“The journey is my home.”
– Muriel Rukeyser
February 26th 2020 I had officially been travelling for three years straight. My “Round the World Adventure” was drawing to a close and even though I was incredibly happy (and a little proud) that I managed my stated goal of travelling full time for three years, the nostalgia was setting in… I don’t like it when things are drawing to a close, I don’t like it when things end…
“Every day of the year where the water is 76, day and night, and the waves roll high, I take my sled, without runners, and coast down the face of the big waves that roll in at Waikiki.”
– Duke Kahanamoku
I had originally planned on island hopping from Australia to Chile going by New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, etc etc, but when I got to Fiji I just wasn’t feeling it anymore. I was just going through the motions and not really enjoying myself. I felt like I was just going places so that I can check them off my list and that’s not how I wanted to travel. So I sat down and tried to figure out what I WANTED to do and Honolulu immediately came into my mind. The pull of staying there for a elongated period of time was so immense I decided to see what I could get for the amount of money I had originally allocated to island hopping.
“People here always said to me, ‘Why would you leave civilization to go to a place like Fiji?’ Fiji is a far more civilized place than California or New York City.”
– Raymond Burr
There’s so much cool stuff in the world. On the tiny island of Likoma, Malawi I found St. Peter’s Cathedral, a large Anglican church built by stones imported by many different countries. And on Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji I found Sri Siva Subramaniya, the largest Hindu temple in the Pacific.
“Tourists see the world… Travellers experience it…“
– Some people travelling that took themselves way too seriously
Not gonna lie, I was getting a bit “everythinged out” and tired at this point…
“Pic N’ga… A random spot 262 meter above the ocean on a tiny island I’ve never heard of is TOTALLY a destination for my trip.” – Me
Some time in 2015/2016 I was sitting with a huge printout of the map of the world in front of me and Google Maps open on my computer. I was looking for places that would become “must sees”. Continue reading
“New Zealand is not a small country but a large village.”
– Peter Jackson
In 2014 I had my first tattoo done in Queenstown. I like things going full circle, or maybe just being connected, whatever, so I decided that the tattoo I have been thinking of getting for years now would be a great memory of this time around in Qtown. Continue reading
“TSS Earnslaw was launched in the same year as the Titanic with vastly better results.” – Crew of TSS Earnslaw
I am running out of things to do for the very first time in Queenstown. I consider that an achievement. I found this old steamboat from 1912 though, that choochoos across Lake Wakatipu… Continue reading
“Whenever I get stressed I just want to hop on a plane to Queenstown”
– John Travolta
And just like that I was back in my favourite place in New Zealand: Queenstown. The extreme sports mecca of the world. The place that is just small enough to be incredibly cosy, but just busy enough to satisfy my need for human observation and interaction. Continue reading
“There’s a real purity in New Zealand… It’s actually not an easy thing to find in our world anymore.” – Elijah Wood
Ah, Wellington… When first I saw you in 2010 I thought you were boring, just another city and nothing in comparison to the beautiful scenery Andreas and I had witnessed driving down all the way from Auckland… In fairness, I was driving as we arrived and got a bit stressed by the sudden increase in traffic, lanes and general “busyness”. Continue reading
“I gotta say, God really outdid himself down here.” – Bob Harper
New Zealand. My favourite country to visit. I thought for a bright second that I would save my budget and skip New Zealand so I could spend the money on a country I hadn’t already visited… Twice. But then I came to my senses. Like I’m -ever- going to skip New Zealand, especially when I’m already in those parts of the world. What a facepalm thought.
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