Alistair?

Landed in Queenstown safely...Immediately loved it so much more than Auckland..It reminded me of Banff but also a ski town in Colorado…I ran in an bought a sweater as its colder down here…and then headed out to Kinloch, NZ…South Island…there is a Kinloch North island as well. Kinloch in the South Island is home to about 8 houses. At one point in time it was the fasted grow city in NZ. Al moved in making it population (1) and then his buddy built a house the same month making it a population of (2). The town doubled in pop. Size in a matter of a month..NZ had never seen swift growth like before.

The aforementioned, Al, is my work exchange host. Alistair is his proper name. He just dropped me off in Queenstown for my off day today. I will hitch a ride back to his place tomorrow for work in the afternoon.

I messaged Al on an app called workaway at the of January. He told me to “zip” him an email in a week or two as someone was supposed to be working the dates I was interested in. I messaged him about 3 times within the next week. He said that the march person was still confirmed and that I needed to just standby. I was really hoping to get this one…most of the places I applied were highly competitive or didn’t have any availability…and I don’t have a single review or proof of work exchange experience on my profile. These people are letting you in their homes, around their pets, and around their children…so credibility and references go a long way. About two weeks before my trip I get a message from Al saying he can pick me up on the 27th. I immediately respond yes. Felt good to have something secured…at that point I knew where I would be staying at until the middle of March and that would give me enough time to figure out my next move.

I asked Al for an address to his house…his response was..”turn left after gorge creek. Just before Kinloch” that’s all he said. I pulled up google earth and started guessing which place his might be because that was about as broad of an answer as I could have gotten for directions. The last thing he said was “if ur hitching get a block of chocolate and hold up a sign saying ‘Ive got choclate’…little tip for you”

I wasn’t sure if this was joke or not(his profile said that the workawayer must have a wicked sense of humor). So I responded to his chocolate tip with…”I’ll make sure the sign reads…candy and chocolate..sweeten the deal.” He said, you won’t get lost”

I didn’t end up hitching this time as I was running late from the airport and paid for a ride out there.

His place was at the far end of Lake Wakitipu…..hands down the prettiest lake I have ever seen…glacier blue water with 360 mountain views..Look it up…it is spectacular. The road to his place rides the coastline all the way down. I texted him I was 20 min away and I’m still looking for gorge creek to turn left at…there were so many little bridges and creeks. We finally come up to it and sure enough his place was clear as day to see on the left…and Al was standing there waiting on me with a 5 foot tall walking stick and his hat cocked to side. Introductions were quick and we were off to the races checking out the property, my sleeping quarters, and the rules of this work exchange. One of the first things he said was….”so you escaping a heartbreak or what mate?” lol I was like well I mean sort of not really. He said “ well that’s alright mate..you came to the right place.”

His property is about two acres but it feels much bigger than that…there are cars lying all over the property and big pieces of farming equipment and gardens and shed….everything is off grid….powered by solar panels and hopes of lots of sunshine to keep things going! In his initial job description he said “Not for wimps”…”I’ll teach you a thing of two about how to live if someone cuts off the power”

I’ll share some pics with this one and then tell you more about my living situation and what type of work I have been and will be doing. Our first night together is about as memorable as it gets. I’m absolutely thrilled to be here. Can’t stop smiling…..Alistair continued …