Lynette: Do you have to wear a uniform where you work? I’m sure you both look cute in them if you do.

We do wear uniforms at the lodge.  And I think we look rather exceptional.  Especially Justin’s jumpsuit (read: adult onesie) that he wears for maintaining the grounds and other dirty work. (Pictures coming soon)

Justin:  “You should see me try to get that thing off.”

Lynette: I have a few more “weird Auntie” questions, if you don’t mind……

Weird?  No, never.  They are “FUN Auntie questions” and I am thrilled to answer each one.

Lynette: What is the average temperature during the summer?

The temperature in Te Anau fluctuates rapidly.  In fact, the locals say it is normal to experience “four seasons in a day.”  Wake up feeling frosty, but by 2 pm it’s sunny and 80*, then around 4 pm a cloud sweeps over hiding the sun and it’s suddenly a comfortable 60*.  Who knows what the weather will bring?  Every day is an adventure.  It’s fascinating to look at the mountains, as they always look different, depending upon the angle of the sun, the amount of cloud coverage etc.

However, most of New Zealand (like on the north island) experiences an extremely enjoyable summer.  From what I’ve heard it sounds like it would be rather similar to a Michigan summer.

Lynette: How close are you to the beach?

We are about a half hour from the beach.  Though, I must admit, due to our complex weather in Te Anau, I have not taken my chances at the beach yet.  But I am sure as the summer continues I will plan to spend a day off at the beach.

Lynette: How much is gas per gallon there?

It’s $NZ 1.46 per liter.  Upon converting the liters to gallons and the Kiwi dollars to U.S. dollars, it means that gas is about $2.95 per gallon.  From what I’ve heard it’s currently cheaper to buy gas in the States.

Lynette: Do they have McDonalds?

Yes, New Zealand has McDonalds, but only in the larger cities.  Te Anau didn’t make the cut, it’s too small.  Actually, I think a McDonalds would get loads of business from summer tourists.  Business would suffer as winter comes and the bus loads of Japanese or Germans aren’t stopping by for fries.

A classic kiwi bird

Upon arriving to New Zealand I had a few people find out that I was American and some of them asked me about McDonalds in the States.  They wanted to know about the size options.  I joked around and said, “Super Size me!” and that’s when I learned that New Zealand doesn’t roll like us.  All of the proportion sizes are smaller.  I didn’t believe it. McDonalds is the same everywhere, right?  To test it out I bought a medium fry.  Sure enough, it was about the size of a small fry in the States.  Do they still put the small fry in a wax coated paper bag?

The McDonalds here does has a few special items like the Kiwi Burger, but I am not sure how that differs from a regular burger. Being a vegetarian I didn’t try the Kiwi Burger.  Aunt Lynette, I wish you would have been there.  Then you could have told me what the Kiwi Burger really is.  It’s not the kiwi fruit sliced on top.  Although, if someone said, “Have you tried the new kiwi burger?”, I would have initially pictured the bright green fruit freshly sliced onto of a steaming all beef patty.  Here in New Zealand, a Kiwi is a type of bird, but I can’t imagine they would kill thousands of Kiwi birds each year to satisfy McDonald’s customers.

Lynette: Where are most of the tourists from, that visit your hotel, Europeans, US ?

I have met Americans on vacation from San Francisco, Boston, D.C. and Chicago,  to name a few.  I have also met guests on holiday from England, Belgium, Germany, Holland, and Australia.  We even have some of the Belgium Royal Family staying at the Lodge over Christmas.  Tragically, this does mean that Justin and I will be working hard Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I’ll be serving breakfast for 23 the morning after Christmas, but don’t worry, I’ll have one or two of the lodges gourmet chefs to prepare all the bacon and eggs.  I just have to focus on not dropping food in the laps of the royal family.  Overall, if you have to work on Christmas evening, at least share the evening with a royal family,- even if you are the one pouring the wine, instead of sitting by the fire sipping it

Thanks Aunt Lynette!  I hope I have satisfied your questions and have allowed you to understand New Zealand culture a little more.  Enjoy Christmas and being together with everyone as a family.  I would quickly trade the entire Royal Belgium Family to spend Christmas at grandma and grandpa’s.  Have fun!

Gillian wrote:

Hey guys, now that you have been on the road for 1 month and 14 days, I
wonder if you can comment on some of your newly gained knowledge and what you
would have done differently before you left.  For example, what do you
think now of your packing list after lugging it around for 6 weeks?  Are you
traveling according to plan or was all that planning just an exercise in
building excitement? Any tips or tricks so far?
Cheers,
Gillian

My response:

Our new lifestyle has certainly led to some humbling experiences.  Justin and I have made mistakes. Learning to live with undesirable situations one at a time.

One recent example occurred at a hostel in Auckland.  Don’t stay at Queens Street Backpackers!  Everything seemed great until we went to make dinner.  The kitchen had no community food like olive oil, salt, pepper, nothing!  Cooking suddenly became rather challenging with our limited materials.  However, saying that the kitchen was under stocked is an understatement, as the kitchen had no dish soap, or any soap, as well as no towels or any means of drying dishes.  We asked around and the staff informed us that they had ran out of dish soap yesterday.  What!?!

Our second problem was that we were returning to our room to sleep before having to wake up at 5 am to catch the freight ferry to Great Barrier Island, and we discovered that the hostel was directly above a popular Auckland club on Guy Faux Day (popular British holiday also celebrated by the Kiwi’s)!

Through the horror that we have faced at this hostel, we decided it would be beneficial to format a loose checklist to run through at the reception before checking in for a night. In truth, we should have been doing this from the start be we simply got lazy.

The Boyd Family Hostel Check List:

- Location (Club/Bar nearby, etc)

- Prices (per person, specials, etc)

- Is their a lock out?

- Does the kitchen close?  What time?

- Wi fi?  If not, what will you charge me for internet (if available)?

- Kitchen (clean, FREE food zone, available utensils, sharp knives, etc)

- Let me see the room…lighting, carpet, test bed (ask locals about bed bugs), hangers, places to hang stuff, etc

- If dorm…can I secure my pack?

- Is their a bar inside the hostel (this can be a negative and attractive youth binge drinkers)

- Is their a common room without a television?  We like to meet new people and T.V. often distracts discussions.

- any FREE meals (we have seen both breakfast and dinner offered FREE)

- Tradable book library?

- Extra’s to pay (not just leave a deposit on, but pay for):  towels, sheets, secure luggage room or storage

It might sound like overload, but it should prove to be beneficial in avoiding extreme problems in the future.  Staying in a hostel is an adventure. It can be extremely rewarding to share life with others and discuss cultural differences or similarities (like the Simpsons).  Also while engaging in discussions that occur in hostel communities it’s a great resource to learn about where other people have been and the experiences (including mistakes) that they have learned from.  We have even met entire families (mom, dad and the kids) from countries all around the world.  It is not only 20-something’s that stay at hostels but they can be rather intergenerational.  Overall, the hostel experience is one I would recommend to anyone.  Read about our first stay at a hostel.

Now as for what we brought with us…as we left we felt as though we were bringing very little.  But beware!  It’s easy to accumulate things as you go.  Just now (not exaggerating), Louise walked up to me and gave me Guinness dice.  We are at the Irish Pub on Great Barrier Island, in New Zealand, not to be confused with our time in Ireland, although Louise is from Ireland.  She wants me to have the 2 dice, as a gift.  “It’s so small.”  Should I accept this gift from her?  Even little things add up quickly in a backpack.  That’s it!  I will have to give them to a local before leaving the Barrier.”

Overall advice, I offer, is the concept of bringing less.  I have a short article that was published on eurotrip.com titled, “Bring Less Stuff”. If you are a backpacker and you can offer advice to Gillian, please feel free to follow as she plans www.one-giant-step.com

We have lost our cork screw, pocket knife, laundry rope, some of our plastic zip ties, a medal butter knife , and a few other things as a result of airport security.  So, that’s a quick and easy way to lighten your pack too.

To finish answering Gillian’s questions, overall we feel as though we prepared as best as we could.  Our plans of getting 12 month work holiday visas in New Zealand worked.  After having many Kiwi’s tell us that it is really hard for American’s to get them, and others tell us that once you are 25, they basically don’t give them out, we felt all the more blessed to each receive the long term visa.

Justin’s 26, I am going to be 25 in less than 3 months, and we are not going to get any less American.  But it worked!  So, plan, dream and plans are sometimes dependent upon which countries will give you visas, and how long you can stay.

Can you comment on which backpacks you each have (size, make, model etc) and why you chose them?

As I like questions (hint: ask more questions), and this is a hotly debated topic, I thought this to be an appropriate time to discuss my backpack selection process.

First off, every backpacker and long term budget traveler possess a strong opinion regarding backpack selection. This really should not be surprising as many of these individuals spend more time carrying their packs then a prospective mother spends with her child during the gestation period. Passionate people have opinions based on their own experiences and priorities.

I think the first step to buying a backpack is to take a realistic look at the type of travel you will use it for.

• - Will you be spending the majority of your time in the back country, away from urban areas? If so, will the climate most closely resemble Siberia or Panama?
• - Are you planning on moving from place to place every few days or will you be staying in one location for a month and making day trips to the surrounding areas?
• - Do you want to do a great deal of trekking across rugged terrain, or will you mostly be walking from the train station to the nearest hostel?

Next, it is necessary to have an honest conversation (internal or external is up to you) regarding your level of annoyance. Figure out what annoys you, what your annoyance threshold is and factor this into the pack you choose.

• - Do you view physical discomfort as a fitness challenge or do you hate muscle soreness to the point where you are willing to club baby seals to death in order to make it stop?
• - Is a sweaty back an excellent opportunity to take a cold shower and wash your clothes, or does your back instantly break out into a bacne farm which will cause you to hop the next flight back home?
• - Do you find it relaxing to meticulously unpack your bag to get that pesky rain jacket stored at the very bottom, or do you see yourself losing your grip on sanity: dancing in a wild circle on the side of some dusty road with your bag upended, shaking the thing for all you are worth.

After psychoanalyzing all of your needs, wants, and desires, get online and start reading reviews. When you find a backpack that you like, see if www.backpackgeartest.org has reviewed it. Their reviews go on for pages and usually contain multiple entries that span a year or more of use by the reviewer. This is as close as you can get to talking to someone who has thoroughly test driven a backpack.

After doing all of this, here are the backpacks we chose and why.

Justin

I purchased the Osprey Kestrel 48 liter top loading pack. I went to REI and had one of their backpacking experts take my measurements. He recommend that, when purchasing a bag, I should opt for a large frame. I prudently followed his advise.  I originally purchased the Osprey Kestrel 38 but, due to Natalie’s back issues it became clear during conditioning that she needed to carry less weight. Therefore I upgraded to the 48 liter in order to carry more and to have the flexibility to add food and other essentials to our traveling menagerie.

The following factors played a large role in why I chose the Osprey Kestrel 48:

• - Osprey is a major player in the backpacking world with a dedicated following. They have a reputation for producing high quality bags and each bag comes with a life time warranty. Many companies advertise their “warranties” but, like an insurance company, when something goes wrong these “warranties” rarely turn into practical assistance (read: money). I read many reviews by Osprey enthusiast who were sent new buckles or had straps replaced with a minimum amount of hassle
• - I wanted a small bag. This is a larger bag than I originally planned on using but a travel buddy who is in constant pain is a big zero in the fun department. When that person is your wife, you get a bigger pack.
• - I hate unpacking a top loading bag to get to something on the very bottom. The Kestrel 48 liter conveniently provides access to the bottom of the pack through a large bottom opening.
• - The Kestrel is a compression pack that has numerous straps whose sole purpose is to compress the bag and hold it solidly on my back. I do not want to feel as if the bag is pulling me in one direction or another.
• - The Kestrel 48 liter comes with a rain guard. I will use this to wrap my bag in on the rare times that I need to check it at the airport. I like this because now I do not need to spend the $30 on a bag for my bag.
• - I originally wanted the Osprey Talon 44 but the Kestrel series is made out of a more durable fabric and I liked the way the side pockets slant so that I can put a water bottle into the pockets when the bag is on my back. The Talon does not offer this convenience as its pockets lack the angle that makes this maneuver possible.

Natalie

Natalie will be carrying the Osprey Talon 33 liter pack. After going through the same REI measuring dance the backpacking guru indicated that she would need a bag with a small frame. We followed his advise this time around as well. In selecting a bag for Natalie, her back issues were a large consideration. Natalie’s L4 disk (see diagram) is current being squished by her L5 and L6 disks. This causes the cartilage in her L4 disk to be squeeze out like a jelly donut. The escaping cartilage puts pressure on a series of nerves that run towards her right hip and down the right leg. In other words, Natalie does not have the extremely painful back issues experienced by most retired football players, but the pain can be debilitating if not managed correctly.

• - We like Osprey Packs (see above)
• - The Talon series is highly adjustable and made out of light weight material.
• - A 33 liter pack will allow Natalie to carry more weight than desired, but, instead of carrying extra pounds, it also provides room for lite items that take up extra space (read: daily wear contacts)
• The Talon is easy to adjust and does not have a lot of extra straps that other bags in the same class.
• The front of the Talon has a very stretchy pocket capable of fitting a standard Ultimate Frisbee Disk. Natalie is a big frisbee fan and this is the perfect place for our disk.

The Unofficial Nomad Backpackers Backpack buying list of things to consider

1. Keep it small:
   Buying a small bag (between 35 and 45 liters) will keep you from carrying more weight than you really want. Backpacking websites (this one now included) discuss at length how all first time backpackers pack to much stuff. The smaller your bag, the less you will be tempted to bring stuff you don’t need.
2. Wheels are the devil:
   Many of the “travel packs” I looked at had wheels, like the guy in the photo was going to spend the majority of his time moving from the taxi to the airport. Wheeling a bag down the street is like wearing a sign that says “hey, can you please steal my stuff I am not from around here”. True, wearing a large backpack certainly indicates a certain foreignness but I think it also demonstrates a flexibility of movement not offered by their wheelbound counterparts.
3. Comfort is everything:
   If you are going on a long term budget travel adventure, you will become very intimate with your backpack. Try out your backpack before you buy it. Remember, all backpacks feel great when they are empty. Make sure you put 10-15 pounds of weight into your prospective pack before making a commitment. If you are a first time backpacker, buy your pack at a store where someone knows more about backpacking than you. Most packs have a large number of straps that can be configured in about 1,000 different ways. You really want to talk to someone who knows the purpose of all those crazy straps.
4. Avoid the All in One Backpack with Attached Daypack:
   First off, these are usually 60 L or more in size. Second, a backpack is not a secure way to carry anything in a crowd. If you want a day pack, get a shoulder bag that you can keep your eyes on instead of placing a tempting morsel on your back and daring some enterprising thief to give it a try

UPDATE:

The Backpack that Natalie used during over 6 months of backpacking. No back problems and her backpack is still in perfect condition!!!