Windy and Windy
It’s been a windy and windy trek around the South Island. Windy as in 120 KPH gusts at one point, and windy as in relentless alternating hairpin turns. There are plenty of straight sections to be sure, but when Google Maps reads something like ‘1 hr 18 min (41 km),’ you know you’re in for a stomach-churner.
The Wop Wops
The surf was set to back off after those glory sessions in Greymouth. I set out for the southern part of the South Island, passing through the wop wops.
This whole trip, bashing Trump has been a surefire way to make friends. This started to backfire in the boonies out west. While I was checking into a campground, the owner realized I was American and asked ‘Did you bring Donald with you?’ ‘No, thankfully not’ I replied, proud of myself for currying favor so smoothly. His face scrunched up a bit and he said ‘Next time, be sure to bring Donald,’ then he assigned me a campsite. This ended up being the windiest night of camping I had. In the morning I realized I was in a particularly exposed campsite, and there were several vacant campsites that were more protected. Was my placement subtle retaliation, or coincidence? Who knows, but I started to keep my political opinions to myself as I made my way through bogan country.
Hiking as a TODO List Item
After several more hikes, I’ve sort of reverted to my previously held opinion that hiking is boring. This is probably because I did most of these hikes solo, and my approach to solo hiking is stupid, bordering on psychotic. Basically I’ll pick a challenging hike and instantly regard its completion as a foregone conclusion. Then my ego goes even further, ‘Time of hike 6 hours? Yeah I’m thinking maybe 3 hours, I’ve got shit to do.’ Then it takes me 6 hours. Then I’m sore for 3 days. Maybe boring isn’t the right word, maybe it’s just unsatisfying to approach hiking as a chore to be completed as fast as possible.
This is Isthmus Peak, which sits in the middle of two lakes that are just barely visible on either side of this picture
Weather Woes
I’ve got beef with whoever’s in charge of the South Island wind and weather forecasts, I’ve never seen forecasts be so consistently off the mark. Oh it’s supposed to be 65F with 5 knots E wind? Nah it’s actually 45F with 40 knots S wind. Generally it was way windier and colder than it was ever forecasted to be. Wind direction was a crapshoot. I met a local who sympathized by saying ‘weathermen are the only people to get paid to be wrong everyday.’
This is a lake, looking just as surfable as a lot of the spots I was checking
I didn’t anticipate just how cold the South Island would be in the middle of summer. Apparently it has been unseasonably cold. A lot of nights were low 40s and rainy, which pushed my crappy camping setup to the edge.
Dunedin
A storm rolled through and I retreated to the city of Dunedin to sleep in a bed made of something other than air for a few nights. Dunedin was fairly quiet as college was out for summer break, but I loved the vibe nonetheless. There are plenty of surrounding beaches and points as well.
Up until 2019, this was considered the steepest street in the world
The tumultuous weather made scoring surf in the southern part of the South Island difficult. Also, most spots seemed to suffer from outer bar syndrome, making them shifty and tide-dependent. I got some fun sessions in, but didn’t feel like I tapped into the full potential of the area. I think you’d score a lot of good uncrowded waves living in Dunedin or Invercargill, but I also think you’d witness a lot of multi-week stretches of blown out crap.
I left Dunedin and headed back to Christchurch to hangout for a few days and do some ‘life administration’ as I’ve heard one traveler call it.
Street Art
New Zealand totally embraces street art, particularly Christchurch and Dunedin. Lots of buildings, electrical boxes, and bus stops are treated as canvases. I love this approach and wish more American cities would welcome it.
Not street art but wanted to shoutout the best store in NZ
New Zealand in Review
The natural beauty of New Zealand is, well, beautiful. It doesn’t make much sense to describe it with words in my opinion, but the landscapes alone are worth the trip out. Great people as well.
But I’m pretty happy to be heading out of New Zealand to be honest. All that camping, cold, rain, and wind took a lot out of me. It didn’t help that I went straight from living like a king in Bali to being relegated to a homeless peasant in New Zealand.
I made a few mistakes that you can learn from if you ever come to travel New Zealand. Firstly, I’d avoid peak season (Dec - Feb). New Zealand’s tourist infrastructure was bursting at the seams the whole time I was there. I think the shoulder seasons would be a lot more manageable. Secondly, it’s probably worth springing for a self-contained camper van. The ‘self-contained’ certification opens up a lot of free camping areas, and you wouldn’t be cursing the wind and rain at 3 in the morning when your tent feels like it’s about to take flight. Lastly, be prepared for the cold, even in summer. You’d think 17 hours of daylight would be enough to lift the temperature out of the 40s, but alas.
What’s Next?
I’m headed to Chile. I’ve been frantically trying to get my Spanish up to speed, listening to Spanish podcasts and rocking out to J Balvin. I’m not sure I’ve made much progress, we’ll see how I fair.