Another milestone birthday it is for me today. I'm 35, believe it or not. My tradition of going to a special place continued today as Craig Smith and a couple of his mates, Karen and Mike, and I would jump aboard his fishing boat and cruise across Lake Wakatipu. For years and years I've gazed at a tiny speck of land from Craig's veranda. Hidden Island it is so close yet so unreachable. It reminded me of Shah Jahan whilst imprisoned: he could see the Taj Mahal whilst he was imprisoned during the final years of his life. Today that would change: Craig, two friends, and I would jump on his fishing boat. With pies, snacks, beer, and a bottle of champagne, we went full steam toward this small locale. My rule is that I won't say I've been to a place unless my two feet are on land.
Often I'm told that I look younger than my age; in fact, Craig thought I was only about 28. I attribute that to a number of things: I'm 100% self-employed, I have no kids, I've never smoked, and I've never driven a car. Furthermore, when I have a dream I always find a way to pull it off. For years I looked into either borrowing or hiring a kayak and paddling out to Hidden Island. Despite there being so many places in Queenstown to hire skis, snowboards, bicycles, and even skateboards, there is no outlet that hires kayaks. A few years ago there was one place that hired kayaks but you could only hire them for one hour (there was no option for a full day hire). The Yamaha outboard motor would get us across the lake at lightning speed on this gorgeous, sunny day. We circled this tiny speck of an island and, at long last, I finally made it to Hidden Island.
For a while we sat, feasting on pies and nuts whilst sipping beer and champagne.
In between I flew Juliett for a circular tour of the island, which measures approximately 30 metres by 100 metres. Craig's boat, in the upper left corner, gives an idea of how tiny the island is.
Karen and Mike are also keen geocachers, and there were no caches on the island until today.
After more than two hours on Hidden Island, it was time to cruise around the lake.
When we got out I was shocked at how the sandflies feasted on my legs. I wasn't even thinking about these nasty buggers since there are no sandflies in Queenstown. With the fishing lines cast, we caught a fish!
A great day it was for my big 35. 35 long years of living outside the norm, living my dreams, and pulling off extraordinary adventures. I'm a young and very youthful 35, and I look forward to another 35 years of adventure. My ultimate goal is to live to be 100, and I guarantee I'll still be having adventures even at that age. I'll crawl if I have to! In the short term, I have another big adventure to look forward to. Pitcairn Island is only weeks away and I'm so ready!
Cheers to Craig for taking me to Hidden Island and to Karen and Mike for joining me.
