Kia ora & Ka pai
Hi friends. And family. Hi mom.
This is our first check in, and the first installment of Hello & Thank You. We haven’t ironed out all the kinks on this thing yet, so send us feedback. We’re not sensitive.
Pete is. But send it anyway.
For now, this is what we’re planning:
To tell you about the places we’ve been, show you what it looks like, and write down how it’s made us feel.
Hello & Thank You was born from the idea that in each country we visit, we want to learn how to say at least those two things. It’s a miracle that we get to visit so many weird corners of the earth - it’s even a miracle that we’re all here - so expressing gratitude there, and being able to greet the people we meet, feels like the bare minimum. “Hello” and “thank you.”
Thanks for reading, we miss you guys.
Where we are: New Zealand
How long we’ll be here: 3.5 weeks
Hello: Kia ora (Maori)
Thank you: Ka pai
Where we’re going next: Nepal
There was a moment when we were sitting outside a coffee shop in Queenstown. We’d been there a few days. Meredith asked after awhile, “What should we do now?”
I’m inclined to answer those kinds of questions. I like knowing and planning.
But we sat there and didn’t answer it. We kept drinking coffee. I wrote in a journal. She sipped her flat white and watched an older guy with a sheepdog that barks along to Steve Miller Band songs play “The Joker.” We didn’t leave for another hour or so.
It’s strange to think we’re not on vacation. That this is our life for a long bit. To go through the exercise of realizing something you’ve anticipated, and planned for, and saved for, and wanted to try most of your adult life.
What do you do then? How do you make a version of yourself that’s good at doing something other than the thing you’ve been good at doing for the last 15 years. We’re all fond of rhythm.
Most of the fun we’ve had so far wasn’t planned. And it was, for the most part, free. New Zealand is a mind-bogglingly expensive country, but the best of what they have to offer doesn’t cost a dime. It’s the fiords and national parks. The hector dolphins that will swim with you on deserted coastlines. The 6:1 ratio of sheep to people. The herder that will take you into a field and show off how his dog can herd sheep faster than the dog in the farm next door.
Recently, Meredith and I have been staying in hostels and picking up hitchhikers along the road. So we chat with people from all over. Mostly Germany and the UK, strangely.
We’ve noticed that when they talk about their travels, they often say, “I’m only here for 4 weeks, it’s just a holiday.” They say it almost apologetically, like 4 weeks isn’t enough time to understand a small sliver of a country in the South Pacific.
We’ve never taken a 4-week vacation in our lives. We can’t name one person who has. That’s more American than we thought.
The other day we met a hitchhiker from the UK. Tentatively, as we drank wine with her later that night, we started to pry about Brexit and Trump and the populist fervor that seems to be sweeping through not just the States but abroad.
Fear of those we don’t know from places we don’t know is gripping one half of our country - and many parts of the world - just as we travel to places we don’t know and meet people we don’t know.
Most of all we’re feeling grateful for the chance to do this. That’s what has overcome us. We take deep breaths - even during the hard times when Meredith’s farted on me in her sleep in the hostel bed we can barely afford, or I’ve blamed her for losing the keys that are definitely sitting in the top of my bag - and even then we realize how lucky we are.
A straightforward breakdown on where we’ve been. With pictures. In case you plan on going.
Queenstown:
The adrenaline capital of the country. Lots of young backpackers staying in $12 hostels and spending $350 to be dropped on a bungie cord into a giant gorge just to post the whole thing to Snapchat.
Not that you should skip it. The place is gorgeous and manageable. You can have oysters and sauvignon blanc on a deck overlooking fjords and a bustling lake. There's a 45-minute line for something called a Fergberger, a professional frisbee golf course in a beautiful park on the water, and coffee shops galore. Alcoholic beverages are 3 billion US dollars.
Mount Aspiring / Fiordland
The reason you come to Queenstown is to drink wine and sleep in a bed before hiking through the set of Lord of the Rings in the incredible national parks nearby.
There are two major tracks in the area - the Milford Track and the Routeburn. They’re both incredible 3-4 day journeys through national parks that are as geologically and biologically diverse as you can hope to find on earth. Each night along the track you’ll stay in a well-run hut that has a fire, common areas, kitchens and bunk houses.
Don’t miss a trek. Do any of them. They’re all great. Just book them months in advance, because Reese Witherspoon comes here all the time or something and they book out 6-months ahead.
Bluff
We went as far south as you can go in New Zealand for two things: to cage dive for Great White sharks, and to visit a strange little place called Stewart Island.
Well, the sharks didn’t show up the day we went out. And the Stewart Island ferry was booked up by old people going bird watching. So not a huge win. Beyond that, you’re in a sleepy, industrial part of the country no one ever visits. Which we thought was cool. But you know, well, Scranton.
Glenorchy
This is a hidden gem just outside of Queenstown. 45 minutes by car and what feels like a world away. A tiny little spot with nothing but farms, outfitters for horseback riding, a few nice restaurants and 37 places to take postcard pictures. Go, go, go.
Wanaka
There’s a lake that’s pretty. Trails. Adrenaline things. It’s like Diet Queenstown.
West Coast
Most people come here to take a helicopter to the top of Franz Josef Glacier. We were two of those people. Except the tour was canceled. Twice. Instead, we drove up and down the west coast on some of the most beautiful roads in the country. We swam with dolphins we saw from the highway. We had the best fish and chips of our lives. We hiked to a penguin sanctuary. We ate a Kiwi delicacy called whitebait. There is untouched greatness out here.
Most people come here to take a helicopter to the top of Franz Josef Glacier. We were two of those people. Except the tour was canceled. Twice. Instead, we drove up and down the west coast on some of the most beautiful roads in the country. We swam with dolphins we saw from the highway. We had the best fish and chips of our lives. We hiked to a penguin sanctuary. We ate a Kiwi delicacy called whitebait. There is untouched greatness out here.
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That's it for now. We love that you’re reading. Write us with suggestions or comments about what you’d change or like to see more of.
Next (shorter) edition to come at the end of New Zealand, in a week or so.
Hugs. Big long weird ones.
Pete & Mere
