New Zealand Weekly Update #34

Last updated on Juni 24, 2023

12th of June until 18th of June 2023

Approximate reading time: 8 minutes

Lets get it started

Big clouds above Wanaka. I am dressed in my bathrobe. And for the first time I slept until ten in the morning. Yesterday after work, I felt pretty tired after work, had a short sleep at home and went out with friends. We ended up in different pubs and in the end at Water Bar, heapf of people. And some DJ’s playing kinda drum’n’bass. Not really my music, but we danced in the middle of the crowd until 1pm. And you can tell now, that ski season has started, since a lot of people are in their ski and snowboard outfits. Ski goggles. Warm hats.
And Wanaka gets busy again, different again, but still beautiful, even with clouds above the lake and a cold breeze.

Spicy into the week

My weekly schedule with Ocula offers me two days off in a week, on sundays and mondays. So Lea and I decided to go for a last hike, since she was about to leave New Zealand wednesday. And we choosed Breasthill Track, a spicy, beautiful and partly steep and slippery hike. We started early in the morning to make sure to be back in the afternoon and picked up a friend of Lea as well. And then we drove to the starting point of the track, a 20 minute drive from Wanaka to Lake Hawea. And we made our way up the mountain. The first kilometer was pretty spice, since it was a steep track, zick zack way up to our first scenic spot. And I was happy to have my hiking poles with me again. This is a really nice support for hiking. You can check the area in front of you, use your arms as a support for your legs. If you cross rivers, you can check the depth. And when someone is annoying, you can sting them hehe 🙂
So back to Breasthill Track, the weather this day was perfect. And we were on our way to the top. Steep, exposed parts, slippery since it was icy as well, narrow sections with rockfall danger. It was great! Now and then we had a short break, a small snack and a deep breath with an awesome view. Later on, we also went through snow which was on the track, sometimes as deep as our feet, sometimes as deep as our knees. I felt like Santa Clause sometimes, my backpack with me.

And after about 3 hrs, we arrived at the first spot – Pakituhi Hut. This track is also part of the famous Te Araroa, so maybe I will be back again. Some food, some talks, and some new company, since Alex from the UK joined us. A guy who also did the track this day and we decided to move on together. Again steep parts, again exposed. Again heaps of snow. And sunlight in our faces. Step by step to the top of Breasthill Track. And here we go, we arrived at our destination around 1pm. Snacks. Tee. And nature. Nature everywhere. I am not able to decsribe New Zealands nature in total. I am not able to understand it in total. It impresses me every single time. Every single moment. And it fills me up with this indescribable energy. There is much truth in the saying „If I go to heaven, I will be there and say ‚It is quite nice here, but it is not New Zealand'“.

Well, back to business, back to the car. It took us a while to get back, since the friend of Lea was quite slow on the way back and parts of the track have been really slippery and also dangerous. But Alex took care of here. And Lea and me went down to the lake and guess. Of course we had a short swim in the lake. And we made it in time. Since while we have been in the lake, the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Perfect timing at its best and definitely a hike to remember. And again a person who left Wanaka, a person who was part of my daily life in Wanaka and who made it more special. Unique. Memoarable. Thanks for all the experiences Lea – see you on the other side again 🙂

Daily life in Wanaka

Back to business, back to work. I start to become more confident at work. Of course sometimes I find myself in trouble with language, since I sometimes don’t know the right word. And sometimes, I still don’t know the right process or I need some more information. But the team at OCULA is really supportive, especially my Manager Shingie. She is an awesome person. And she is doing a great job. And as I said, it is not my passion, it is not a job I want to do forever. But: I have a regular schedule, two days off, I get paid really well, I work inside during the winter time. And it could be much more worse though 🙂
How does winter time looks like in Wanaka? Well, for me, working inside during the day and then trying to socialize in the evening. Table tennis with friends, meet at a pub, going to the gym for some running and biking (and hell, running in a gym is soooo fu**ing boring and exhausting guys, normally I don’t give up and finish my run, but running on a treadmill is definitely on the „fuck off“ list). And now and then some pool with friends. And I try to have some time for myself during the week as well. Since I reckognize more and more, that „Me-Time“ is important as well. To just spend time with myself. Without the pressure of achieving something or doing something special. This time is important to relax, to reflect and to think back. To be grateful for what happend, And for what might will be. Since I am writting this blog, I somethines think about my german class teacher and how often I got bad grades in school when we had to write kind of Essays. And normally I got a D+ (which is a 4+). And obviously I was never happy with those results. I reckon, now it would be at least a B (2). Maybe I should ask her and have a talk about 🙂

Yes!

Dou you know the movie „The Yes Man“ with Jim Carrey? A guy, who tries to avoid every socializing, every opportunity, every moment of being spontaneous and crazy? And how he ends up being alone at home, watching movies and just spending his life with a boring, day by day structure.
Well, this movie has a very important quintessence – sometimes it is important to just say yes. Even if you are tired. If you are out of energy. If you don’t want to. But yes gives you opportunities, exctining moments, adventures. Yes gives you the chance to live and to remember. And it gives you stories to tell. How often do we end up after work, sitting at home. And going to bed. And then again back to business. And again and again and again. How often do we skip possible adventures, short moments? How often do you skip because of just saying no?

This movie is not about saying yes to everything, just because of. It is more about saying yes to opportunities and new experiences. Saying yes to things that might scare us a little bit. That might give us the feeling of loosing control. About the unpredictable. About jumping into the pool full of sharks. And you never know what’s gonna happen. And now and then, I try to say yes to life. For me, normally the question is „Why not“ instead of „Why“. Because in the end, we miss the experiences, adventures and opportunities we have never had. And we might look back and regret.
Without saying yes, I would have never been in New Zealand. I would have never joined the apprenticeship of becoming a Canyoning Guide. I would have missed so many people, so many small adventures. I would have missed the one or the other skinny dip in the lake. And I would have missed the opportunity, to miss. To miss people, friends, family and shared time. Because if you miss something, someone or some kind of adventure which you have had back in time means, that you have been happy. That you lived. And for me, this makes missing a positive and worth experience…

What else to say?

Time is running, just 5 more weeks and I will be back in Germany. Honestly, I am very excited. To meet my friends and family. Since I miss you guys, I miss sharing adventures with you, the big and small ones. I miss your voices, I miss our talks. And I miss my granny.
But again, to miss something or someone is not a bad thing in general. It is more about the fact that you had a good time in the past. And that you need more of that time. And then, it is just about saying yes now and then. Saying yes to more adventures. Saying yes to see people again. Saying yes to life and to more good memories.

Your DingyInternational
Felix