Thank you Airbnb

[Ben551]

Greetings ~

For those that noticed my brief disappearance, cheers very much 😄

My wife and I took a well deserved break down in Wanaka for a week. It was awesome. Kayaking 12 kilometres on a glass lake. Hiking, boating, shooting... the place is some kind of centre of “all outdoors things that are fun”. We relaxed, drank amazing local wine, visited vineyards... hell, we didn’t want to leave.

Walking by the lake in the evening and seeing the stars was also a high point for me. Where I grew up in the UK there was no such thing as going outside and seeing the entire Milky Way with your naked eye. I don’t just mean stars, I mean all those cloudy purple bits that look like art. I’ve never seen those with my own eyes before, only in pictures online... stunning.

So why am I thanking Airbnb? Well... a couple of reasons.

I suffer from a bit of anxiety and... the move to NZ hasn’t been easy in that regard. Hosting on Airbnb has given me confidence I didn’t have before, to venture out and do stuff, speak to people, and learn about parts of NZ (and even my own city) that I haven’t before.

Secondly, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to visit such an expensive part of the world before. A recent book I read described Wanaka as the place where aging millionaires live, waiting for the impending apocalypse and living under the mountains. I have to say... they’re on to something. The place feels like where you’d want to be if it all came to an end hahaha. For the simple reason that, the views are well worth being the last thing you see before it all gets flushed.

Thanks Airbnb, for making a positive difference in my life. 

~ Ben

[Lizzie]

Absolutely beautiful photos @Ben551, what an amazing place. I visited Wanaka in 2015 and it is certainly a place dear to my heart. I didn't kayak the lake there though, it looks incredible. We went on an overnight kayaking trip to Doubtful Sounds and camped on an island. If you are looking for your next kayaking trip and haven't been already, I really recommend it. The amazing thing I noticed was the way the colours of the water and hills change so much depending on the weather. @Lawrene0 have talked about kayaking in NZ before in the CC, so it is great to see you are a keen too. 

(Sorry my photos aren't quite as nice as yours)

You post is bringing such lovely memories back. I'm pleased to see all is well with you, I was starting to get a little worried. 🙂 

Lizzie

[Ben551]

@Lizzie  That looks amazing.  Angel and I did a cruise all through Doubtful, Milford and Dusky sounds in December 2018 (one last hoorah before the Airbnb madness begins).  It was my first time there and... the thing the photos don't capture is how "silent" it is in that place.  It's like you're looking at land either side of you that noone has ever set foot on.  Nature doesn't recognise human beings either, we had seals come up and look at us kinda going "wtf kinda seal are you?" they had no fear. It was strange and wonderful at the same time....

You would have gone for days kayaking through the Wanaka scenery. We are actually talking about doing a Kayak, hike, camp, hike, Kayak next time we are there to get to some reaaaaally remote parts.  There are some purely wild parts of the country you can get totally lost in.  If you're up for it, Angel's Dad runs an Airbnb in Wanaka so we can hook you up 🙂

[Lizzie]

Sounds wonderful @Ben551. When we visited I think over the two day period of kayaking, we saw only one small boat with one person on it. I agree the silence was incredible, I love it when the only notice you can hear is the movement of a paddle through the water – it's definitely quite a humbling experience. 

I would love to visit NZ again, I definitely keep that in mind the next time I visit (whenever that time will arise). 🙂 

Have you kayaked much outside of NZ? 

[Ben551]

@Lizzie would you believe this was my first time kayaking? I’ve been on boats up the Norfolk broads on family holidays back home, and I take a little inflatable boat out fishing regularly, but this was my first time with paddle power!

Lots of firsts in NZ... when I went fishing in the UK, it was about the “fishing”. In NZ it’s about fishing... but this novel idea “catching” and... wait for it... “eating”!  Wife and I caught a massive gurnard (our favourite fish), then took it home, filleted, crumbed it, and ate it for dinner only a few hours later. Never tasted anything so fresh.

[Ben551]

 @Corliss @Stephanie   @Jessica & Henry @Lizzie   @Jody79  @Jennifer1421    and everyone it won't let me tag anymore... shucks folks... you're all just awesome. Truly. Kath I'm always surprised by your reaction to my keyboard splatter hahahaha. It's more letters than sense half the time... but there is nothing more flattering in the world than being missed.

[Veronica561]

Hi I am new here. @Ben551  I loved your post and how you described this amazing place. 

Thank you 😊 

[Ben551]

Hey you're welcome @Veronica561  and welcome to the forums 🙂

[J-Renato0]

Hello @Ben551 

Beautiful pictures. I see you had good times. How beautiful is NZ. Someday, when I can, I will visit NZ and Australia as well.

I thought you were born in NZ. Just out of curiousity, why did you moved from England to NZ. I believe that doing that you multiplied your money by 2! 🙂 Was it the main reason or it was because you like the beautiful nature of NZ?

[Ben551]

Hiya @J-Renato0 a yeah it’s definitely worth a visit. My wife is from New Zealand and it was always the plan to move here. We met in the UK but she never planned to stay there indefinitely. I’ve been in NZ about 2 years now... doesn’t feel that long though!

[Linda1213]

Stunning photos! I think my blood pressure just lowered a few points....

[Claire475]

Good on you Ben for venturing out. Your photos are stunning, we are surrounded by so much beauty yet in our busy lives we often don’t take notice of it or take it for granted. I loved your descriptions of the water of the Milky Way. 

Being in surroundings like that just gives you time to breathe and contemplate. Thank you for the lovely post and positive vibe.