Spring has finally arrived in Queenstown.
The days are getting longer, warmer, and it’s becoming very obvious that this would be an excellent place to spend the summer. Gone are the days of winter sports and I’ve been busy working with NZbyBike developing the preeminent marketing website for cycle tourism in New Zealand.
Two weeks ago I jumped head first into the world of mountain biking and rode the Rail Trail Classic – a 150 kilometer (100 mile) mountain bike ride that stretches across Otago on the Otago Central Rail Trail. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Training? Nope. I hadn’t been on a bike since wine tasting in Marlborough ten months ago. It was brutally painful – nine solid hours of pedaling with a nasty headwind for the final 30 miles. I hit the wall three or four times and somehow kept going.
It was an unbelievable feeling of accomplishment to finish.
It has been a busy month in terms of mentions and guest posts elsewhere on the web. Over the past month Backpackingmatt was featured in the blog posts listed below:
- Adventurous Kate included me in her “Best Blogs of the Week“
- CollegeScholarships.org named Backpackingmatt.com as one of the “Top 150 Travel Blogs for Students“
- Amanda from DangerousBusiness.com listed me in her “Best of the Week“
Lonely Planet retweeted two of my posts and after only a couple weeks they’re now two of my Top 10 viewed posts of all time. It’s always great to see @LonelyPlanet pick up a post as it results in a quick increase of views, Twitter followers, and RSS subscribers.
- New Zealand’s Top 5 Backpacking Destinations – 94 retweets & 1,427 page views
- 20 of New Zealand’s Best Views – 83 retweets & 1,012 page views
I also contributed two posts over at the Flightster.com blog:
The Next Step …
I’m going on 11 months in New Zealand. I’ll remember these 11 months for some of the greatest times in my life – and also for some of the most challenging. The last two months specifically have been extremely difficult and I’ve decided I’m in need of a change of scenery – a chance to clear my head, experience new places, and again be challenged by travel.
One week from Saturday I’m catching a series of flights that will ultimately land me in Thailand.
I have serious mixed emotions about leaving NZ, but I’m excited for the next step in my journey. This trip will mark a series of firsts – namely my first time in Southeast Asia and my first go at solo travel.
I have three quick nights scheduled across the Tasman in Australia. I’ll be in Sydney the night of the 17th and on the Gold Coast for the 18th and 19th. The Surf N Sun Backpackers has offered to host me for two nights and hopefully I’ll get to give surfing another go.
I’ll then be catching a cheap Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur where I’ll spend the night of the 20th before flying into Bangkok on the 21st. The plans end there. I’ll take the days and weeks as they come and see where I end up.
If you’ll be around any of these places, get in touch with me and we can meet up.
In the coming weeks look forward to fresh new content on Backpackingmatt. I’m excited to again face the unknown, be pushed out of my comfort zone, and experience the joys that come with traveling to new places.
Backpacking Matt 
DUDE! I’M FLYING INTO BANGKOK ON THE 21ST, TOO!!!! ๐ ๐
Let’s plan stuff.
@Adventurous Kate Nice one! See you in BKK!
So excited for you about your next adventure! Though I’ll miss getting weekly doses of New Zealand from you, I’m looking forward to reading about this new round of travel!
@Amanda I still have NZ content to write about so expect the odd Aotearoa post now and again!
@diamond I’ve heard nothing but great things as well … looking forward to it!
@Lauren Sweet! I get in early as on the Sunday and leave late afternoon on the Monday. I’ll take any advice you have! And, for sure – let’s plan something.
thailand will be amazing! i know a few people who have spent time there, and they all just love it. i’ll be excited to read your take on thailand, for sure.
I’m so happy for your Matt! This is incredibly exciting. I hope I can meet you when you’re in Sydney that day. I’ll be around, so let me know where you’re hanging.
I can’t wait to hear all about your new adventures in south east Asia, it’s been on my ‘to visit’ list ever since I can remember.
How long will you be travelling that area, or is it an open-ended journey?
@Catia It’s very much up in the air right now as I only have the flight booked into BKK. I’ll take it week by week – who knows what will happen.
That is so exciting! I’m certainly no expert, but Lawrence and I spent a bit of time there if you want any ideas. I did some time alone in that area too which was amazing. Can’t wait for your first Thai post!!
@Jo So good to hear from you! Thanks for the comment. It’s very bittersweet for lots of reasons, but I am excited to do a bit of traveling again. Would love your advice on Thailand – drop me an email or a FB message. Hope you’re well!
Matt! Have a wonderful time in Thailand and I am really looking forward to reading about this next chapter in your traveling adventures. Keep up the fantastic writing and safe travels! Solo trips are the best. ๐
Best of luck!
@Jill Thanks for the compliments – destination specific Thailand advice isn’t far away now!
@Pookie Thanks Chris!
@Abby I can’t quite believe it either, never thought I’d finish!
@Christy I’d take any recommendations you have! I’ve only surfed once, yet I loved it – managed to get up quite a few times but they were small waves. Expect them to be bigger in ‘Surfers Paradise?’
Glad to hear your new plans. Best of luck with the new adventure. BANGKOK!
Wow — big changes! Although I’m still stuck on the fact you pushed through a bike ride like that without training. Have a safe trip — enjoy!!
Your plans sound super exciting! I’m sure you will love Thailand. Oh yea, and have fun surfing the Gold Coast. I love it there! Let me know if you need any suggestions on places to surf.
This is my first visit to this blog. I live in the northern hemisphere. When I saw the title ‘Spring has arrived..,’ I thought it is a very old post at least 6 months old. Then I suddenly recalled that Queenstown is in NZ and in southern hemisphere! ๐
Your pictures from New Zealand are beautiful. Will be following your blog and will be looking forward to seeing many more images.
@Arun Thanks for visiting! Still strange for me to think about as well – last year’s warm Christmas was bizarre! Glad you enjoy the site, see you around!
Matt, havenยดt casught up with you in a while, my fault. got a spanish social security number, residency and a new job. been a bit crazy! so proud of you for taking the next step and am excited to see where you end up. did you ever think we would make it this far in expat life? heading to ireland in december with ym family and will think fondly of those afternoons in the spanish arch getting pissed with you and brian! besos from sevilla, Cat
@Cat Residency?! Look at you go. Congrats on the new job – I knew everything would fall into place for you. Quite jealous you’re off to Ireland – have some Guinness for me!
Congrats on completing that bike ride, sounds like a really great experience. Looking forward to your new stories and following you into your new territory.
@Michael Thanks! I’m excited for the new experiences as well!
@Christine Thanks for the comment, it was a good (and busy!) month.
@DaveandDeb Cheers guys – as always, appreciate your feedback.
Best of luck to you in your new adventures! And congrats on the attention to BackpackingMatt in the travel community!
Have a great time in Thailand. Great to see that you enjoyed so much success this month. I see that it has been a busy one, but all the hard work is definitely paying off.