Just under two weeks left in Queenstown!

It has been unreal how fast this adventure has zoomed by.  Granted, there is still a lot left on the itinerary, but nonetheless, it’s seems like just yesterday that I was running across the Auckland airport to my connecting flight to Queenstown, hastily texting home that I’d landed in eNZed.  The first two weeks here don’t even count in my mind, as it was a whirlwind of randomness, made even more hazy thanks to jetlag, living in a hotel, and having no idea what I was doing.  Overall, it has been a trial by fire, and I have only just started to really feel like I’ve harnessed the flame!
The bookend to this trip is back-loaded with travel, and while I’m still not sure how it’s going to pan out, it will truly be a whole other adventure apart from my time here in lil’ ol’ Qtown.  With a handful of side-tracking incidents [cough, ankle, cough], some odd dealings regarding housing, and the little issue of employment, this experiment and new chapter in my personal story has been, without a doubt, something to write about (too obvious of a phrase to use?). 

Just another dramatic sunset – honestly, it doesn’t get old…

I’ve left a lot of the minutia out of these posts, as there are too many specific intricacies within the bigger picture/story to really expand upon – the broad stroke is sometimes a more effective tool for story-telling.  Thankfully, I’ve had some really interesting discussions with friends regarding these details, and I won’t soon forget them when intimately regaling the tale of, “That One Time I Moved To New Zealand For A Summer”.  And, I think that is what makes traveling so special in the first place:  you come home with a grand story, with many big, loud adjectives of exploration and experience, while at the same time, there are indescribable details that build the inner story, the personal story; my story; the story that won’t often see the light of day. 
Being able to get away, meet new people, and live life in a wholly new place has been both refreshing and equally frustrating at times.  While this has for all intents and purposes been a vacation, it has not been spent idly sitting by the pool, drink in hand (so to speak).  The people I’ve met, the nights out with new friends, they culminate in my mind as almost a separate life, one that I’ll always have in my back pocket, and one which I don’t think will ever quite have a ending, in a traditional sense.  There will always be another chapter to add, whether that means a continuation of the current story line, or a new tangent leading to who-knows-what. 
With the clock ticking, I’m for once not rushing – I’m trying to simply enjoy the remaining time in this lovely town by the lake, Way Way Down Under on the South Island of New Zealand.  In the coming weeks, there will be new sights to be seen, new friends made, and a couple reunions with friends from the other side of the world.  It’s amazing how a simple mechanical invention has brought be so far, and together with so many new people.  Never under estimate the power of the passions you hold in life, they can take you to some amazing places.
Stay tuned as times wrap up in Queenstown, and as The Trip North, unfolds.