New Zealand
The Journey Begins
Kia ora!
Let me preface this by saying I am not the greatest at writing or even spelling. I find myself to be a bit dyslexic, to be honest. But I apologize for nothing. This is more for myself than anyone else. That being said, I’m super happy to receive criticism to improve!
After five years of grinding behind a computer as a DevOps engineer, the world just got more and more sad and boring for me. Although I was able to save quite a bit of money, I was straight-up miserable. I tried many things to battle the boring bouts of depression—from diets to hobbies to quitting drinking; you name it, I tried it. The only remaining outlier was my career. I will write more about this later, but for now, all I have to say is: when something doesn’t make you happy, change it. My job wasn’t making me happy, so I told my team I was taking off on a sabbatical for a few months. I feel bad not telling them, and if you see this, sorry FSI, but I don’t think I’m coming back.
A month later, here I am, embarking on a journey of a lifetime with one of my best mates, Al Snow. I have no more planned than the first two weeks with my mates, looking for great places, great friends, unforgettable experiences, and some major life changes. We’re headed to the South Island of New Zealand!
Leaving San Diego, another best mate of mine, Tyson, drove us up to LAX, where the chaos started. I had 20 minutes before check-in closed and was a bit frantic arriving at the airport. After running through the not-so-beautiful LAX to check my bag, everything got a little easier. TSA PreCheck allowed us to skip the longer security line, and we got to our gate in just a few quick minutes. I had an airport beer, and off we went. This was my first overseas trip with a buddy, and I couldn’t have asked for a better one.
P.S. I must have complained quite a bit because Al limited me to two complaints a day. 🤣 I turned it back on him and said anytime he complained, I would gain one complaint for the day. Pretty sure I was over +2 complaints the whole trip. Hahah, love you, Al!
We ate a few edibles before the flight, and neither of us could talk or function for a few hours. 🫠 So rather than trying, we both slept through about 95% of the flight! Amazing.
16 hours later, and after one layover in Auckland, Al and I landed in Queenstown and reunited with Graham, my best mate for the last decade. It feels like we’ve known each other for a lifetime, though! ♥️💙 He picked Al and me up in his trusty Nissan Caravan, his home and stoke-mobile, Ralph! Every time Ralph turns on, he gets so damn excited and screams at the top of his lungs, “WOOOOOOOO!” Don’t be mistaken for an old timing belt; Ralph is always stoked to start up for a ride!
Queenstown
In Queenstown, we headed down Lake Wakatipu into town to eat and walk off our jet lag.
No joke, as a girl was passing by, she took one look at the boys and literally fell directly on her face—one of the best scorpions I’ve seen in a while. We felt so bad/secondhand embarrassed for her, and of course, we made sure she was okay. It was a pretty clever way to get our attention and break the ice, if you ask me. Later, Graham joked about wishing he had purposely fallen too to make her feel better.
We walked from the lake over to NZ’s Fergburger, apparently a famous burger spot in Queenstown. We each smashed some good burgs and had a Speights, a NZ classic beer. After our feed we went to pick up Berthadeez at Indi campers. Our home and trusty steed for the next 10 days!
Al with Berthadeez
Al with a firm grip on Berthadeez
Wānaka
Graham drove Ralph while Al and I drove Berthadeez through the Crown Range to Wānaka, stopping once at Lake Hayes for a stretch and a wee. Lol. Wānaka became one of my favorite places on the planet. Not only is it home to some of the most beautiful landscapes you’ll ever see, but also some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met! Thank you, Wānaka! 🙏 ❤️
We ate and drank beers at Rhyme and Reason, where we met Doody, a coworker and amazing friend of Graham’s, and Kim, Graham’s NZ lady friend.
Lake Hayes
After the meet and feed, we drove over to Glendhu Bay, where Graham and his lovely lady, Kim, have been staying for the past few months.
I got a bit buzzed and tried to play the guitar and sing. I’ve always known this, but it really showed that night: alcohol and playing the guitar do not mix for me. Haha! But everyone said it was nice the next day, so whatever! Lol. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Music and jokes all night with some great people—couldn’t ask for a better first night!
Lake Wānaka from Glendhu Bay
Oahu
We got to go skiing!! It was closing day for Oahu, which was such a treat. Graham’s boss, Pickles, lent us a board. We put Graham’s bindings on it, and it was a send! I skied with Jessy, a friend and coworker whom Graham holds very highly on his NZ friend list. I also got to meet Ahi, a dog that reminded me sooo much of Layla—a genuinely sweet soul and amazing old puppy!
Graham had busted his humorous a few weeks back (has 12 pins and a new titanium plate) so unfortunately he was unable to ski, but that didn’t stop him from anything else we did! what a champ and an absolute legend!
After skiing, we parked up and fired up the barbie, playing a little beersbie before settling in for the night next to Lake Oahu, where I was introduced to the sand flies. If you don’t know, sand flies are the worst bugs I’ve ever met. They put mosquitoes to shame. They don’t carry as many diseases, which is definitely better, but they bite WAY harder, and the bites last for weeks. Very itchy, sometimes painful, and so fucking annoying. There’s one complaint down for Al. Lol, but fuck those little fuckers!
Mount Cook
The next day I drove Berthadeez to a trail that had a good view of Aoraki, Mount Cook. We tramped Hooker Trail that day. In New Zealand hike is backpacking in the United States, where a tramp is a day hike in the US. Hooker trail was amazing! might have been the worst weather of the trip. and it was hardly sprinkling. New Zealand really provided on all levels for us! so amazing! Not much more to say we kinda did the Hooker and bailed. No pun intended.
After the hike Graham pulled out the guitar and played some of his own songs. He had a ballad, I won’t give anything away, but I was crying with laughter while he sung it! I only wish I had recorded it. Graham please play that again for me sometime soon!!
Tekapo
Lake Tekapo was a quick stop for us. We ripped a self served Zipline and crushed some bomb ramen.
“Somebody say Zipline!” – Graham
Makenzie District
Makenzie district was more of a pass through for us. But damn it was beautiful! Pulled over for a wee and the starts were out! I introduced the boys to the southern cross, spotted Venus and got a glimpse of the southern aura. Northern lights but in NZ? I thought I was high for a moment, the sky was lighting up in an ocean wave type of pattern. very hard to describe. Wild shit! Unfortunately I didn’t get photos. one for the memory bank.
We stopped at Chefffield’s pies (NZ’s best meat pies) enough said. We grabbed three pies to share and wow, that schist was bomb!!
Moments after stuffing face. Al, driving, asks Graham “what’s the speed limit” a second later, flashing lights… The cops here are nothing like the cops in the US. With zero ego we got the cops business card, a small fine, 120$ NZ dollars doing 116km/h in a 100 km/h zone and sent on our way. Never have I felt less intimidated by a police officer. Take notes American piggies, and chill out please.
side story: If you don’t know I was held at gun point as a young teenager, and told “if you don’t get on the fucking ground ill blow your fucking head off” by police in Gardnerville all just for toilet papering a teachers house and being out after curfew. The story makes my blood boil so we will leave that for another day. Goosfraba Johnny.
Christchurch
My memory slips here a bit… here but I believe we drove through Rakaia Gorge to Christchruch and to Banks Peninsula, one of the most beautiful coast lines ive ever seen! Glacier water meets ocean means for some of the prettiest blue water you will ever see! We dove down to a cove and went for a swim in the chilly water! It had been a few days without a shower so the swim was much needed! After we each took a quick but hot shower in Berthadeez to warm up. After feeling clean and rejuvenated we sat around and chilled for a bit. I played the guitar while the warm NZ sun cooked us a bit. A prefect way to spend our afternoon.
After chirstchrich we headed to Littleton for some margs we only stopped at the one spot. but it was a good one. Civil and Anal, at least that’s what Graham called it. lol had some Marg specials and went on our way to Sumner Beach. We grabbed the sunset and chilled on the beach before heading to South New Brighton, where we cooked up some shrimp fried rice in Berthadeez and slept. zzz
Amberly
The next morning we woke, met up with Doody and headed for a quick golf round of 9 holes. We got to the first coarse and it was closed for maintenance. But not worries, Doody knew of a coarse in Amberly right on the beach. To get there you literally drive down the beach a kilometer or so. Pretty amazing spot, and again we were the only ones there. It’s weird golfing such a beautiful coarse while nobody else is there. In the US you’re normally pressured from behind and waiting for people in front.We swung some clubs and pretended played some golf. Doody let us borrow his clubs, and Graham putted everyone in a while for us with one hand. Non of us were too great that day, other than Al, who golfed par or better every hole… or so he says. 😜
Cust
That night, after a round of golf, Doody offered us to stay at his parent’s House in Cust. What an absolute legend of a family. The hospitality was unmatched. Graham got an actual bed, the first one in months other than when he broke his arm, and slept in until 11 the next morning. We fired up the barbie and had some surf and turf burgers. crushed some beers and enjoyed the night at Mama and Papa Doody’s. The boys lite up a doobie, which surprisingly enough I turned down, but the Doody jokes were flowing! Pun intended.
Arthur’s Pass
Even after waking up late. We had a big day of driving and exploring ahead of us. We cleaned up Berthadeez. finally tossed out our trash, and vacuumed the broken sink glass cover. Ohhh yeah we broke the glass bit that closes the sink… whoops. Don’t worry we did way more damage to Berthadeez later in the story. stay tooned lol We said our goodbyes to Doody and Al Graham and I set off through Arthur’s Pass.
CASTLE HILL ROCKS – First stop was Castle Hill Rocks a super cool large bunch or weird looking rocks. We were told and most people believe that the LOTR series was filmed through there but I guess that’s not true; however the Chronicles of Narnia were filmed there, I don’t know to be honest. Either way another beautiful spot in New Zealand.
TEMPLE BASIN – Our next stop was a ski field called Temple Basin. Temple Basin is like no other ski resort of filed you’ve ever seen. You pull up to the access and drop your gear in the gear lift. Then you hike, not an easy hike either, takes about an hour and a half and heaps of elevation gain (not sure how much). when you finally arrive at the top and are tired your gear will be waiting for you near the cabins. You can stay at the cabins overnight if you wish it’s very much a hostel style accommodation. a common room, a kitchen, a bar or BYOB. There is no heat, the only reason for electricity is to run the gear lift and the rope tows. Not sure how they get hot water, but there is hot water. Now when you’re ready to ski there are no lifts. All rope tows, and not like the T-bars your probably used to. It’s literally just a rope. You get a nut cracker looking device and that’s it. I’ll do my best to explain how to use it. Strap both feel in and swing your back arm over the rope and hold on tight, as your moving you swing the nutcracker over the rope with your front hand and then use both hands to grab the end of it and lean back for a ride up. Hang on tight, and get your nut cracker in place as soon as possible because without it your fingers are going through the pulley system. Graham says its common for people to loose fingers or just mangle them up bad. If you can ride switch do it up because it’s a lot of back leg up and then down too! That being said good luck finding any kooks or gapers. This is a tricky rope tow epic Terran!!!
Hokitka
Hokitika. Grabbed the sunset, some Thai food, and went on our way, nuff said. Here’s some photos.
France Josef
We woke up with an alarm for the first time all trip so we could go on a Heli tour, and wow. I don’t know what else to say the photos speak for themselves. The tour took us on a look about mount cook France Josef’s Glacier and Middleton Glacier. It was my second time being in a helicopter and damn that schist was fun. (Find out later why I keep saying schist) The clouds started rolling in so it took the captain three attempts to land on the glacier. It felt pretty quick but It sure was a treat! Thanks graham for setting that one up for us all!
After the Heli tour we had another big day of driving ahead of us. We were headed to Fiordland. Now on the west coast of south NZ we headed south again. Our first stop was at Ship Creek. The sand flies were out of control. I think this was where I first got more than just a few, yes they still itch to today, damn I hate those little bastards. We also finally made a few calls/Face Time’s to our mothers. Then continued our way to Fiordland making one stop in Wānaka again to pick up Ralf so we could strategically pick him back up the next day to get ready to drop Al at the airport. No time to waste!
Wānaka – We stoped in Wanka to pick up Ralph and got to hang with Kim. She had set her new office up more, Bobbi. Bobbi is probably the most beautiful office I have ever seen in the world. Gosh dang I am jealous. Kim and I later discuss a lot about owning your own business and It was so motivational. and just what I needed to hear. I think I ll dig into this deeper on a later section.
Organic Matters – This is one of Kim’s company. It’s an organic sunscreen that is soon to make its way to the USA. I highly recommend it! Spread the word too!
We picked up Ralph and off we went. Al and I drove Berthadeez to and met Graham and Ralph in Queenstown. Graham jumped in with us again and off we went to Fiordland. we had another 4 hours to drive and it was already 10pm. I was extremely tired, so I ended up falling asleep in the bed in the back while graham drove.
Coming Soon…
Stay tooned for the rest of it.
Fiordland
At 1am I woke up from Berthadeez coming to a slow and rocking around. We must be off road and parked up for the night. Nope, we were stuck. We did make it to Hebrides Creek Campground, but the spot Graham knew of was taken and so were most others. Graham had navigated through an extremely narrow road with trees inches from both sides, but managed to get us stuck. I jumped out of the van and started putting sticks and logs under the wheels to gain traction. That’s also when we noticed how insanely bald the tires were. I’m pretty surprised Indie Campers rented it with those tires on it. Anyways after some work on our traction. I jumped in the drivers seat and punched it forward. In hindsight sight we should have tried to back up. But it looked like we would hit a tree if we did. I got us unstuck, and navigated forward to a road, through the tightest trees, I ended up scraping the canopy a little but nothing bad at all. We parked where it was flat and fell asleep.
The next morning Graham got behind the wheel again and we followed the road hoping for it to pop back on the Main Street. Nope, a dead end. Graham tried flipping us around. And we got stuck again. This time in sand and supper small loose rocks. We were really stuck this time. I probably dug out the tires for a whole hour, using the same method of shoving big logs under the wheels. The problem was every time we’d get on the logs they would break, because of how soggy they were. Everything was wet. While I dug, Graham went to the main road to get some help. In Fiordland on the weekends, there really wasn’t any chance of seeing anyone other than tourists who wouldn’t/couldn’t help. Graham was able to find service; however, and call a tow truck. After another 30 or minuta or so a kiwi tow truck driver arrived and was able to pull us out fairly quick and easy. The next part was by far the trickiest. We had to go back the way we came, where we got stuck the first time. Al insisted I drive this time. I got behind the wheel and started navigation the trees and mud. I was doing great until the wheels where just spinning in place again. The tow truck driver hooked up again for the assist. Pulling us at an angle, rather than going straight the rear of the car moved right and right into a tree… whoops. A little exterior damage no worries. We finally got moving straight and I got us through. After inspecting the damage. We realized our grey water outlet was completely smashed. We must have bottomed out. Ugh with the damage done we looked for a mechanic and plumber to help, but again on the weekends kiwis like to take the day off. No luck we’d have to rely on our insurance.
Milford Sound – Milford sound was the main reason we headed to Fiordland. After running late from all the excitement earlier that day. We ended up on one of the last tours of the day. We got super lucky, it had been raining for the last few days, which is exactly what you want, because it makes thousands of waterfalls all over the Fjords. And the sky was just opening up for the sun. We headed over to our boat to find out it was just us and maybe 6 other people on this massive craft. They must have lost money on that day, but we were stoked to have the boat to ourselves!! The tour was amazing. We had a few beers and enjoyed the amazing scenery and weather. Milford Sound might be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. The photos are great, but never do the justice it deserves.
Ohh yeah we saw Cody, the penguins from surfs up. The ones with the yellow eyebrows. I guess they are pretty rare to see so that was super cool!
Here’s a little trivia for you – Do you know what the difference between a fjord and a sound is?
A fjord is created by glaciers while a sound is created by large amounts of moving water! They may have gotten the name Milford Sound wrong when finding the place.
- tunnel
Al Leaves 🙁
Wānaka
- haircuts
- fixing Ralph
- epiphany
- Rob Roy glacier