Things don’t always go how we expect them to go.
The arch at Stackys Bight, Flinders Island, Pentax MX, Portra 800, Jan 2024.
I was so convinced that my final week of preparation in the lead up to my trip to New Zealand would be relaxed, leisurely. For once, the few days leading up to a big trip would not be a stressful bottleneck that left me wishing I was in the jaws of a giant anaconda instead. For once, things would go to plan and there would be no rush, no chaos, no dramas.
But it doesn’t take much to go from being in a state of total control to total chaos. In the space of 48 hours, I had stuffed up a big bank transfer, then my car broke down, and then my bike I was planning to take to NZ was also out of action. Stress, panic, chaos!
And here I thought I’d be spending my final week before my bike touring trip to New Zealand sipping hot chocolates, resting and catching up with my friends. Instead my entire week became a divine comedy of errors, and the cruisy week I anticipated became the opposite.
Instead of building my reserves, I had lost two kilos by the end of the week. But the main thing was accomplished; my bike was fixed, and then it was in a box, ready to fly. I even managed to charge all of my batteries. My car was still at the mechanic and I would have to call the ATO from New Zealand, but they are minor details in the scheme of the big picture.
Castle rock, but I think it should be called happy whale rock. Flinders Island. Pentax MX, Portra 800, Jan 2024.
All of these little hiccups were exactly that, minuscule mistakes, errors that a reasonable level of resourcefulness and a bit of help from your friends can sort out. My housemate Kelsey has my eternal gratitude for lending me her van while my car was broken down so I could go to work, and also for driving me to the airport at the completely unreasonable hour of 3:40AM on Easter Monday.
And so I stepped on a plane to fly to New Zealand. My bike was coming with me and I had two months to cycle from Queenstown to Auckland. My plan? Cycle the least direct route possible.
-A.S. - Te Anau, NZ, 6/4/24
Marshall Bay, Flinders Island. Pentax MX, Portra 800, Jan 2024.