waves crashing onto the sand.

Once the sun went down, I drove to Glow Worm Dell. I wasn’t expecting much. I’ve seen a few glow worm colonies since being in Aotearoa New Zealand and while some of them are really cool, some of them aren’t all that impressive. However, I think Hokitika’s Glow Worm Dell has blown them all out of the water so far – even Dunedin’s colony. They were ALL OVER! And in such tight clusters, too. It was really something to see. Love you, glow worms! Or should I say, I love your poop (since the light is their excrement lol).

After the glow worms, I went back to my campsite. I did a small night walk and heard kiwi calling to each other in the distance. Then it was time for bed!

Arthur’s Pass

In the morning, I cooked some soup and afterwards, took a cold shower. It was my first proper shower since leaving Queenstown. Even though it was cold, anything beats taking a “whore’s bath” LOL – which, yes, is what I unfortunately have to do when I don’t have access to a shower. If you don’t know what a “whore’s bath” is, you’re basically just washing your body with a rag or paper towel with water and soap. Remember, I AM A CAMPING MAN NOW.

Once I’d finished getting ready for the day, I drove to Arthur’s Pass. The first time I’d heard of Arthur’s Pass was shortly after arriving in Queenstown and I’ve always wanted to go. I’d heard it was an excellent spot for seeing the alpine parrot – the kea. At this point, we all know that I’ve seen my fair share of kea, but I’m always happy to see one again. And plus, the Arthur’s Pass area was supposed to be incredible, located up in the Southern Alps.

I also wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get to Arthur’s Pass. When I’d looked it up on GoogleMaps, it looked like the road was closed. I’ve since learned that the road closes from 5.30pm to 7am daily due to road works. From 9am to 5pm, the road is also closed (kinda) – they open it every hour on the hour to let cars through. On the weekend, the road is open until 5.30pm. Confusing, right?

Anyway, it was Sunday so I had no issues – a couple of hours later, I’d arrived at my campsite. The weather wasn’t that great – there was kind of a constant, very light drizzle.

Still, I put on my gear and went on a few small hikes.

First, I went to Avalanche Creek Falls. A very easy, two minute walk to a waterfall. And then, I went to Devil’s Punchbowl Falls, which was more of an adventure. It took about thirty minutes of constant inclines/declines to get to the falls. But it was pretty impressive! On par with McLean Falls in The Catlins, I’d say.

Afterwards, I went on another hike. I took the Arthur’s Pass Walking Track to a lookout point and then continued on. It was about an hour and a half of hiking. Shortly after starting that hike, I was feeling lethargic. I don’t think I’d eaten enough that morning and I was really feeling it. I was dragging. Yet, I continued on. The track led to a “chasm,” which is sort of like a very short area where all the water from a river ferociously converges and then continues on. Another twenty minutes down the hike, it led to a valley with another river and some alpine views.

By the time I got to my campsite, I was very ready for food. I should have brought a snack with me as I usually would on a hike, but I didn’t anticipate going hiking for so long. FOOD IS GOOD.

After eating some food, I worked on a drawing for a while. It rained overnight, but wasn’t too bad.

Oh, and how could I forget… yes – of course, I was able to see kea! There is a small group that hang out around Arthur’s Pass Village. What a joy to see them again. Someone had been drinking coffee on the outside section of a cafe and the kea was trying to drink the remnants of it. In the process, it knocked over the cup and it crashed onto the floor, breaking. Classic kea antics.

Castle Hill

The next morning, I had plans to see my friend Marion, who used to live at the hostel. She has been working at a ski resort near Castle Hill… but not THAT near Castle Hill. It actually is over two hours away. Damn! I wasn’t planning on driving all that way haha. Luckily, Marion hitchhiked her way to meet me.

By the time we’d met up, it was already around 2pm. It was SO nice to see Marion again. She is such a joyous, adventurous spirit who seems to lead the craziest of crazy lives. She’s always down for a good time, always down for a solid hike or adventure. Love her! I’m super happy we got the chance to meet up. (Remember our Green Lake Hut adventure?)

We walked around the Castle Hill rocks, which is a place of spiritual significance for the Māori. You can see why – it’s really an incredible space!

After walking around, we decided to sit down on one of the boulders and catch up. We talked about me leaving Queenstown, about what’s next for me. We talked about what she’s been up to for the past six months – yes, it’s been SIX months since she’s left Queenstown. Crazy. Time is weird. We talked about our futures.

Overall, I think the day was more about us reconnecting than it was about the adventuring. She told me I look really happy. I am! Finally, I am getting to do what I’ve been setting out to do for so long – travel, full time, for a long time. YAHOO!

After Castle Hill, we went to Cave Stream. Neither of us knew what it was. Well, we found out it is actually a cave that you can explore for about an hour. It has a clear entrance and exit. I would have been down to do it since I have a really powerful head torch BUT the cave has water flowing through it, so you really need proper gear… and that, I did not have.

Instead, we took a look at the mouth of the cave and then sat down to talk some more. Marion had plans to head to Christchurch that evening, so I dropped her off at Castle Hill Village. We hugged and said our goodbyes and wished each other well. Hopefully, one day, we’ll meet again.

I returned back to Queenstown before sunset. Once it was dark, I went looking for kiwi. No sightings, but I did hear them calling once or twice.

(A few other pics from the day below)

After hiking for about an hour, I went back to my van and called it a night.

Destination: Greymouth

In the morning, I was surprised to wake up to a winter wonderland. It had snowed overnight. Amazing!

I was slightly nervous about getting through Arthur’s Pass, but it ended up being fine. Any time you hear “Pass” – it means it’s a mountain pass, so the roads can be very steep and winding. And the Arthur’s Pass roads ARE very steep. And winding. Goldie didn’t have any trouble, though.

Before leaving town, I stopped to fill up my water bottle one more time. I didn’t see any kea near the cafe, even though they’d been around constantly the past two days. Instead, I saw them flying in the sky. This will truly be the last time I see a kea in Aotearoa New Zealand – none of the other destinations I have on my list have the right conditions for them. And yet, I am happy that my last kea sighting was seeing one flying through the sky, with snow covering the surrounding landscape. A fitting last sighting for the only alpine parrot in the world. I love you, kea!

After Arthur’s Pass, it took another hour or so to get to Greymouth. I stopped off in a place called Moana for a pit stop and to see Lake Brunner. There was a black swan in the lake (not pictured).

As I neared Greymouth, I pulled to the side of the road and stopped the car. I had passed a wire fence that had boots upon boots upon boots that had been left there.

I have a pair of boots with me that I’ve owned for… geez. It must be close to ten years at this point. I adore them, but they are splitting apart at the seams. I’ve decided I would get rid of them before leaving New Zealand. While originally I was going to leave them at a hostel, I knew immediately upon seeing the fence that this was to be their new home. It felt symbolic to me, as if I was leaving a piece of myself on the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.

I am now in Greymouth. I’ve rented a private room in a hostel for the night. I’ve taken my first warm shower in nearly a week. And FINALLY I’ve been able to type up this blog – practically two days overdue. Tonight, I’ll treat myself to a meal out. And tomorrow, I’ll continue on.

Miscellaneous

Usually, my Miscellaneous section is filled up with various social happenings, but I think I covered all of that in the first section of this post!

The hostel I’m currently at has the fastest internet EVER. In Queenstown, the internet connection was absolutely awful, so it’s really nice to have a fast connection haha.

Oh, it is also SO NICE to just drive and not have to use GPS. In New Zealand, all the major stops are really clearly marked on the roads. Unless you’re going somewhere super remote, there really aren’t that many roads you could be taking to get somewhere.

During my first night after leaving Queenstown, I had a few letters/notes to get through that people had given me. I wanted to save them for my first night away. A few snippets below (the one on the right is a postcard Yvonne gave me).

I will also just use this space to say thank you to all the Queenstown friends I’ve made along the way. I love you all so much. I hope we can meet again one day. Te quiero, te amo, un dia en el future – nos vemos.

Art of the Week

I actually drew this probably over a month ago but haven’t had the right opportunity to post it yet, so HERE WE ARE!

Reflections

It has been nearly a week since I’ve been on the road, and I’m feeling really good about it. Driving, hiking, wildlife, beautiful views… “it’s all good, man”.

While change freaks me out, I think I am learning that I’m quite flexible and adaptable when it comes down to it. That is an important lesson for me. I CAN DO THIS, whatever “this” may be.

I think that’s all for now. It’s been a long ass blog post. Sorry for that. I imagine they’re all going to be even more packed than usual in the coming weeks.

Until next time – I’m sending you all my love. xx