86. All Work and No Play…

Please excuse the movie quote, I don’t actually think I’m in any immediate danger of becoming dull. Or of losing my marbles for that matter. It is true that I’ve spent a lot of time on boat projects during my three months in New Zealand but any concern for my mental wellbeing would be seriously misdirected. I just have to tweak my work/life balance a little and make sure that I get to see some of what this beautiful country has to offer before I go back to the tropics. So tomorrow I will fly to Queenstown on the South Island for a two week road trip with some of my cruising buddies. I have no idea what’s in store for us as Daisy on Traveller has been responsible for all the research and reservations. My only ‘requests’ have been penguins, albatross, glaciers, fjords and vineyards. And most importantly – no camping!

Just to elaborate a little as I feel I need to provide some background to the no camping request. When I was twenty years old, Sweden still had an army based on conscription and like most young men of reasonable physical and mental health, I was drafted. I remember being asked where I would like to be stationed and thinking that I had a genuine choice. My response was anywhere as long as it’s in the navy and I supported my request with all sorts of documentation suggesting why I would be an asset at sea. Unfortunately It turned out that the last thing they wanted was a smart-arse that thought he knew something so I was safely assigned a year in the artillery. The thing about the artillery is that most people don’t want to be anywhere near a cannon going off and even less so in the vicinity of where young recruits attempt to aim it. This meant that I had to spend almost an entire year in a tent in the middle of nowhere. Together with twenty equally unfortunate guys. My key takeaway from this otherwise wasted year was that an autocratic leadership style combined with spending all my time with a bunch of guys high on testosterone really wasn’t my thing. And that I never want to sleep in a tent again.

I understand that Daisy has booked us a few houses on Airbnb and I’m really looking forward to live like normal people for a couple of weeks. It’s been over a year since I last stayed in a house and I’ve been told at least one of them has a hot tub! At this point in my life I’m happy to admit that I’m a champagne hippie rather than a backpacker.

When I get back to Saoirse again I’ll be busy getting her ready for Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. But for now, it’s playtime.