Tales of a Modern Day Lewis and Clark

                Travelling to the southern hemisphere can sometimes really throw your body and internal clock into a big ball of confusion. When I left in October of last year the weather was nearing the end of fall and approaching the cold winter and after just a quick 18 hour flight I was thrown right into the beginning of an Australian summer full of beaches and scantily clad women. Christmas was really weird not being cold and filled with warming food and warming beverages. Now fast forward 6 months and I find myself in New Zealand and the weather is looking a lot like it was supposed to in Christmas yet we are approaching summer and everyone back home is posting pictures of the warm and beautiful BC scenery. Now is should not be confused with jealousy of the people back home. I could not be happier to be out here in the great white nor……. South.

 As far as our continuing our adventures, a few days ago Brian and I were re-telling our story of our random hike up an all too inviting trail, which through ropes and a little climbing, led us to the top of Queenstown hill and we met another fellow North American who was an avid local hiker and asked us if we would be interested in going up and checking out a couple ridges just over on Ben Lomand, a local hike to the tallest nearby peak. Eager to see all that Queenstown can offer for that once again beautiful price of $0 we quickly accepted and arranged to meet for a start time of 10am the next morning. Now to preface this story a little bit the weather around Queenstown is typically pretty dry having most of the systems form of orographic nature so when people say it’s going to snow it is apparently a fairly rare occurrence. The night before our biggest hike to date we were told the system was supposed to be moving in around 3 and we should try and be down from the ridge by then and also that our leader had yoga that he wanted to attend at 4. Taking all this into count be set off at the precise hour of 10:45 and headed up the mountain a team of four, having picked up another traveller from Austin, Texas that I and Brian had met the day before. Once reaching the top of the gondola we took another trail towards the Ben Lomand trail; through a little bit of forest we exited to a beautiful sight of the Ben Lomand Scenic Reserve and man was it ever scenic with the low native shrubs of New Zealand covering the hill sides and cresting at the top were the jagged peaks of the mountains. A scene so beautiful it seems a crime to hike through at any speed that doesn’t include a three hundred and sixty degree turn every step. As we worked our way higher up the trail our leader asked if we would like to try pushing our own way up the hillside and see the ridge line above us. Ever looking for a new adventure we all agreed and found ourselves scrambling up the hillside through near boreal vegetation and shale slides, it was time to cue the Hard Sun. As Mr. Eddie Vedder played our internal soundtrack we crested the top of ridge and what a world we were introduced too and what appreciation you gain for its majesty. Being a fairly avid outdoorsman and snowboarder I am lucky to say that I have the opportunity to see many peaks and great sights in my short time on this world and I have been a greater altitudes then we were at the point but because it was me that got myself up that mountain and not a chairlift or vehicle it seemed like so much more. When I had finally finished taking it in to the point where I was willing to move again we decided to move on and see if we could reach the saddle before the storm moved in on us. At this point I would like to take the time to tell you that when people tell stories of how fast the weather can move in on you and surround on one these high mountain passes you should listen because they are not joking. After hiking along the ridge for another half an hour or so I turned around and the beautiful sights of the valleys below had become consumed by an ever growing cloud of grey. After a fairly quick group discussion we made the decision that we would not have the time to reach the saddle before this storm and would thus not get any good pictures. So we bundled up and prepared to head straight into the beast and down the mountain. What greeted us a blinding torrent of hail like snow and fast frigid winds so much to the point that I dawned my sunglasses and Brian was forced to pull his toque over his eyes and look through the holes. An experience that, once again didn’t lead to the planned outcome, I would not have had any different.

                For the next few days Brian and I laid low around town trying to find a place to live and figuring out our banking and tax numbers that we would need for up and coming jobs. I rested my sore foot which due to some poor listening and stubbornness had started to flare up again after injuring it a couple times in the last year. During this time Brian and I had been chatting with several people around the hostel about some other hikes and hiking in general and we had decided that we really wanted to see the saddle of Ben Lomand and what was hiding over the other side of her. So yesterday afternoon we headed up the same way minus the hillside scrambling and more sticking to the trail as the storm we had walked through had left the scenic reserve looking like a winter wonderland. After pushing my body farther then it has been pushed in sometime, I suck at packing a reasonably weighted pack, we reached the snow covered saddle and were greeted by views and scenes that dwarfed our previous summiting only days before, and a sound that was something out of myth; a perfectly beautiful silence leaving you truly alone with what the world has to offer. But as they say all good things must come to an end and with setting sun comes even more frigid temperatures so we packed up said our goodbyes and headed in the direction of a warm meal. Now if anyone had had the luxury of making haste down a snowy alpine trail with what can be barely classified as acceptable outdoor footwear then I applaud you on being still around to read this, for the rest of you I leave on a final message of footwear is important and appropriate footwear is even more important

   Love Tanner, (In desperate need of good boots)

Queenstown

 

                As many of you reading this might know May long weekend is probably the biggest time of year for all young Cloverdalians whether it is to take part in our world famous rodeo or take the weekend to go camping in the nearby wilderness. Well as the weeks approached this fateful weekend and I had yet to make a firm decision on what exactly the future had in store for me the Rodeo and camping with friends became more and more of a feasible option. At this point most of you probably have noticed I was not there nor did I go on a venture into the Canadian wilderness. Nope this time, thanks to some persuasion from Brian and Ranch, I have resisted the great calling of the Cloverdale Rodeo and have boarded a flight 3 hours to the east to the small New Zealand town of Queenstown and continuing the cooking dream. For as long as I can remember the boys and I have always talked about taking a year off and being a ski bum living the dream on a seasons pass, zero dollars, beautiful ski bunnies, and of course the fresh pow. Now as many of you have probably seen from my Facebook photos that I have been posting this place is visually stunning and truly may be the adventure capital of the world. I have hiked and took more pictures in the last five days then I have taken in the entire seven months since I left home. Queenstown has been an absolute dream and having a friend to do the hikes and fun things with just makes it that much better. Yesterday Brian and I decided that we would like to see the top of the skyline viewing platform just above Queenstown via a short gondola ride for $40 or, as we did, you can take an hour long hike up to the top and be treated with some amazing views and along the way have the chance for Brian to satisfy his addiction for time lapses. Once at the top you are treated to an absolutely stunning views whether it be of the lake surrounding Queenstown or off the side a of stunning gorge and Queenstown hill with the peaks of New Zealand’s mountains as backdrop, and we did it all for free! Free is going to quickly become a common theme in his blog from now on as I have now managed to burn through almost all of the money that I had earned working up north last year and as work doesn’t start until the eighth of June it means being cheap. So in the spirit of cheap and free Brian and I decided today after seeing Queenstown from the sky yesterday that we would walk around the point of the Queenstown Gardens and see what the other bay had in store for us. Well after walking over and around we found ourselves walking on the Queenstown trail towards the next town over, Frankton, only a five kilometer trip which we thought we had nothing else planned so why not. Once we had got to the Frankton Marina we saw a sign for the Kawaura River Bridge and Falls. Well at this point we had already walked almost 7km so why not walk another 2km to this bridge and see these so called falls. Once getting to the bridge, which did offer some amazing views, we were not convinced that this small area of rushing water was these ‘falls’ we were promised so we continued on down the side of this valley road. After a short 4 or so kilometer walk and a little foraging from a roadside apple tree we found ourselves in a scene from Lord of The Rings; long clear fields filled with potatoes and others littered with deer were bordered on either sides by towering mountains. After following our map app to where it said we would find our long sought ‘falls’ we were greeted by someone’s private property and forced to turn our slightly disappointed selves around and back in the direction of a warm meal. Even after taking this eleven kilometer journey to what ended in someone’s house and Advanced Tree Farm business instead of the promised ‘falls’ I would never have done anything different. Just at having the first chance at not following someone else’s tracks and wandering where we knew nought what was ahead of us we got to see and experience some things that you don’t get by hoping on an expensive tour bus and going to see the same mountain or cliff that hundreds of others are going to see that same day and to experience the true sound of silence after listening to the constant hustle and bustle of city life for almost seven months I felt at peace and knew this was the place on my travels where I was meant to be.
                                              Forever and Always, Tanner  (Basically Anthony Bourdain)

    

The End of an Era

 

        Melbourne, what a city! You’d think for a guy who has lived his life always very willing to try new things, mostly food, that I would have the courage and ability to abandon things and take the plummet down to Melbourne when I was supposed to at the end of February but as we all know that didn’t happen. And as a man famous for making excuses I would like to take this chance to put all the blame on the wonderful family that I grew a part of in Sydney. Although working at the Scary Canary was probably horrible for my health and wallet I can honestly say I would never have changed a thing. There is something to be said for a place of employment when you just love to be there and look forward to every day’s new adventure. Sure there were days where I was in no shape for work and would rather be suffering in my bed with a big bottle of water and a good movie but without those days how would I begin to learn and grow up. Now although people can say that location is why this experience is what is, they must remember that the people make the experience and as arguably the best backpacker bar in Australia Scarys can draw the best of the best wither it be for employment or to take their tops off in the weekly wet t-shirt contest for their famous wet Wednesdays. The people I am lucky to call my friends came from both sides of this winning combination and what gorgeous people they are both at heart and on the outside. Some people would think that you’d get sick of living with the same people for six months and that by the end of it you’d do anything to get out but I’m going to miss waking up and immediately start into a conversation about sex, Charlotte……, or having one of the random six people hop into your bed at some ungodly hour just to say hi and ask how your day is going. Travelling is really not as easy everyone’s pictures make it seem there are days where you want nothing more than to be home with your family and your favorite things but it’s a lot easier when you have a great group of people like I was lucky enough have with my 110 and 208 family. I’ll take this moment before I move on to say to each of you that I appreciate everything you have given me and your endless support and love through the good times and bad I will cherish for the rest of life. Now on to Melbourne, although it has only been 3 days since I have been shown such a great time thanks to Brian ( #auzinoz) and Rachael. Melbourne perfectly fits my life, which as it turns out is kind of hipster. Hey have some have the most diverse and quality coffee that I have ever had the chance of experiencing and the food is just the same with a different choice every 10 steps. Yesterday I decided I would try out the Queen Victoria Market that was recommended to me by Brian and I don’t think I have ever enjoyed shopping for a meal more. I decided on making some mini beef roasts that I filled with a homemade cheese filling and then for a side we had some fresh chili garlic prawns pushing the limits of the hostel kitchen to its max. Tonight I decided would use some of the leftover produce and I picked up some great looking chorizo and bacon to make a minestrone soup. But for now I must take off as my soup needs watching.

                                                                                Yours truly, Tanner Hostel Chef Extraordinaire