Over the past two months, I have travelled from the very top of New Zealand’s North Island all the way down to Queenstown in the South. Over the past two months I have experienced probably every emotion under the sun while adjusting to life as a solo backpacker. I have done things I didn’t think I could and things I never thought I would. I have spent plenty of money, I have eaten plenty of really good food, I have stayed in a lot of very average hostels, and I have met some pretty special people. To recount it all would both be very time consuming and very boring. So, this list is what I think is the best way I can show to you just what New Zealand means to me. Here I my list of things I didn’t know until I travelled New Zealand.
1. What it is like to be a backpacker
I remember the first time I carried my bag on my back in Auckland. A ten-minute walk that turned into a twenty-minute trek thanks to the extra twenty kilos tearing at my shoulders. Well, maybe that is my fault for overpacking, but these are the lessons each backpacker must live through to learn from. When you are sitting in the comfort of your own room at home, the idea of a life where you are constantly travelling and sharing basically every part of your life with almost strangers sounds daunting – well, it certainly did for me. I have encountered snoring, horrible smells, never ending alarms, filthy kitchens, unpleasant bathrooms and cold showers – but – I wouldn’t change anything.
After the first few weeks, I found my groove of packing and sleeping and showering and cooking in different places surrounded by different people. Now that I have had this experience, I genuinely don’t think any way of travelling could beat backpacking. Hostels are where you meet people and the people you meet are the heart and soul of solo travelling. I realised this the night of my 20th birthday when I was surprised with a homemade cake and a bottle of champagne by wonderful group of people I had only met the night before. It’s so exciting that any brief interaction could lead to an epic night out, a spontaneous wilderness adventure; maybe just a wholesome dinner conversation or maybe a life-long friend. In what other scenario could you meet someone new and within hours not be able to imagine your life without them?
To say I have loved every single second of this trip would put to shame what it means to be a backpacker – it is anything but glamorous – but as I sit here and reminisce on all the new adventures and people in my life, I have to ask, how could it not be worth it?
2. The grandeur of her majesty Aotearoa
All you have to do to see a glimpse of what New Zealand has to offer is watch a few minutes of Lord of the Rings. I assumed when I was booking my trip that any country picked as the setting for a fantasy world would probably be one of the most beauty countries ever. I found, as I made my way to the south island of New Zealand, that this assumption became a solid fact. I was happiest walking through the trees by the ocean. Standing on the top of a mountain overlooking a perfectly blue lake. Sitting in the rain in the forest knowing that any roads or cities were hours away. Constantly feeling at peace and comforted in the company of natural landscape that feels truly soulful. Magical. I now completely understand what Peter Jackson was doing when he picked his filming location.
New Zealand does have cities, but they don’t really feel like cities. They feel like glorified townships. There isn’t much to see or do and everyone knows it. I like to think this is New Zealand’s way of reminding people that the land speaks for itself, therefore, there is no need for man-made input to amplify New Zealand’s notability. Kiwis simply pay homage and the utmost respect to the land, Aotearoa. In a way, all roads lead out of city. Weekends mainly consist of hiking and camping and other outdoor activities. And in a place as beautiful as New Zealand, why would you want it any other way.
3. Hikers high
In a country abundant in tall mountains offering one-of-a-kind views, it’s no wonder that people are climbing them all the time. I was used to bushwalks and other predominantly horizontal walking trails back home, so I was never against hiking, I had simply opted for other activities in New Zealand. This was until I hopped off the tour bus in Wanaka and met Levi, a Dutchman, who disembarked at the same location.
Wanaka is home to the Roys peak track, a hike I had heard was fairly easy and a must do. Lucky for my unorganised self, Levi had planned on making the hike with his Dutch friend, Joost, and offered for me to join. Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I agreed to meet the two guys in town at half past three the following morning. I am NOT in any shape or form a morning person and to wake up early or before a solid eight hours of sleep I consider a form of torcher. But, on the particular Monday which I hiked Roy’s peak at dawn, the 3:00am wake up ended up being one of the easiest parts of the day.
I was already gasping for air and insisting on breaks ten minutes in. At an hour, the incline still had not varied from what felt like a vertical slope. At two hours, the end was in sight, but I just wanted the pain to end. Finally, after three hours, I made my final shaky steps to make it to the summit of Roys Peak. This is when I discovered the meaning of hikers high.
Watching from above the clouds as dawn broke over the beautiful little town of Wanaka made every second of struggle up that hill worth it. I was on top of the world physically and emotionally and the genuine serenity of the experience is completely unforgettable.
Hikers’ high is more than walking to the summit of a mountain. It’s about going the whole way even though ten minutes in you wanted to quit. It’s about finding the greatest experiences when you seek things outside your comfort zone. I didn’t know I could do these things before; I didn’t know what a hiker’s high felt like. Now all I want is to feel that way all the time.
Things I should mention that I also didn’t know:
- Jumping off cliffs into water is absolutely terrifying but so much fun.
- There is a place in Waitomo where you can ride down water rapids in a glow worm cave. It is magical.
- Sky diving is not as scary as people make it out to be; once the parachute is out it is actually quite peaceful.
- Bungee jumping is as scary as people say but you just have to do it anyway.
- What it’s like to enter a new decade of life in a foreign country.
As my New Zealand chapter comes to a close, I couldn’t be more excited to see where all my newfound knowledge about the world will take me next. As you can probably tell, this blog is very much a work in progress, and I am still trying to refine what I want to share and how I want to share it. While this particular post is a bit all over the shop and that is definitely an accurate representation of how my brain feels, I hope you were able to get something out of this experience too. The miraculousness of New Zealand is too special not to share.