X's Solo Yolo

While Caitlin was off living the good life and traveling with her mom, Nick was in Sydney hitting up the gay pride parade, and Maggie was rolling in the cash, I have been holding down the fort in Christchurch. For the month we all split (don't worry, it was not a permanent split ala Sonny and Cher, the yoloers will be reunited in a month or so..put back the tissues) I decided to hang back in Christchurch, work some more, and take in my final days in New Zealand. Outdoor concerts, a roadtrip with Katy and Maggie (not Maggie Corr, but I did see her on the roadtrip, I just don't have any pictures of it...sorry Mags), and classic Dux staff parties filled my days before I had to say goodbye to the yoloers New Zealand hometown.


Katy, Maggie, and my sweet ride! Girls weekend roadtrip 2007! And PS, if all else fails, we should start filming car commercials, because this picture proves we have a natural talent at it! Tell me you wouldn't buy this car based on this picture


Maggie, me, and Katy with the Pacific Ocean in the background. If only we knew that minutes after taking this picture we would be pulling into some broken down gas station to find out the brakes on our oh so reliable rental car were failing....(no worries though, we got them fixed, but thats too long of a story for this blog).


New Zealand is known for its sunsets. We were lucky enough to see this on our way down to Dunedin.



What's a roadtrip without sheep? Katy and Maggie were on a mission to take the best sheep picture ever, and this one came pretty close.


Maggie and I in Lake Tekapo, a pit stop on our roadtrip. We were really excited to get out of the car- and that's probably why we didn't realize we were standing in the middle of the road taking a picture.


Wahoo for roadtrips! Katy and I showing our excitement of our fabulous roadtrip with Lake Tekapo in the background.


Dux Staff Party 2007! All you can eat and all you can drink from noon to midnight- you couldn't really ask for a better party. The staff posing for a picture!


Lets get cheesy for a second- these people made my New Zealand experience! I heart the whole Dux staff. Okay, enough sap....



St. Patty's Day and my last day of work fell on the same day, so that meant one huge party at the Dux! Of course, we brought green dye to start the party off right, because what's a St. Patty's day celebration without green drinks? Toasting to my last day in Christchurch with Hayley, Becky, and Sas.


My personal bartenders for the night, Saki and Fred. These two made my plane flight to Australia a little painful...



The staff at the Dux is awesome. Some of the staff posing for a group picture for my final farewell. Tears were shed....of course.


Goodbye Christchurch, hello vagabond lifestyle for a month. This view was out my plane window as I flew to Australia. The next few weeks I wil be traveling Australia with Nick and Caitlin, and meeting up with all sorts of friends along the way. We promise to post as soon as we can. YOLO.

From Rags to Riches- The Beginning of Maggie's Solo Yoloing Experience

Top 10 ways to transition from yoloing en masse in Christchurch to yoloing solo in Queenstown without becoming broke, lonely, or bored:

1. Make good friends while hitchhiking- not only did Tom rescue all 4 of us Yoloers at the end of the Routeburn track when we hitched a ride with him out of the torrential downpour, he also provided free lakeside accommodation for me while I took my time finding a flat of my own and introduced me to my first Q-town friends .

The view from Tom's flat at sunrise- not a bad wake-up call if you ask me.

2. Enjoy a classy dinner in Christchurch with the Pegnim family and the rest of the Yoloers, then immediately move to Queenstown and score another classy dinner with the Pegnims as they just happen to pass through Q-town on their vacay of the south island- thanks Pegnim fam for the amazing dinners and good times!

Dinner #1 in Christchurch with the Yoloers- clearly an enjoyable occasion that was made possible thanks to the Pegnim fam.

Dinner #2 in Queenstown (aka a Lafayette reunion)- there's really no need for me to go home if home keeps coming to me!



3. Get on the bus in Christchurch with a hometown friend who is traveling the south island, and then upon arrival in Q-town be a good mate and play the role of adventurous and carefree travel companion instead of embarking upon the hunt for a home and job - Annie Thomas came to NZ and accompanied me on my move to Queenstown!!!!


The bus ride may have been 9.5 hours long, but luckily it let us get off and enjoy a good view of Mt. Cook.

Annie and I decided to enjoy our first day in Queenstown and the great summery weather by taking a hike up Ben Lomond (aka my new backyard).



Annie turned 21 and Caitlin was in town- clearly some festivites were in order. Needless to say we celebrated with lots of beer and teapot shots.

The b-day celebration continued the next day when we took a mini vacation to Wanaka and enjoyed a nice hotel, suana, more drinks and good nibbles.

4. Quit work at the ChCh Dux de Lux (without burning any bridges upon exit) and then seek a job at the Queenstown Dux and land yourself immediate employment- I may have left Christchurch and the rest of the yoloers but I haven't left the Dux or the yoloing ways of earning a livelihood.

5. Stay true to the Yoloers' ways and make frequent trips to the super market....you never know what you might find, like a $0.99 cart of bakery items or maybe even a place to live- no, I am not living at the food store (although that would be pretty funny) but I did find my flat on the bulletin board there!

6. Move into a flat with people who work in the tourism industry and tag along on the expensive 4WD and ATV tours they lead- for FREE!!! It’s a good thing I never forked over heaps of cash for a Lord of the Rings tour at an earlier date because scoring free activities is clearly the preferred yoloing tactic.

Lance, my new flatmate, took me on a 4WD tour of Skipper's Canyon to catch the spectacular views around Coronet Peak.

7. Stop eating instant meals out of a grocery bag and instead get paid to prepare gourmet feasts for yourself while at work- in addition to getting a job at the Dux I somehow managed to land myself a job working at a café that lets me make myself breakfast, snacks, and lunch while working. Needless to say my grocery bill is dropping and my smoothie and pesto panini intake is skyrocketing.

8. Move into a flat with an avid runner and never have to search for a running buddy again- that’s right, my new flat may not have a gym but I finally found a reliable buddy to go with me on my daily runs. His name is Natas and he may or may not be a dog.

Natas got a little tired from our run and plopped down on my bedroom floor for some R&R.

9. When not slaving away at work (aka getting paid to eat and socialize with coworkers) embark upon the 500 meter walk to the lake and stake a claim in the sun to relax, tan, and enjoy true summer weather- although 280 Bealey had its merits I definitely upped the ante and found some prime real estate in Queenstown right near Lake Wakatipu.

Lake Wakatipu, as viewed from my new flat, is just a wee walk down the hill.

10. Stalk the blog and hope to get updated on the adventures of the rest of the Yoloers- Nick and Caitlin are doing some solo yoloing in Australia and X is still going strong in Christchurch.