Arrived in Queenstown, New Zealand

This was the last picture I took from the balcony of Hotel SO in Christchurch. It was a beautiful morning and you could see the full moon pretty clearly in the daylight. All airport stuff went just fine and my luggage passed it's weekly weigh in. It was actually the first flight where no one on the plane had to go through security (a law in New Zealand that says that any plane with under 99 passengers isn't required to have them go through the security check). We just checked our bags and walked to a side area....then when the plane pulled up, they took our boarding passes and we boarded. It was great. But I was told that law may be changing soon. Hopefully not for the next couple of weeks...





It was a beautiful flight into Queenstown. We got to see some pretty amazing views of the various lakes that flow through mountain areas. The Queenstown airport was kind of like Burbank airport, but when it was new...and quiet...and the mountains nearby could actually be seen clearly.



While waiting for the next plane to land (I was the only guy waiting at the time), the shuttle guy and I chatted for a few minutes. He said "Do you know who Peter Jackson is?" and I said "I sure do." and he said "Check this out..." and we walked around the side of the terminal and he pointed towards the back of it. "There is his Gulf Stream jet.".



It sure was purty. I guess he flies down here once in a while from Wellington (my next destination) and takes it out and about. So, that was pretty cool. Wouldn't find that tidbit on any of the travel brochures. A few more people showed up and off we went. The drive to the hotel was beautiful...it was a perfectly clear day and you could see one of the lakes as we headed into town.



All went well at the hotel (they upgraded me to a larger room, which was nice) and I was hoping that I'd be up high enough to see a bit of the lake/mountains that I saw as we drove up. I opened the door to my 3rd floor room and this is what I saw through the sliding glass doors at the other end...



Wow.

I dropped my luggage and immediately went out onto the balcony and took these pictures:





These mountains are called "The Remarkables" and, well...they pretty much are.

Until next time...

I can't believe that I started this blog twelve years ago, TODAY!

February 26th, 2008.

Time certainly does fly.

I started it mainly so I could post about my trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2008 and to try to keep in communication with friends along the way. I had forgotten that I was gone for almost two months on that journey.

That is the longest vacation I've ever taken.

I need to win the lotto so I can do another one sometime.

After that trip, I was so used to writing something every day, that I just decided to continue posting during the week, just to do something entertaining at least once a day.

I've really enjoyed doing it over the years and hope that anyone who came to visit enjoyed it too. All these years later, I think it's probably just a couple of my friends who pop in once in a while to check in, which I've always appreciated.



But, with Facebook now a part of most of our daily lives, posting updates on trips, life events, photos and the like seem to be easier to do there and more people probably see them.

So, after twelve years....I've decided to take a break from updating this blog.

It just seems like the right time.

If I ever pick it up in the future, I'll definitely let folks know on the Facebooks.

For those of you who have checked in, THANK YOU for taking the time to do it.



I reread the posts from that first big trip this week and they made me smile and laugh often, especially the comments that people made along the way.

You can read my first post here and, if you want to read them in order, just click on the Newer Post link on the left side of the bottom of each post.

I've chosen a few of my favorite posts during the trip and thought I'd link to them here, if anyone just wants some highlights and a smile:

Kathy Griffin on the flight to Australia
A screaming "Nana" and a couple that took me on an unexpected trip
When my old landlord, Frank, passed away during my trip
Meeting a lovely older woman in rain pants in New Zealand
The message from my suffering house plants back in California during my trip
The hang gliders in Queenstown, New Zealand
The mountains of New Zealand
Taking a steamer
A trip through a Fjord
Queenstown pics
Wellington 
Meeting Ruth
What the world thinks of the United States
My trip to Hobbiton
The creepy dolls of New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand
The island of Rarotonga
Island People
My last day of the trip
First Trip to Florence, Italy
Trip to Berlin, Germany
My hometown of Tipp City, Ohio



You can also access any post from any year by clicking on the year listed on the upper right side of any page and it'll open links to each month, which opens links to each post during that month.

Well, thanks again to anyone who followed along over the years. I wish you all the best and I do still believe that life really is too short to go to bed early.

Enjoy it.

Ken

Out and about

How dare these clouds attempt to block my view! Selfish naturally occurring bastards! Actually, this was what I saw outside my balcony when I woke up and I thought they looked pretty cool against the mountains….hence, the picture.

Today was my first full day in Queenstown. It’s really a pretty amazing place. I imagine it’s a lot like other ski resorts around the world (I’ve never been to one), so I can see why people might want to visit places like this once in a while. Wherever you look, there is something beautiful staring right back at you. It’s so green and fresh looking…like this mysterious village that has suddenly appeared from another world.







There are a variety of clothing and ski stores, bars and restaurants and gambling, of course.



There is a nice park by the water where people just hang out/chat/nap (the guy with the socks didn’t move the entire time I was there…I should have poked him with a stick).



There’s a beach area off the center of town for people and critters to splash around in…





Along with a variety of water-themed activities available for anyone who has a few dollars to throw at the various vendors all around.





Last night I walked around town, wondering where to go and what to do. That is one of the challenging things about traveling alone…you don’t know anyone when you get somewhere, so you either force yourself to go into a place and make conversation or you end up wandering around aimlessly feeling like some kind of stalker lurking in the shadows.



I went into one of the many bars and got into a conversation with James, a guy from England. He lives in a town about 2 hours away from London (although I told him that most of us just assume that London IS England and that he will just be from London to me) and has been traveling around since September. He is close to the end of his journey, likely ending with one last stop in New York for a few days before heading back to England in a couple weeks. He’s a really nice guy with a fun sense of humor and he had been drinking since around 1:00 yesterday afternoon (and I met him around 9:00 pm). So we ended up continuing that tradition until almost 3:30 am last night/this morning.



Today was his 25th birthday and, to celebrate it…he bungie jumped off of a nearby bridge. I met him for lunch (well, onion rings, chicken tenders and springrolls…and several beers) after his jump, which, from what he said, went really well. Although he was a bit hungover before his noon leap of faith, he came out of it alive and intact, there was no hurling or heekering, and his drawers were still dry…so that’s always a good thing.



We spent a bit of time chatting with the bartender, a pretty girl from Canada who has now been away from home traveling, working, studying for 17 months. She was really nice, funny and seemed to be enjoying her time here in Queenstown.

There are so many people here who travel/work their way around the world for weeks, months and, in some cases, years. Many of them start out just traveling a month or so (since, in many countries, the standard holiday allocation is 4-6 weeks a year) and then end up working for a while in several of their destinations (starting pay is around $15-$19/hour for many of the most basic jobs). For those of us in the states, the idea of having more than one or two weeks off a year is a miracle by itself, but to have 4-6 weeks and actually be expected to take it…well, welcome to “Fantasy Island”!



Two Irish girls I met on the train from Arthurs Pass had been traveling since October and still had a few more months to go, before deciding if they were going to extend their travels a bit longer. I spoke to a guy from Belgium who started out traveling for 6 months, which then extended to 2 ½ years…and he had no plan to stop yet (he was working for a month in Arthurs Pass to save some money to continue his trip). James and I met/hung out with a guy from Ireland tonight who has been traveling for the past couple months and is planning to head back up to Australia (after going to Thailand for two months) and work there for a while.

If money wasn’t an object, I’d likely travel for at least a year or more. It’s really an amazing experience to be completely away from everything that you are familiar with and just immerse yourself into a completely new country, environment, and mix of people. If you haven’t done it before (and you actually enjoy traveling or need to get out of a rut), I highly recommend it. It can be life changing…



Something else I’ve found interesting…tipping in restaurants and bars is not expected, which has taken me a while to get used to. I have had a few different people rush over to me after getting a drink and handing me back the $1 coin I left saying “Oh, you left your change on the counter!” and even had a couple of bartenders say the same thing. Isn’t that funny?

That happens in the states all the time....

Last day with the Queen and her town

Today is my last day in Queenstown and, as far as scenery goes...this city has certainly been the most beautiful, so far. It was kind of an overcast day, so I went into town, ran some errands, got a Dulce de Leche frappacino from the internet-charging-Starbucks-bastards and then just wandered about town for a bit. I found the local Queenstown Gardens and took a little stroll around. It was more like a park with some flowers, but it looked out over the lake and made for a nice walk.



I enjoy a nice lobelia border...



It was one of those days for me too...



Every town seems to have a lovely little bridge over not-so-troubled water.



Just an interesting looking tree along the shore...



Then a nice trail down from the park/gardens to the lake and back around to the city

I found a bar that had free internet access, so went back to the hotel, got my laptop and headed back down into town to do some research on Rarotonga (I've decided to go there before heading back to LA). Then, back up here to the hotel to wrap some stuff up, repack (always "fun") and get ready to fly off to Wellington tomorrow morning.



I've told the front desk of this hotel, from the beginning (and several times this week), that they didn't need to clean my room (since I don't really need it and didn't want people going through my room) and that I'd ask for more towels/supplies if I needed them. So, I leave each day, with the "Do not disturb" sign on the door and, each day, without fail...there is a bag hanging on my door handle with towels/shampoo and such. So, I bring them in and set each one off to the side...and there they sit.

Hilarious.

And, I find it interesting that, with a name like this...



And stores with names like these....








That there is not one gay bar or restaurant in this town. These people helped me look too...



But, they couldn't see one from where they were sitting either.

Oh well, the town has got to have at least one fault, for God sakes.

Hanging with the interbots

When I woke up, that was the view from the balcony.

It was also sprinkling a little, which usually means "Thar's a storm a' brewin'!". So, I decided it was a good day to just take my laptop into town and do some research, hopefully for free. See, almost every hotel in Queenstown (and most other New Zealand cities) charges to use the internet (my hotel charges $20/3 hours) and the internet cafes charge anywhere from $4-$7 hour...it's maddening. I was so spoiled at the Hotel SO with its free internet and mood lighting.

I immediately went to the local Starbucks, remembering that they seemed to have kids using the interbots all the time and, as I recalled, it was free. It turns out that, at least here, they charge $10/hour to use the internet. Greedy corporate bastards with great tasting Dulce de Leche frappacinos! I immediately left, frapp-free (well, no coffee anyway) and wandered around town looking for free internet access. I found one private coffee house that gave you an hour of free internet if you bought something/anything. So, I had a sandwich and their carmel frappacino (2 free hours!) and worked online there, then wandered around the wee city for a bit.



Can you believe that a hotel named "Amity" has vacancies? I didn't see blood dripping down the walls or Margot Kidder looking for her "teefs" in the bushes , but I did pick up my pace a bit.



This place wasn't far from Amity, but I opted not to try the "Satan Lovers" combo (comes with raw meat, meal worms and is slathered in "Eternal Hellfire" hot sauce). They should work with Amity and relocate to a dark Hellmouth near the outskirts of town, don't you think?



After passing those two places, I figured it wouldn't hurt me to spend a few minutes on hallowed ground, just to keep any lingering demons at bay. Speaking of bay...



I noticed a giant sailboat near the beach and watched as the kids on board were furiously spinning the steering wheel of their craft, causing it to lean dangerously close to one side. I was certain that I'd have to get ready to jump into the water and start pulling bodies out, but they righted themselves a bit later and continued on their way. It's just as well, it's not like I'd really just leave my backpack with computer on the beach, as well as having to empty my "purse pants" (something in every pocket) to dive into the cold water just to save a few rich kids who can't steer a boat. But, I would take graphic pictures and video of the accident and try to make some money from their tragedy....THAT'S the American way!



Besides, I'm sure that this gentleman and his trusty horned animal-friend would suddenly come to life, he'd say a few words like "Get thy wollen buttucks and curly horns into the water and save those children, Pinkerton!" and then a dramatic rescue would occur (which I'd also get on video and try to make money from). It happens in the movies all the time...so I have to believe that it is possible.

I'm also trying to figure out whether to go to Fiji (of "Blue Lagoon" fame) or Rarotonga (part of the Cook Islands) before I head into LA. Each have their pluses and minuses, but it's only about $130 for me to change my flight and stop at one of them on the way back. So, I spent a couple hours in the Air New Zealand local office to discuss my flight options (and getting their first-hand reviews of each, which was helpful) and will likely decide what I'm gonna do in the next few days.

So, I left there and have now spent the last 3 hours or so at one of the cheaper internet cafes ($3/hour) doing more island research and, of course, this blog.

I'm hungry too.

Hmmm...maybe I'll just download some snacks, upload my blog, then unload my ass from this chair and get out of this virtual island of misfit geeks...

What a scathingly brilliant idea!

Ain't no mountain high enough

And I thought the view from my hotel balcony was nice...check out the view from Liz's living room.

Liz had the misfortune of sitting next to me on the flight from Melbourne to ChristChurch a couple of weeks ago. "Misfortune", in the sense of, she told me that she lived in Queenstown and that, when I got there, I should contact her. I'm sure she was just being polite and must have thought/hoped that this chatty American would forget or lose her contact info. But, I didn't...



It's funny, when I called her a couple days ago, I heard something in the background and asked her if she had one of those soothing "Sounds of Nature" CDs on and she laughed and said "No, it's just a bird..I have the sounds of nature actually here.". After she picked me up today to join her on her regular hike up into a nearby mountain, we stopped by her home for a second and I got to see where she lives. The pictures above and below show the view that she has from her house...can you believe it? Unobstructed views of another part of the lake and several mountain ranges.





And that's just the front yard. This is her view in the backyard...



Maggie...I think I found your dream house (we've just gotta get Liz to donate it to us).

It was just so beautiful there that I told Liz, even if we didn't do anything else, it would have been just fine to sit and stare at the lake and mountains. But, she still wanted to go hike and, she's no monkey...I'd get me out of her house too. So, off we went, first stopping at a secret "Lord of the Rings" site that isn't on any of the overpriced tours they give here. Peter Jackson bought this particular parsel of land and restricted it...but, Liz knew the one lane that could access it. So, we drove up this long, windy hill into a grove of trees and here it is...



Nice....hill. Liz laughed and said that this is what most of the tours do...take people to little areas that pretty much look like this and say "'This is where the blah blah blah happened or was shot", but there is no set piece or marker there to show the "before". Just an area of land, your imagination and your credit card charge. This particular area had a large columned stone (faux stone) castle on it (from the first movie) and, if you scratch a bit below the dirt in places, you can find wee bits of the dusty foam remnants. I'm glad I didn't pay the honkin' price for one of those tours...



So, we got to the base of the mountain, parked the car, and headed up the nearby trail. This was no sissy-hike, it was a steep, windy hike and I "let" Liz lead for a couple of reasons. One, because she knew where we were going (she hikes/runs this about 3 times a week) and, Two, because I didn't want her to hear the sound of my heart bursting, which I was certain it was going to do at several points during the hike. It was probably good for her, because it shut me up for a bit so she could enjoy the serene setting. But, I actually did a pretty good job of keeping up with her and she showed me a variety of really cool, hidden areas....like this water fall and swimming hole that some people use in the summer to cool down.





Then we wandered up further and she showed me this natural tunnel in the middle of one part of the mountain.



I took my picture and was ready to get back on the trail, when she said "No, we're going through it.", which we did. Not a bug, spider or snake to be found...which is one of the many reasons I enjoy New Zealand. I haven't seen one spider or large bug since I've been here...just a few sand flies, which is something I can deal with. It was like walking through Jurassic Park, but without the dinosaurs, danger or Jeff Goldblum.



We hiked even higher and, before my head had a chance to explode from the lack of oxygen, we came across Sammy Summer's cabin (or Jamie Summers cabin...some summer's cabin). It used to be where an old prospector lived back in the 1800's (there's still some gold in these here hills). So, it's kept up and, somewhat maintained, for people to check out if they survive the climb.



There is even a guest book on the desk that people sign, which is pretty fun. Liz had a group of friends who, when filling out what their destination was, put "Liz's house for dinner" as a joke. Well, a few other random hikers over the next couple of months saw that and also put "Liz's house for dinner" too. So, of course, I put "Liz's house for lunch". Gotta continue the tradition.



We hiked even higher and came across another natural water fall and, sometime, swimming hole down below. I didn't swim, but it was beautiful to see, as everything else was on this hike. So many interesting things to see along the way. Like this huge, twisted tree that looked like where the Keebler elves might live...



This interesting rock sculpture that someone had created.



Liz said she notices them randomly appearing along the trails now and then. I told her it reminded me of the "Blair Witch Project" markers, but, thankfully, without the chicken bones or blood. Then, Liz said that we had one more nice lookout just up the trail and, "nice" was putting it mildly....



Who needs a silly "Lord of the Rings" tour when you get to see scenery like this? Thankfully, we had reached the top of the hike and finally headed back down the mountain, with me snapping pictures of the cool scenery that just seemed to continue appearing around each corner.







Before we hit the bottom of the mountain, I saw this house on a nearby hill...I bet they have a nice view.



Maggie...I'll see if I can get you this house instead. Liz is kind of attached to hers, as you can imagine.

We made it to the bottom and stopped on the bridge, chatting with an unusual local man who was talking about heading up into the mountain to pan for a little gold (and he was serious). Of course, now that I write about that, it occurs to me that maybe we saw the ghost of that Sammy Jamie Summers guy from up in the hill. Insert "Twilight Zone" music here....

We got back to Liz's, picked and ate a couple apples from one of her trees, and headed back into town. I'm so glad that she was kind enough to bring me along and show me the sights along the way. People pay big bucks to see the kind of scenery we saw today, for free. Maybe I'll come back here and give guided tours. Well...after they install a gondola and/or escalator up to the top, of course.



Before leaving, I had to take one last picture of her house, from the back yard this time.

Would you ever leave your house if you saw this kind of view every day?

I don't think I would.