Here goes nothing.

Okay look, I have no idea what I’m doing here.

I’m not necessarily talking about New Zealand (I mean, yes I have no idea what I’m doing here in that sense either), I’m talking about blogging.

I’ve fucked around with this Customize thing for about two hours now and I’m finally just going with what I’ve got so far. Maybe someday I’ll unlock the secrets of all the cool things you can supposedly do. Probably not. My attention span is limited. But if anyone knows how to get my icon off of my header image, holla.

Alright, here I am. Wanaka. This is the thing that’s been looming over me for about three weeks now and I’ve lost countless hours of sleep trying to imagine what it would be like. It’s nothing like I thought. But that’s not a bad thing.

Whilst dragging two 70lb bags and a bulky bike box through customs in Auckland, it occurred to me that I might have made a mistake. Whistler was my home away from home, a place that I’ve known I would love since the first time I visited when I was twelve. The idea of leaving was foreign and terrifying and I almost said no. This whole feeling dissolved when the clouds parted above Queenstown and gave me this view from the plane.

Instantly, I felt at ease. Maybe it was going to be okay.

After landing, I took a bus from Queenstown to Wanaka and it dropped me off in front of Lake Wanaka. The strip of shops and restaurants in front of the lake is adorable and very Whistler-esque. It made me feel more at home. One last haul of the bags to the house and I was done. I had made it.

My house is pretty great. Modern, with a huge balcony that overlooks the mountains. It’s about a kilometre out of the city centre which for people from Wanaka is “a bit of a ways away”; gives you an idea of how big the town is. My housemates consist of a Scot, an Irishman and an Aussie. So we’re pretty diverse.

Even though I was exhausted from traveling, when the Mons crew invited me out for a Friday bevy, I couldn’t say no. Plus, after 24 hours of talking solely to airport employees, I needed some real socialization.

It was so great to meet everyone and sit in the sun with a cider. And to be warm again. Escaping Whistler winter and opting for a New Zealand summer was an awesome idea.

We were set up in the backyard of the Districts Club, which, as the one Kiwi who acted as my Canadian translator explained, is like a legion. I think there’s going to be more of a cultural divide here than I expected; when I asked if it was table or bar service everyone looked at me funny; apparently table service does not exist in NZ. Also, I caught some laughs for my pronunciation of the word bar. Canadians are heavy on our “R”s. NZ-ers, not so much…

“Kiwis say bah. Like the sound sheeps make.”

Oh.

I passed out at 8:30pm last night, ready to cozy into a real bed and woke up ready to explore today. Walking around and taking in my surroundings, I was reminded of how difficult it was to navigate the Village Stroll when I first arrived in Whistler. It’s a bit of a comforting thought, as the lay-out of Wanaka is a total mystery to me right now. But just as I mastered Whistler, I will hopefully do the same here.

As I roamed town, I found that everyone here is lovely. I’m hyper aware of the fact that I sound like I’m not from here and I’m trying to be as non-rookie as possible. But I think it shows through. Luckily, Kiwis are so friendly and seem really keen to help out and explain things to me. I remember when I first got to Sonderborg in Denmark a couple of years ago, I often felt like an idiot for not knowing the language or making cultural mistakes. I haven’t felt like that here yet; all I’ve felt is this overwhelming sense of welcomeness. Plus, I only got called an American once.

Walking home, I felt more and more like everything is going to work out. This view from the end of my street helped though.

That’s all for now. Tomorrow, I’m going to finally get my bike back into one piece and maybe check out Sticky Forest – the local trail-riding area. If you’re still reading, thanks for sticking with me. I promise things will get more interesting as I go along… or at least they tend to.

• JB