Last updated on November 28, 2022
21st of November until 27th of November 2022
Approximate reading time: 12 minutes
Why not?
Most of the time, you ask yourself the question, why to do things. Why to go to work. Why to do some sports. Why to go out. Why to get up from the couch again after a long day of work and go for a little walk?
This is the wrong question at all. The better option is to ask yourself „why not“ to do different things. What could be the worst thing that could happen? That you fail? That you waste money? That you waste time? Fair enough. Nevertheless, just do it 🙂 Often you will be suprised about small and special moments you would have missed.
And when Robin asked me to join a marathon in March 2023 (Motatapu Off Road Marathon), I asked myself „Why not?“. I asked myself what would be the worst that could happen. That I fail, that I don’t finish. Fuck it, I am in! And it’s not about the marathon , it is about the training, the preparation, the time we spend together, talking about the event, strengthen our mind and our body. And about all the small and special moments in between. And of course about a cold beer after a long, exhausting, demanding and special run. Cheers.
Generous customers and a new house mate
As Robin was looking for a more affordable room, he decided to leave us. As we tried to find a new house mate, we had a video call with a girl from Australia (Hanna) and she will be our new house mate in december. As the room was still free to rent, we tried so find somebody to fill the gap as well. And we found him. Anthony, from Germany (I know, not the most common german name). He works at Mitre 10 construction market and is an easy-going mate for some small talks in the evening. He will stay for three weeks with us and is already looking for a long-term option in Wanaka to stay at.
On Monday 21st of November Robin and I went to Big Nige with 5 customers for an intermediate trip. It is always impressive for the customers to feel the pressure of the water, to enjoy the remote nature and to be active in the canyon as they rappel by themselfs most of the time. And for me it is still impressive to see how experienced Robin is in guiding – I am still learning a lot and recognize, that I am not as experienced in guiding as I expected (Memo to myself – Watch, learn, improve). After our tours we always have some lunch with our customers to refill some energy and have a talk about the tour, about the plans of the customers and about several stuff. As it was raining this afternoon at Matukituki Valley, we went back to Wanaka and had some lunch there. And this day the customers have been quite generous as we got some tips after lunch (a great way to show that you really enjoyed the tour and a great gesture). And after a long day of guiding (almost 9 hours), we just decided to do our first training run (see section above).
Almost a real Kiwi
As I was still waiting for a response of ANZ Bank (I applied for a bank account almost 4 weeks ago), I have changed my tactics. After I talked to Will (also a neighbor of us and already a good friend), I applied for a bank account at Kiwi Bank. Easy going. Just verify yourself (e.g. with a New Zealand drivers license [and I am still waiting for this one as well…] or just drop by in person and verify yourself. Said. Done. So I went to the Kiwi Bank office and it was fast and easy.
Show your Visa, your passport, your prove of address. And after 10 minutes I got my bank account ready and got my Debit Card. With a valid bank account I am able to apply for an IRD number (Inland Revenue Number – to pay your taxes). Normally you can apply for this number online, just enter all your data written on your visa and thats it. But not in my case. „Data not valid“ – even after several attempts… . Allrighty, so I decided to go to the community hub in Wanaka and apply for the IRD number in person. Application on Wednesday. IRD number ready on Thuersday. Every now and then everything just works out. Thanks to the supportive people! Now I feel almost like a real Kiwi. House. Job. Car. Bank account. Tax number. Daily life.
As there have been no tours on Tuesday, all guides went to a Māori Workshop to get some information about their culture, their language and their history. And to be honest – it was interesting but really difficult to follow. That was because the speaker switched between english and Māori language quite often and through the multiplicity of Māori words I became more and more confused. Nevertheless, we’ve got some information about the origin of several Māori words and their meaning. Find some examples below this section (and even more via https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/maori-words/ and https://www.maorilanguage.net/maori-words-phrases/50-maori-words-every-new-zealander-know/ .
Some examples of Maori words and their meaning
Kia ora
Hello, thank you, cheers , can be used to wish somebody life and health, might also be used as a salutation, a farewell or an expression of thanks, symbolises more than a simple hello. Meaning the essence of life – wish somebody the essence of life
Kia kaha
Stay strong, keep going, Used to encourage others
Ka kite (anō)
See you later – friendly, informal way to say goodbye to someone you will see again (make sure to pronounce the TE quite good)
Tu meke
Literally “too much,” used to say thank you or show you’re impressed / appreciate a gesture
Aotearoa
This is the Māori name for New Zealand – land of the long white cloud
It’s all about sports and nature
After this interesting session about Maori lifestyle, we went to the neighbors for some dinner and we ended up with ten people sitting together with some amazing food made by Will and some Wine (and some more). It is crazy how big this group is already and how normal it feels to sit together, talking about almost everything and just having a good time. After dinner some of us went to the Lake for a short swim. Summer is coming soon but the Lake itself is still a little cold – about 5 cm 🙂
As there was also no tour on Wednesday, I decided to do a training run along Lake Wanaka, including a lot of meters in height and a total distance of 21.1km. The track along the Lake is just stunning, it’s up and down, gravel road and unique nature ahead and behind. A nice way to train and to enjoy the nature at the same time. And afterwards a nice and refreshing sleep in the afternoon because it was raining.
Thuersday, again no tours (and hopefully this will change soon – it is nice to have days off but it is also nice to work, earn money and be able to pay the bills…). As the weather was perfect for a hike, I went to Lake Diamond, close to the area of Hospital Flats, where you can find a lot of climbers. If you are planning to see Lake Diamond, just extend the tour and hike up to the so called Rocky Mountains. The hike is not as demanding as Roys Peak, but still really beautiful as you can see the whole Roys Peak hike, Wanaka and a big part of Lake Wanaka as well. When I arrived at the parking area I recognized, that I forgot my hiking shoes. And in New Zealand, I got used to wearing crocs… . So why not? I hiked up with Crocs. And most people starred at me 🙂
To be honest, in retrospect it was not the best idea as my skin is cracked on the feet and it is quite painful from time to time (Memo to myself, bring hiking shoes for a hike 🙂 ).
As the Lake Wanaka is so close and some of the neighbors already have a kayak, Will and I decided to buy a Kayak as well to join for some kayak events on the lake. And we have been really lucky. I checked the marketplace on facebook and found two kayaks in a good condition for 100 NZD (for both of them). And we picked them up just 1km away from our house. Since the woman who wanted to sell the kayaks was not at home, she told us to just check the kayaks and leave the money at her house. That still takes a lot of getting used to for me – people here are really trustfully and supportive. And easy-going. As the kayaks have been in a good condition, we picked them up and I put the money through the window. And my kayak fits perfectly in my car (almost 🙂 ).
Wingardium Leviosa
Thuersday evening, a day we’ve been looking forward for almost three weeks. Harry Potter Quiz at the library in Wanaka – and we prepared ourselfs with a Harry Potter Movie evening on Wednesday. 5.30 pm – ready to win. So we went into the library and went out again immediatly. The whole library was filled with children, average age about 10 years. And some adults in between. It was a mixture of feel a little embarrassed and amused – we did’nt expect that this event was meant to be just for kids 🙂 – so we decided to jump to the next bar and have some drinks – we ended up again in the pub. Until 11pm. And one of the guests in the bar rioted a little in the toilet and the staff carefully escorted him out of the bar 🙂
Friday, training day. Robin, Thomas and I went to Niger Stream to have some rescue training in the canyon. This is quite important to know how to handle a back injury, a broken angle etc. Especially for a one long slide in the canyon it is possible to have incidents, when customers don’t have enough tension in their back or don’t follow the instructions carefully. In this case – better safe than sorry. Prepare yourself for a situation and train the techniques even there is no incident at all (and we hope that there will be no significant incidents at all).
Saturday, guiding day. Big Nige with Robin. Customers from Canada, tall guys with a lot of fun and self-confidence – and they did really well in rappeling. A fun day at all. If you have good customers, guiding doesn’t feel like work at all and time is running.
In the evening, poker night with the neighbors. And it is always the same – if you play with people who never played poker before (or pretend to never played before…) – they will win. Afterwards we went to town to a bar. The bouncer did not want to let us in at first (as there have been too many people inside already) – but then I recognized a tatto on his hand. Vegvisir – a popular and beautiful northern tattoo, meant to protect the person during storm, rain and chaos and lead him / her the way even if the destination is not known. And I just showed him my left arm with the same tattoo – and after that he let us pass 🙂
No music, but everybody was dancing and singing. And everyone had headphones on their heads – a really weird but still interesting situation. And we joined. And it was fun. While having the headphones on your head, you can choose between three different music genres (techno, pop, rock) and you can identify them by the change of the color of the headphones. And then you dance, in the middle of the crowd. Everybody with his or her favourite music genre. And a drink. And some laser shows. While the ground becomes more and more sticky.
Enjoy the silence
Sunday, 1st of Advent in Germany – cheers to all of you enjoying time with familiy, friends, cansles, snow and some mold wine at the christmas market. This is something I really miss – the pre christmas time and the cold, cozy and warm evenings and also outdoor sports in the cold 🙂
New kayak, new adventure. We went to the lake early in the morning with some prepared food, wetsuits and anticipation. And we went for a long kayak drive on the lake, following the sun. Along water that looks like a mirror. And the clouds reflected in it. Stunning. As this was my first experience with a kayak, it was quite difficult to drive straight ahead. Sometimes I just have turned around and recognised that a kayak is quite sensitive to balance, body movement and also the way you are paddling. But I will get used to it after a certain period of training. Sitting on a kayak in the middle of a Lake, not moving, just listening to the sound of nature, the birds and the wind, is unique and just powerful. It feels like another world, a peaceful and calming world. A world I want to explore even more. And enjoy it as best as possible.
What else to say?
While writing this weekly blog, I am sitting on a couch outside of Big Fig with some healthy food, a flat white and the sun in my face. Watching people passing by, talking about their plans and activities. And again I recognise how beautiful this place is. How beautiful New Zealand is. Even if there is not a lot of work and not a lot of money at the moment, it is a unique and peaceful place to stay at. To enjoy outdoor life. To enjoy the nature and its power. To enjoy the moment and the silence. And to talk to friends passing by by accident and that successfully keep me from writing my blog 🙂 (but at least you have an amazing rhubarb crumble muffin and a nice conversation as well 😉 )
I hope you enjoy my weekly blog and all my emotions, thoughts and adventures on this beautiful island. Happy to share more experiences with you soon – next sunday 🙂
Cheers
Felix
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