Hey, everyone! I had a really great New Year’s Eve down in Queenstown. It has been a long time since I’ve actually gone out with friends and celebrated. I want to share my day and also an overview of 2023 with you all. Read on!

Frankton Trail Walk

While having breakfast, I was chatting with two people from the hostel – Carolyn and Lauren. While I originally was going to go on a hike up to the Arawata track, Lauren mentioned she was going to walk along the Frankton trail. I asked if I could join her and Carolyn.

The Frankton Trail begins at the end of the Queenstown Gardens. I hadn’t yet walked it but I’ve passed by it on the bus many times. The trail leads from Queenstown to Frankton which is about an hour and a half.

I had a lovely time with Carolyn and Lauren. We talked about lots of things. Carolyn is from Canada and so we talked about bears for a while. She has seen heaps of grizzlies! Lauren is from Scotland and we were talking about farming. Most of her friends are farmers and she’s spent a lot of time around farm animals – sheep, cows, etc. Her family owns an ice cream shop and has for generations. She joked that she’s an “ice cream heiress” which I loved.

We also talked about 2023 and how it treated us. Carolyn was stuck in Melbourne during the pandemic and was glad to be in New Zealand. At the start of 2023, Lauren had no idea she would be in New Zealand by the end of the year. Everyone has their own stories… and they’re usually pretty interesting.

We talked of our hopes for 2024. I asked a lot of people what their hopes were and I think the resounding theme is that people just want to feel at peace and fulfilled.

Carolyn had to head to the airport so we ended up turning around and heading back to the hostel maybe halfway through the Frankton Trail.

I wasn’t planning on doing any more walking but I did end up going on a small trail near Arthur’s Point. It offered some nice views of the mountains off in the distance. There was a little lake where some birds were hanging out.

I then returned back to the hostel and didn’t do too much during the day. I was mentally preparing myself for a long night so I stayed in bed and watched South of Nowhere which is a lesbian TV drama from the early 2000s. It is not the best show ever but it has been providing me nostalgia and entertainment haha. The clothes are AWFUL!

New Year’s Eve

My main plan for the evening was to go down to the beach to join some people from the hostel. Cammy, my dormmate, hired a gazebo tent (basically just four poles with canvas for a roof to block the rain) and the plan was to hang out near the water and watch the fireworks in the evening. I ended up going on a walk after dinner and realized Cammy and some others from the hostel were already there pre-gaming. I stopped by to talk for a moment but ended up staying probably an hour. It was windy and cold so I stopped back to the hostel to change and have a quiet moment before heading back.

The atmosphere was excited and busy around the hostel. People were dressed up, sneaking alcohol into water bottles, talking about their plans for the evening.

I reached out to my friend/coworker Jasper to see what he was up to. He and Yvonne were about to head out so we walked to the beach together. It was maybe 9.30pm at this point?

People came and went. I think on New Year’s, there’s this idea that you must have THE BEST TIME EVER and so people run from place to place, seeking out the fun. I stayed at the tent, chatting with people. I’m in a slightly strange position because a lot of people work together constantly (the front desk peeps know the other front desk peeps really well, housekeeping knows housekeeping, etc.). I haven’t had nearly as many interactions with everyone because when I’m at the hotel, I only work closely with one other person. In some ways, it feels alienating. That said, I’m making an effort to get to know my coworkers. It’s been nice but it was apparent that I am not at the same level of friendship that a lot of the others have haha. And that’s okay, too! I can’t force a connection.

Anyway. Midnight struck and the fireworks were shot up into the sky. It has been some time since I’ve seen fireworks. I was kind of… in awe. It wasn’t the most insane, incredible display I’ve ever seen… but there’s something about them.

Marion turned to me and said “Happy New Year’s, Steve,” in her French accent. Everyone started wishing one another a happy new year and hugging. It was sweet… but a lot of people were wasted haha.

From there, some of us made our way back to the hostel. The kitchen was pretty full. I went out to the balcony to call my parents and wish them a happy new year. We had a wonderful talk.

I then went back to the kitchen and talked with some others for a while. I was a little sleepy at this point because it was nearly 2.30am. And yet, some people wanted to go dancing! I know Jasper had gone dancing so I thought – sure, why not?

The others ended up going to another club but I decided to go to the one Jasper was at. The queue was long and it was a $20 cover. I got in just before 3am and RIGHT as I got in the door, Jasper was walking up the stairs saying he was leaving haha. I was like, WHAT!? I just got here!! Since I paid the money, I decided to just stick around. Somehow, I found my way to Cristian, Nittsy, and Romina. And then Katherine showed up! And later, I briefly saw my friend Jose there.

It was a Latin dance party and I didn’t know any of the music except for a Shakira song and another that goes “Oi, oi, oi!” haha. Still – Latin beats are so easy to dance to.

The bar closed at 4am and as the lights went on, Jose came over to say hey. We decided to go for a walk to calm down before trying to go to sleep. On our walk, we bumped into Claire, Juan, Marion, and Lau. Lau grabbed my face in his hands and said, “You have to be happy, Steve!” I said to him, “I am happy!” hahaha. I don’t know what the hell he meant by that. Lau is an extroverted, jubilant Argentinian guy so maybe my reserved, introverted self translates to sad for him.

We walked over to the Queenstown Gardens and talked for some time. Behind us, twilight was beginning to peak through the darkness.

I finally curled up in my bed around 5.30am. GEEZ! What a night. While I originally was only planning on going to the tent to watch the fireworks with my coworkers, I allowed the night to guide me and it ended up being really fun.

I’d also like to note that… yes, I was sober. I cannot believe I stayed up that late partying – sober! It has been years and years since I’ve been up that late. I don’t know that I ever really stayed up until 5.30am for fun. Anyways.

Now it is 2024. I slept in until a little after 11am and started the year off by doing a long yoga exercise. I am going to have a very chill day. I am a little people’d out, so I think I am going to hibernate in my room until tomorrow haha.

2023 Wrapped

What a year this has been. I think, as far as years go, it was maybe the best year of my life. It is sometimes hard to believe that I made it to Australia and saw as much as I did there. And then… I made it to New Zealand, too! So many things have happened this year. I thought it might be fun to share a brief review of what was going on each month.

January: Still working as a deckhand in Perth

February: My final month working in Perth before leaving to explore the rest of Australia

March: Coral Bay for a couple of weeks and then back to Perth before going to…

April: Tasmania

May: Melbourne, Alice Springs, Darwin

June: Darwin, Cairns

July: Getting scuba certified in Cairns, Cape Tribulation, Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach, Hervey Bay

August: K’gari, Sydney, Canberra, HOME

September: Home

October: From home to Auckland, Wellington

November: Starting a new job and seeing the southern lights on my birthday in Queenstown

December: Queenstown

I was chatting with someone about our favorite moments of 2023 and despite everything I did, everything I saw… I think my favorite, most memorable moment was when I surprised my parents upon my return. It was such a wonderful, emotional reunion. FAMILY, y’all!!!

The year hasn’t always been good but overall… what a damn success. I’m proud of myself and the life I’m living. I’m proud of my sobriety and my creative endeavors. While I feel I’ve “known who I am” for years, I feel I’ve come to understand myself a little better as a person this year. I hope to continue to understand myself better.

I care a little less about becoming obscenely (and unrealistically) successful with my art or writing or anything like that… I feel I am accepting that whatever is meant to happen for me in life will happen.

I think more importantly, the focus for me at the moment is getting outside my comfort zone. Learning to make friends with those I might not ordinarily, or sitting down at a table full of people and joining in on the conversation. It is scary, but I think doing these things will only better me as a person and boost my confidence in life overall.

There are a lot of Spanish-speaking people at my hostel. I have started trying to converse with them in Spanish. Unfortunately, my Spanish is very limited. At times, it has been discouraging because it’s hard for me to understand when someone is speaking Spanish. I need them to speak slowly and I don’t know that many words, so I’m often like “…wait, what?” Haha. I remember enough from school and some online lessons to BARELY have a conversation… but it takes time to become conversational in a new language. I’ll get there.

My word and intention for 2023 was “presence.” I have struggled with it for sure. It isn’t always easy to be present. I think for 2024 my intention is “serenity.” I really want to be able to feel serene more consistently. If you know the Serenity Prayer… “grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change.” I can’t accept those things if I don’t first have serenity.

Miscellaneous

I got a postcard in the mail from my dear friend Jen and her partner for Christmas. I love getting mail sent from loved ones!

I went shopping the other day to get myself some new clothes and new slippers… I am now a proud owner of Birkenstocks. WHO AM I?!

I wanted to snap a picture of all the different activities there are to do in Queenstown. Hopefully by the time I leave here, I’ll have done most of them!

Art of the Week

For my final drawing of each year, I try to incorporate multiple different themes I’ve explored throughout the year into one piece. It has been a strange year artistically for me. I have been a little unfocused and I haven’t had any concrete themes for a while. Still… I will keep creating, as I always do.

Reflections

Since a lot of this post was about reflecting on 2023… I think I covered pretty much everything!

Until next time… sending you all my love. xx
Happy New Year!!