Back to life as a pikey

Welcome to my first blog from the road, again. We have finally left Qtown, our home for the last 7 months. To say it was hard to leave is a huge understatement of epic proportions on my part. Kate was a little bothered but I near enough had to be dragged from Qtown kicking and screaming, trying desperately to hang onto anything I could as I was, lamp posts, walls, trees and even old ladies. It was a very emotional last few days for me there for a number of reasons. It is the first real place that has felt like home since we left. Partly because we actually settled into a really nice house and got into the routine of getting jobs, then working those jobs and making friends, then socialising with those friends. It was also because so far, I have not seen a more beautiful place than central Otago (the area around Qtown). Yes white sandy beaches and palm trees are amazing but living with the whitest person in the world kind of hinders your options when you are deciding on settling in a place. If we had chosen a coastal paradise in the sun then Kate would have melted like a vampire! That or I would have to put up with her constant moaning about sunburn and the daily routine of applying suntan lotion for an hour before venturing out into the light. No, we are both not beach people. We do enjoy a occasional trip to the seaside and a walk along the beach at sunset but Qtown was perfect for us as it was in the mountains, had snow, had a huge picturesque lake and lots of places to get drunk in. It was also an amazing place to meet people and make friends. I had always reckoned that it would be great working with people with a common interest (snow) for 5 months and I made lots of friends through work but it seems that the TRUE friendships have blossomed since the season finished. I will miss my friends so much. I know that one of the perils of travelling is that you meet lots of interesting people but due to the nature of not settling anywhere for a great deal of time, you will also lose contact with a lot of interesting people. I found it so easy to meet people and make friends in Qtown. It was like shooting fish in a barrel at times but like I said, the true friends are the ones I will miss. They were the hardest to say goodbye to and they are the ones I will try my hardest to stay in touch with.

After we finally moved out of Greenstone terrace, or Greenstone graveyard as it had become, we moved back into the campsite where we got our first taste of Qtown. It was a weird old feeling being back in the van but it wasn’t long before I was cracking my head of everything again in Biff and swearing loudly at myself. It was awesome though to be in the middle of town again. It meant we had no excuses to not go out and enjoy the last few nights in town. We also got the guys together for one last game of golf out in Frankton. There were 7 of us and I finally managed to get my game together, shooting level par. Not bad when you look at the state of the hire clubs they give you. I was very pleased with myself and thought what a way to sign off from playing golf with the crowd.

We played a few poker games too but to be honest I was just keen to say my goodbyes as I wanted to leave Qtown poker on the high I have felt from winning and playing well in the last few weeks. My last night at Surreal I even decided not to play. I just wanted to hang out with my friends who I had dragged along to Surreal for the cheap booze. So I watched Kate play for a bit before sitting with the guys and messing about. God I am really going to miss that lot. Kate has made friends but she prefers to hang out with my crowd. When I asked her why, she said that my lot are just a lot more fun. It’s true. There is always something going on and we all seem to feed off each other. We have had some pretty crazy nights. For me the best times we had together were a few weeks before the season finished. Everyone was going out. Trying to make the most of the season before most people departed and went their separate ways. We were all still working together though and because the season was now so dead, we were spending lots of time together at work too. I really enjoyed my ride breaks with Dicks, Rich and Kate. I think I rode more of the mountain in those ride breaks than I had in previous weeks. My last ever ride break with those guys is a highlight for me too as we headed off piste and hit a few jumps. Man, I already miss working at Coronet so much too.

What also made it so hard for me to leave is because the guys were all planning their summers together. Looking for jobs and houses. Man, Qtown is going to be so crazy this summer! I am gutted I will miss it and all the new adventures the guys will have. I just have to focus on my own future though and all the adventures I will have and all the new people I will meet. I love you though guys and I am always just a facebook wall away.

So we have left Qtown, and no matter how many times I have suggested heading back to Kate, she is determined we push forward. So after we left we made our way to Te Anau. It is the gateway to the Fjordland National park, which is the largest national park in NZ, but looks a bit like a tiny version of Milton Keynes. Yes, it has the second largest lake in NZ as a backdrop but the buildings on the main street reminded me of the 70’s styling of Milton Keynes. Very odd. We got there and booked ourselves onto a Milford sound cruise. We had one booked for last week from Qtown but went out drinking with the guys the night before and didn’t get in ‘til 3.30am and sort of missed the 6.45am bus. We woke up at 6am, still drunk and decided to sleep instead of get up and endure a 5 hour bus trip with a monster hangover. It was super cheap from Te Anau anyway but still a 2-hour bus ride to get to Milford. The boat trip was good and we got some awesome pics but to be brutally honest, it was no way as big or impressive as the Doubtful sound, which we visited a few months ago. It was smaller and busier than doubtful and we still didn’t see any dolphins or penguins.

From Te Anau we have made our way along the southern scenic highway to Invercargill. Now Invercargill has a few nicknames amongst Kiwis. They call it the "Friendly city" or ‘Vegas’ (as in Las Vegas) but after my first impressions I think they should call it "Invercargill: home of the chav!" Over here they call it being ‘bogan’ but it is all the same thing. Teenage girls dripping in cheap jewellery with fags hanging out of their mouths pushing around prams and guys all wearing cheap track suits sporting hideous mullets! Holy crap it is rough as. Needless to say, the only real reason to go to Invercargill for us was to finally get a burger king! They have been teasing us for months in Qtown with the prospective opening of a BK in Frankton but it has been delayed and before we left it still looked a few weeks away. All season though I have been jones-ing (craving) a burger king. It wasn’t just me either. Billy once contemplated the 6-hour round trip to Invercargill just to get a whopper! For me it has been the constant commercials for the ‘outlaw’ burger. It’s a sort of whopper with bacon and onion rings. Had one today and it did not disappoint. So after a quick burger and a trip to the supermarket to stock up on a few things we decided to head out of town to Bluff. It is the southernmost town in NZ and world-renowned for it’s oysters. We drove to Stirling point near the old lighthouse where they have one of those signposts with loads of points of interest on it like "New York – 15000 km." After a quick look around and a few pictures It suddenly dawned on me that I am at the furthest point away from home I will probably ever be, 18958 km away! That’s over 11780 miles! In a heartbeat I felt probably as lonely and as isolated as I have ever been. Once when I was travelling in Seattle it dawned on me how far away I was from everyone I loved and it nearly made me puke! I guess I have become a bit blasé about just how far away I am from home. Maybe I have just gotten used to the idea but I think it’s more that I try desperately to not think about it. I think that I would spiral into the doldrums if I were to focus on it. In a way it is exciting to be so far away from home but what with all that’s happening there right now, I feel very distant in more ways than one.

Like I said earlier though I just have to focus on all the cool shit we will be getting up to in the coming months. So, Qtown massive, I will miss you guys so much. Dicks I hope you get your life back on track and finally get your revenge fuck. I love you too bro. Don’t tell anyone but I will miss you the most! Rich, I hope you also find some special girl who blows your mind as well as your scrotal zone, and that she isn’t a potential housemate. Anna, I am sorry you never got to shave my head but hopefully a song will suffice. Talis, you are right. You are an immature prick at times but I wouldn’t have it any other way. JC, you are by far the coolest religious leader I have met! Stay away from Jews. Muzal tov bee-atch! Laura, I will miss your muff muffs and your devious poker ways. Carlos, I hope you keep getting fuck drunk, hee hee. Mikey, come on now, enough is enough – livers need love too. Billy, fly! Teebar, I hope I haven’t put you off childbirth forever. Scott, I hope you never have to wake up to Will wanking ever again! Andrew, we need to work on this "no shots!" policy. Shauny, thank you for letting me make a name for myself in poker. K dog, let me know how those paintings of my pics turn out and that your mum will love them. Until next time.

Peace

D

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