Entirely due to a steep incline in my obsession with Remi Wolf, I did something ~highly spontaneous~, at least by Abby standards.
They Cool, They Tight
Somewhat late to the game, I hadn’t an inkling that she was touring the Antipodes until my mate gave me a heads up. Unfortunately, The Babe Herself had sold out in Wellington weeks before. (Remi!! You highly underestimated your audience numbers in our capital, San Fran wasn’t big enough for us all </3)
Drunk on the newly discovered technicolour chaos that is her music, I bit the bullet and booked for Tāmaki. This, is precisely how I found myself in Auckland City. I already happened to be up in Tauranga for raumati (☀️) so, by the grace of G–Air New Zealand’s flexible booking system, I forked out to smooj my flights around and somehow made it work.
I have absolutely No Ragrets – but I will admit to some guilt-laden fomo when my family went to laser tag on a trip that had been planned specifically so I could go (Sorry Tash).
Will You Buzz Me In
Staying at a backpackers was honestly an unexpected pleasure. It’s not like I had low hopes, but I couldn’t have foreseen the spontaneous and beautiful connections I made while I was there. All three of my fellow roommates were Canadians (and as Canadians reliably are, they were absolutely lovely). I made friends with two sisters who are travelling NZ over the next few months. We hung out for the afternoon, talking native birds, colonisation, ultimate frisbee, and how indigenous cultures compare in NZ and Canada.. you know, just your go-to just-met conversation topics. Then, they invited me to make and have lentil soup with them for dins :’) – an actual honour.
The next morning, while breakfasting in the dining room, a man asked if I was French, which prompted a cute lil’ exchange between the two of us and I was able to flex my francophone neural pathways again. Despite the man not knowing her music at all, when Younger French Guy came to join us, he showed me Remi’s music in his Spotify downloads :’)
I’d stayed in hostels before whilst travelling overseas, but as far as local stays go, this was a first. Having never considered it before, I plan to do more New Zealand backpacker stays in the future! They’re ridiculously cheap comparative to everything else out there, you’re pretty much guaranteed to meet new people (especially if you bunk with strangers), and you can self-cater biiiitch.
You Can Go If You Want To
Final thoughts: please do get some Remi in your ears if you feel that way inclined, because she is electric caramello chaos. I admire her eccentricity, musicality and prowess, and I want to convert others to the remjobs cult. Secondly, if you want to holiday cheaper, do backpackers?! People probably already knew this, but has it ever occurred to anyone else you can do it in your own country too? (Almost definitely.)
p.s. she has already collaborated with Kimbra and it makes me so happy :’)
bohemianhumanist.com 