New Zealand -- Vintage

Hola,

 Here's some more action from my time in New Zealand so far. (the internet is on FIRE today -- Two posts in a day!) I touched down in Wellington -- Nice weather to arrive to NZ.

Here's one of a few snaps of the winery I was at.  We crush around 15,000 tons of fruit per year. Vintage was short -- roughly Mid-march to April 22nd.  Five weeks goes by quickly when you're working 72 hours per week (and many people worked way less than that!  Crazy.) -- particularly when the vintage in Washington can last for Eight or Ten weeks.

A few weeks into arriving here I moved from a hostel to a house that I now share with 7 other people, mostly from Estonia.  One of them shoots some pretty good photos in general, but also shoots for the local speedway.  Super Saloons like the one below can make between 1,500 and 2,000 bhp running on ethanol and they take corners up to 150 km's / hr.  So much fun to watch!

We have a good party house, which can be dangerous for the casual party-goer since the Estonians can do some drinking.

 You might ask -- "Tyler, are you on a giant vacation, or did you do ANY work at all?" I had to throw in some token winery snaps to prove I did in fact bust my ass.  A little bit.  I ran and managed the operation of five presses, often simultaneously, every day of work.  Being in this part of the vintage operation was actually highly preferable for me, considering my lack of experience in press work and my wealth of experience in pretty much every other part of winery operations.

Note the Kiona threads.

Kata was on my team.  She's German and always super happy even when her work ethic dwarfs yours. Take a lesson!

 Did you know the world's largest WWI Aircraft exhibit (supposedly) is in Blenheim (Me either.)?  Adjacent was also a pretty sweet car museum featuring mostly cars made on this side of the world.  And Jags, for obvious reasons.

The coolest part -- The crash of the Red Baron and every piece of history behind him that you could ever wish for.

Drool.

So, here's a story.  My brother, JJ (who is, for lack of a better term and for those who don't know, the Director of Sales at Kiona), who was across the state in Seattle at a trade event (Taste WA!), was enjoying a drink at a bar after the event with some friends and associated mutual company.  Lo and behold, JJ ended up getting into some small talk with a fellow from western Washington.  Who also has a brother my age.  Who is also working in New Zealand.  In the same town.  At the same winery. In the same quarter of the winery.  On the same shift.  As me. Max is a clown and provides some good company to most! Here's the man of the hour, along with his main squeeze -- Lauren -- Also from Washington.

Max and I swooping to the harvest party at the horse races. Estonian congregation in the rear.

'Stache and Fanny. And beer.

When you're lucky enough to meet so many people sharing a passion in the same profession, a lot of times you'll meet someone whose family farms, makes wine, or both.  The story behind this bottle is funny.  Victor, whose family owns this winery from Champagne (SO GOOD), is also friends (and went to school with) Nico, who worked with me during my last vintage at Maryhill in Washington.  Nico also did the NZ vintage here in Blenheim.  Though Nico and I were at different wineries, Victor was at my winery.  Thanks for the treat, mate.

And a few last snaps from Blenheim.

I leave on a 27-day tour around essentially every major part of New Zealand next week.  Keep your eyes peeled and check back in due time.

Cheers!

TW

Sydney.

Hello all,

Welcome back. The week after Fiji, Greta and I spent 5 days in Sydney.  Most of it was spent eating.  And drinking coffee. And walking :)


The Anzac memorial, Hyde Park.

 Hyde Park.

 The Royal Gardens.

 And check this out.  I met up with Mr. Ben Sexton in Manley, accessed via ferry from Sydney.  A number of Gonzaga alumni all sitting around the same table on the other side of the world!  Ben was my Cell Bio lab TA during school and we saw each other during school often as we were both Biology majors.  His brother Tom is picture middle left, also from GU.

 Manley Beach.

 We had to resort to a bar patio as this storm kicked us off the beach.

Snapped during the ferry ride on the way back from the Taronga zoo.

 You know your dim sum is good when it takes 20 people to make it.

 Walking between hostels!

 Yep, we saw it in the opera house.  AWESOME.

 Have a Dragon.

 Kanga's are everywhere in Australia, but we never went outside of Sydney so the best we could do was snake a picture from the zoo. You know how people's cars get totaled on the frequent by deer and elk in the PNW?  Apparently it's a similar phenomena in Australia due to the Kanga's, but the per-capita collision rate dwarfs ours.

 Taz's brother.

Greta flew back to the US after our week in Sydney.  I flew to New Zealand.  Read about it in a few hours!

Cheers, 

TW

WELCOME.

Hello all,

If you know me, then you also know that traveling the world while I work has been a goal since I entered college at 18.  This is the beginning of that journey, where I have sacrificed solid plans and a steady source of income in order to jump between hemispheres twice a year to make wine in various countries and travel between jobs.  My first traveling-vintage job is in New Zealand, where I am finishing my second-ever vintage as I'm writing this initial post.

So -- You asked for it (maybe), and here it is -- a non-traditional blog in the sense of simple text and rich photos.  Honestly, I'm on a traveling spree, and I'd rather show you what I'm up to rather than write paragraphs at a time for you to read. That way you still have time to live, work, eat, whatever, and escape the black hole that is the internet.  This first update is coming to you partly out of laziness and party out of working 72 hour weeks.  Anyways, the eye candy is below.  Feel free to email me at tylerwill09@gmail.com or Facebook me if you care to chat, ask questions, or in general just keep in touch.


After I quit my previous job in late January, I spent three weeks packing, tying up loose ends for the coming months, skiing, and visiting friends.  Despite the dry early season, I was able to pack in a few pow days before I left the country (thank you... just in time for me to leave ;) )

Greta and I flew to Fiji on February 22nd.  The mainland city of Nadi, where most people fly in and out of, is dirty -- Not a place to spend the entirety of your vacation.

But, there were some gems.  We visited the world's largest orchid garden...

...and happened to book the coolest little room in a back-packer hostel.  For 30 USD.  At the end of a long dirt road.

The food throughout Fiji was delicious.  The owners of this resort were typically also the people cooking our meals.

There was also this -- 

The next day, we took a boat about 60 kilometers to the west of the mainland to an outlying island group called the Yasawas.  We spent five days at a small resort called the Octopus Resort.  Days consisted of lounging around and drinking between activities, should you choose to participate in them.

 We figured out the way to do it -- Buy the pineapple / OJ combo from the bar and bring it back to your room to spice it up a bit.  Yes, the rum was good.

One day, we walked 15 minutes from the resort to one of the local villages of the island.  From my understanding, there are six in total, but this is all that we ever saw.  The resort is operated as a non-profit from a dude who owns a number of resorts around the world and who lives in California.  All of the earnings from the resort are used to employ the villagers, who typically walk to work in bare feet along a dirt trail.  Below lies a few snaps of the village and the school house of the village. The school is sponsored by the Australian government -- Along with water filtration systems and emergency services to the village.

 The children sang for us.  It was precious.

The women spend their days in "Fiji time" and craft small goods to sell both locally and to tourists like us that come to the resort.

Another day, we learned how to make a Fijian-style whitefish ceviche with lemon and home-made coconut cream.

Greta was a pro at making a basket in a pinch.

We had the opportunity to go on a guided hike to the top of the mountain peak on the right of the picture below.  It was easily the hardest, most intense, high consequence hike I have ever been on.  It was a six-hour round-trip journey...

This is our guide, Api.  He climbed the whole thing with bare feet.

Don't fall.

Up the start of the path were the family plots of the villagers, planted in the more fertile soil above the beach.  This is a patch of cassava that one family tends.

Greta tried her hand at scuba diving.

Fijian night.  SO GOOD...

 ...It also entailed a ceremony with all of the employees from the village.

Part of the reason we booked five nights at the resort was the inclusion of a 1-hour massage and a seafood dinner for two free of charge.  

 Best meal of the resort.

 Here're a few snaps of the resort.

 The bungalows we stayed in.

So -- all in all, if you need an affordable vacation, come here.  Seriously.  It's away from the main drag of uber-tourists and it pretty much fits the description of the classic tropical vacation.  More info at www.octopusresort.com.

Our Australian chronicle will follow shortly, so stay tuned! I'm also closing down the vintage here in NZ so a re-cap will also be on the way soon.  I miss you all!

Cheers,

TW