Hostels, by their very nature, create a temporary community. When you’re sharing a bedroom, cooking next to your bunk mates and jostling in line for the showers, you tend to meet people. (As the hostel market continues to evolve, this may be more true when staying at a small independent hostel than when staying in a large high rise corporate hostel.) At a good hostel, whether or not a functional temporary community evolves or not is often the result of chance.

• - What type of personalities are present?
• - What are the language barriers?
• - Are most guests staying for 1 night, or are many guest staying for 3 or more nights?
• - Does the hostel have a lounge space present that lacks a television?

This revolving set of factors can combine to influence whether or not guest go out drinking together, spend time playing a board game, and/or participate in authentic cultural exchange. A good hostel provides a clean, functional space and allows the community to fend for itself. For many travelers, a good hostel takes care of their immediate needs and, for $25 a night, that is enough.

Many individuals move around the globe as solo travelers. Often, these independent explorers have left a life filled with friends and community interaction to chase their dreams around the globe. For many, staying at a hostel that facilitates community instead of leaving it up to chance makes all the difference.

How to Spot a Great Hostel

A great hostel facilitates the creation of a temporary community amongst the ever changing cast of budget travelers who walk through the door.  Here is how they do it.

1. Institutional Memory: The manager of a great hostel understands their job and their clientele because they have worked at the hostel for at least 6 months. Many hostels hire broke backpackers to clean bathrooms and make up beds. This is not a problem if the manager is actively involved with running the hostel. Problematically, many hostels also hire wandering travelers (age: 28-45) to manage the hostel. These long time wanders stay for 3 months and move on. Their 3 month tenure is consumed by learning how to do their job and they tend to see, out of necessity, each traveler as a widget instead of a person. They do not have time to facilitate community.
2. Community Oriented Rules: A great hostel separates the TV from the lounge. Some great hostels eliminate the TV all together, while others offer a separate TV room. A great hostel will also discourage laptop users from congregating in the lounge area. A bunch of backpackers working on their Facebook profiles does not present a very inviting environment for arriving guests.
3. Events: A great hostel plans activities (or provides activities) that facilitate community. This can be as simple as having free access to a pool table or as complex as planning a BBQ night. What matters is that the hostel demonstrates that community is a priority.
4. Active Staff: A staff that actively interacts with the guests between check-in and check-out plays a significant role in facilitating community. A staff that learns the names of their guests, is available to answer questions, and is a presence in the public areas (kitchen, lounge etc.) facilitate a sense of belonging. They can take on the role of the “host” introducing guests to each other, and sharing their knowledge of the local area. An active staff cannot be overrated.

Spotting a great hostel in a guide book or online is difficult as most hostel advertisements or recommendations read more like a new car buying guide (here is the list of features sir) than accommodation information. Also, a community oriented hostel experience is not always desired. After a long day of planes, buses, and trains, I sometimes want to check into a corporate hostel where I don’t need to talk to anybody. I don’t want to hear about the Friday night BBQ and I don’t even want to look at the board games. Cranky travel sickness and introverted techie syndrome aside, great hostels do exists and are worth finding.

Learn to look for the right things and you will purchase not just a bunk for the night, but a community experience.

**I was finally inspired to put these thought on paper by my very positive experiences at the Ivory Towers Lodge (Fox Glacier New Zealand) and The Bug (Nelson, New Zealand).

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Facts

1. Sandflies Travel in Swarms: You will rarely be attacked by one sandfly as they seem to hunt in packs. If you see one, the rest of its friends are busy stealing your blood.
2. Sandflies Are Not Fast: If you are walking in the bush or kayaking on a river, the sandflies will leave you alone as they cannot keep up. Problematically, when you stop for that well earned water break a whole cloud of sandflies will quickly find you. On a positive note, you won’t have a problem killing them as they are too slow to avoid a solid slap. Keep in mind though that in the time it takes to kill one, three more will leach onto your foot.
3. The Wind and the Rain: Sandflies cannot tolerate either wind or rain. So, if you can brave the elements, you will avoid the majority of these swarming little blood suckers.

Develop a “Sandfly Strategy” that works for you. Every person is effected by sandflies in a different manner and how you protect yourself from them will likely be determined by how much they like you.

Protection Strategy

1. Buy Local Repellent: When you get to the Westland Region, every tour operator and outdoor adventure store will have locally made sandfly repellent at the checkout counter. Buy it. The repellent from other places in the world does not work as effectively as the local formula. The locals had 100 years to figure out a way to keep sandflies from stealing liters of their blood so you can trust them to concoct an effective solution . If you do not like DEET, good luck. DEET is the main active ingredient and is far more effective than the natural products.
2. Cover Up: It does not get very hot in Fiordland and, if you are hiking, chances are you will be under the canopy. Long pants and sleeves provide effective protection from swarming sandflies.
3. Apply Repellent BEFORE Your Get Out of the Car: Many people park at a trail head, slowly get out of the car, and begin applying Sandfly repellent. You are already too late! The sandflies are trapped in your car and they will feast on you when you return. While the sandflies are colonizing your car, their friends are latching onto your majore arteries as you frantically attempt to apply repellent and kill sandflies simultaneously. To be kind, this is usually ineffective and is a poor start to your hike. Put the repellent on before hand to avoid this cyclical problem.
4. Drive Away: If you are sleeping in your campervan or car you will often park for the night in high sandfly areas. Close your van up as soon as you finish cooking to keep the majority of the sandflies outside. In the morning, try to drive away from the campsite to a location not surrounded by the bush. This should prevent the sandflies from swarming into your van while you re-arrange your belongings for the days drive. Otherwise, the sandflies will feast on your feet as you scramble to get your car onto the road. Getting eaten by sandflies while operating a vehicle leads to dangerous driving.
5. Don’t Complain About Sandflies: Complaining will not attract sandflies but it will not help you make friends either. In the Westland Region, sandflies are a way of life. If you cannot handle them go somewhere else. Your fellow travelers and the locals will have little patience for your complaints.

If you follow all of the above listed advise, you will still get bitten by sandflies. When this occurs, do not scratch the bite. Scratching simply spreads the itch and extends the amount of time it takes the wound to heal. Plus, scratching leads to more scratching and that simply escalates the problem. Instead, apply hydrocortisone cream. This will cut down (but not eliminate) the itching and will also help your skin heal more quickly.

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Only after we were 100% geared up (ice boots, pants, jacket, helmet, gloves, ice ax, etc.) our guide explained the weather conditions had worsened and we would be able to get a full refund.  We did get our money back…but had an entire day with no plans.  We drove north up the rainy coast and stopped as soon as the sun broke loose.  Surprise!  Punakaiki is a coastal city known for the Pancake Rocks and blowholes. 

What is a pancake rock? layers of limestone weathered to resemble a stack of giant pancakes, the result of stylobedding, a chemical process in which the pressure of sediments creates alternating durable and weaker bands.

What is a blowhole? Don’t think whale…high tide creates a swell in huge sea caverns where the surf rushes in.  Blowholes are best to watch after lots of rain.  Since it had just finished raining this was to our advantage.

This has been a great “Nomad Backpacker lesson”:

1. Be creative, talk to locals: Example:  We drank coffee in a cafe in Fox Glacier, talked to some locals, heard about the Pancake Rocks about 3 hours (drive) north of the Glacier.  We left Fox Glacier with the tentative plan to drive north and hoped the rain would subside.
2. Be calm (breath deeply if you must…) Example:  It was difficult to find a place for the night in Punakaiki (since this is the busy summer season in New Zealand).  After asking at 3 places to stay, and being informed of no vacancy, we knew we could always sleep in the car.  Staying calm is a huge part of being flexible when things change so quickly.
3. Flexibility and adventure will see you through! Example:  We ended up with a cute cabin right on the coast.  It was BYOL (Bring your own linens) so maybe that scared off other travelers who did not have their own sheets, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, etc.  I am glad we were able to benefit from the lack of amenities.

Travel is not always picturesque or glamorous. Life on the road often involves learning to turn undesirable situations into something enjoyable (or at least tolerable).

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I like wine. Okay, I like wine a lot. But, I am not a wine snob. Knowledge should not breed arrogance. I think wine is a personal experience. If you enjoy wine by sniffing, swirling and tasting, that works for me. If you enjoy reading up on individual vintages, types of grapes and growing seasons, than I am excited about that as well. If you simply like to drink a tasty $10 bottle of wine one plastic glass at a time, then go for it. Ditch the snobbery and do what you like.

I like visiting  vineyards. I enjoy talking to people who make the wine, grow the grapes and invest their passion into producing good quality wine. For me, there is something special about driving up a narrow dirt road, past row after row of grapes glistening brightly in the fresh morning dew. I enjoy slowly tasting each vintage and comparing their flavor to similar wines from other regions around the world. (I do not have a sophisticated palate, but I can recognize a few things from time to time.)  I really like watching pompous people at wine tastings. I find their strutting and blustering to be the height of comic relief.

Central Otago Vineyards

The Central Otago region boasts an excess of 40 vineyards, but I did not have the time (or the tolerance) to pay each a visit. Instead, Natalie and I traveled directly to the Felton Road district intent on visiting, in my opinion, the two best vineyards in the region: Mt. Difficulty and the aptly named Felton Road vineyard. Both of these vineyards are known for producing high quality Pinot Noirs and I was not disappointed.

The Felton Road tasting room is a small, humble affair that allows the wine to speak for itself. The tasting room proctor,  Caroline, is a very patient woman who is involved in every aspect of the wine production, from planting and harvesting, to production and sales. The Felton Road Pinot Noir is superb. Easily the best pinot I have sampled in New Zealand. Sadly, at $46 a bottle it was a bit large for our budget but the taste will come back to tempt me for many days to come.

2 minutes down the road is the Mt. Difficulty vineyard. A much larger vineyard than Felton Road, Mt. Difficulty is the 8th largest wine producer in New Zealand. Their tasting room is dramatically set on a large hill and offers a breath taking view of the valley. It is the ideal place to casually drink a bottle (or 2) of wine while talking with friends and watching the sun slowly drop towards the horizon. Natalie and I went to Mt. Difficulty to taste the Roaring Meg Pinot Noir. This vintage was highly recommended by several wine connoisseurs in Te Anau, despite the fact that Roaring Meg is not Mt Difficulty’s first tier pinot. Although it does not possess the sophisticated taste of the Felton Road pinot, the Roaring Meg was quite good and, at $28 a bottle, is much more affordable.

Many other vineyards in Central Otago produce quality Pinot Noirs, and, if you are a big pinot fan, this area is a must see for you when you travel to New Zealand.

If you are a bit nervous about going to a vineyard tasting room, here are a few tips.

Wine Tasting Guide for Newbies

1. Don’t Pay For A Tasting: Good wine will sell itself. If a winery wants to charge you to taste their wine, it is not worth the effort.
2. Ask Questions: The tasting proctor and other wine tasters love to talk about what they know. Your ignorance will not be a problem.
3. Red or White: If you don’t know. Try them all. Or, if you are unsure of what you are after, ask about their most popular wines. This should point you in the right direction.
4. Observe Others: If the proctor does not tell you about cleansing your pallet or if you are unsure about something, watch someone else. You should be able to imitate the guy next to you without too much trouble.
5. If You Don’t Like it, Don’t Drink It: It is a tasting. Relax. If you don’t like a particular vintage, dump it out. All tasting rooms have a place for this and you will not look silly. In fact, you will look like an expert. Only people with sophisticated palates (or low alcholol tolerance) purposefully throw out wine!

Now you are ready. Don’t go all the way to the Napa Valley.  Find a local winery, or one near your next travel destination, and go taste some wine.

Have a funny wine tasting story? Tell us about it!

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Wanaka Beerworks opens at 9am.  This seems a bit early for Justin and I to begin drinking beer.  We had an enjoyable morning drinking green tea while checking email, walking along Lake Wanaka and playing frisbee in Pembroke Park with  spectacular mountain views.  Feeling as though our morning had been rather productive, we decided it was late enough in the morning to justify drinking beer.  We pulled in around 10:15 and discovered, much to our dismay, that Wanka Beerworks was not open.  We were sad but… we decided to wait.  At this point, we were feeling a bit like alcoholics.  Fortunately, their was a guy visiting from Auckland that had showed up 5 minutes before our arrival. He was equally disappointed and this made us feel a bit better.  We waited patiently for the brewery to become open and active.  The longer we waited the more I felt like an alcoholic. (Every five minutes Justin would look longingly at the brewery and loudly moan, “BEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!”. This did not help).

Fortunately, Robin showed up around 11 am and saved the day.  She apologized, as it sounded like their was a mix up with her and Dave (the Brew-master/owner/operator).  Our tour was fun, especially since our buddy from Auckland also stayed until Beerworks opened so he could see the place.  Robin was very informative and we discovered that Wanaka Beerworks is a simple one-person operation – Dave does most of the work.  Amazing!  It causes me to reflect on the mass production that goes into so many of the big names in beer.  Budweiser just seems so less personal.

Before tasting the beer, I immediately fell in love with the cute tasting glasses, beer handle and all.  The handle allowed me to taste the beer without altering the temperature of the liquid from my warm hand against the glass.  Instead, by griping the handle, the beer remained as chilly as when it escaped the tap.

I was impressed by the crisp taste and well balanced sweet malty flavor of Brewski.  Although it is the lightest of the 3 beers they produce, Brewski is the most popular beer they distribute.

Justin and I both agreed we have never tasted anything like Cardrona Gold.  This beer offered an extremely unique malty flavor, similar to a malt lager, but it offered a clean hoppy finish that was smooth and delicious.  Cardrona Gold was definitely worth our wait.

The third and final beer we sampled was Tall Black.  This reminded me of our favorite coffee/beer combinations.  However, it wasn’t nearly dark enough to compare.  It’s most memorable quality is received upon smelling the beer, as it offers a distinct nutty/cocoa scent.  A rich chocolate flavor could be tasted as well.  Overall, both Justin and I were impressed by the personal touch and effort Dave puts into the beer he creates.

In addition to our beer tasting experience, Robin and I decided to run a little test with the Wanaka Recycling Center.  Wanaka Beerworks recycles their bottles.  Both businesses and personal households will return the glass bottles to be sanitized and reused.  Apparently, the Recycling Center will even drop off beer bottles sometimes.  By writing the date and a happy face with green permanent marker on one of the bottles, we hope to test how long the Recycling Center takes in returning these glass beer bottles.  On the way out of Wanaka, Justin and I dropped it in the “glass” container of the Recycling Center.  Robin will contact us with any results.  Who knows if we will ever see the bottle again?  We will wait and see!

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