What was the Mountain Town hiding?

It was one of those mornings that I felt as crisp as a green apple the moment I woke up. The curtains of my room couldn't seem to restrain the rays of the honey dew sun, its morning pollen spraying through the gap between the clumsy curtain and the wall. I hopped out of my sheets and tossed the curtains aside like a circus conductor; the sunshine flooding my room. 

I was delighted to have arrived at the weekend after a busy week at the Jack’s Point Clubhouse. The weekend was my window of freedom to embrace my love for exploration, and to feed my spirit which hungered for adventure. This day was just one of those days that was calling out to me - I sensed that I would find something, but I just wasn’t sure what. I wondered what kind of treasures I was yet to discover in Queenstown that would enrich my journey. Secret little nooks and crannies? Interesting characters? What was the Mountain Town still hiding?

After finding the Celestine Prophecy in Dunedin (Read: The Celestine Prophecy), I was undergoing a shift in my consciousness and my approach to life in general. I was becoming more in tune with this idea that there is a higher wisdom orchestrating things in our lives, and that following the natural way of things will lead us right to where we need to be. In honouring this design, I committed myself to sitting in meditation for an hour every morning, as a method of tuning myself into the natural harmony that exists in the world. On this particularly day, I emerged from my abode and into the bright world with butterflies in my stomach, excited to be taken wherever I needed to go, like a dandelion flower floating in the smooth winds. I trusted this instinct telling me that I would find something, and I certainly had faith in this new wisdom I was absorbing from The Celestine Prophecy. Was this stuff really legit? Or was my fantasy mind drunk again?

My car was parked in town, so I had to either walk the Shotover Valley, or hitch a ride. When I reached the road, I found myself raising my thumb, and a car stopped surprisingly quickly. It was a dusty four-wheel-drive, the kind of vehicle that seems to never stop when I hitchhike. I opened the door to a blonde lady, who was clearing the passengers seat of its accumulated rubble. She gestured me in and gave me a friendly smile. “I don’t normally pick up hitchhikers,” she told me. “But when I saw you, I really felt that I should stop.” An omen! As we cruised through the valley from Arthurs Point nattering about this and that, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a rhyme behind this - whether or not it was part of todays orchestration. ‘I’m certainly on the right path’ I thought to myself, the mountains dancing in my peripheral vision. The friendly lady dropped me off in the bustling Queenstown, and I thanked her dearly for the ride. It was a good start to the adventure, but now where?

Without much thought, I let my legs do the walking. Not surprisingly, they lead my right into a cafe. 'Was I meant to be here?' I thought to myself as my eyes spiralled the cabinet of mouth-watering cakes. The caramel slice was a bar of glowing gold. Was this the treasure I was destined to find? I ordered the slice and a latte, taking my seat by the flourishing bouquet of flowers. When my delights arrived before me, I was starting to feel like I had something wrong. My adventure was too short lived, and my reward too delicious… 

A few moments of sweet joy later, all that was left of my treasure was a sweep of crumbs on the plate and some froth hugging the side of the latte glass. What now? Surely there was more to this day than a visit to the cafe…I needed to get out of Queenstown. I asked the cafe guy for his suggestion on a good walking trail - perhaps he held the key to my new discovery; the real treasure! He told me to check out Bob’s Cove, a Lake Wakatipu adventure spot favourable to the locals. I had been there before, but it didn’t matter - I had just been presented with the way forward out of pure spontaneity. So with my cap screwed to my head and leather satchel slung across my shoulder, I headed back to the car, and sped off along the shores of Lake Wakatipu. 

Skidding stones in the parking lot, I lunged from my car and into the forest at Bob’s Cove. It feels ancient there, like the kind of place a long lost tribe would bury their mountains of gold, and scrolls of wisdom untold. My thin shoes patted the path, and the waters of Lake Wakatipu twinkled at me through the seams in the trees. I almost expected to see a crumbling ruin ahead, the resting place of REAL TREASURE! Bars of gold, crimson goblets, trinkets and embroidery!..  Was my imagination taking hold of the reigns? Tumbling out onto the shores of the lake, the beauty around me was immeasurable. No amount of treasure could buy it! And yet, I was still wondering where this damn thing was hiding - you know, that thing I was destined to discover… Perhaps it was all a fable after all. 

As if sorrowful in my place, the sky was seized by clouds, and rain drops came falling down upon Bob’s Cove. I decided to call my adventure quits, and headed back to the car. I felt a little bit empty handed, but I realised that there was nothing to complain about. Perhaps the real treasure was right before me the whole time - a shifting environment, the beautiful scenes of our world. Perhaps it the the friendly lady offering me a ride, the caramel slice, the latte, and the ancient forest which inspired my imagination.. Not a moment after reaching the car, I was already turning the key in the ignition, and heading on my way home. 

Just as I was about to curve along the roundabout on my way back, a cardboard signpost caught the corner of my eye. It had ‘GARAGE SALE’ written in bold letters, with an arrow pointing up to Fernhill. Hope shuddered through my bones, and I found myself instantaneously turning left at the last minute, and zooming up Fernhill. Maybe it wasn’t fantasy after all! On the edge of my seat, I eagerly followed the arrows that were stuck to poles. They lead me down Wynyard Crescent, right to the fringe, where the final sign labelled ‘GARAGE SALE’ sat like a grumpy man. Behind it was a closed garage door. 

‘Okay, that’s it,’ I told myself. Was I just wasting time now? Squandering my hope? As I went to turn out of Wynyard Crescent, I noticed two intrepid looking men wobbling on their feet, arms outstretched and thumbs pointing to the sky. Hitchhikers! I pulled up to the curb and welcomed them into my adventure wagon. They both had eccentric, colourful personas, and spoke in rich South American accents. The guy in the front introduced himself as Marcos, and told me of their recent travels and tribulations. We spoke very authentically, and I told them about my own journey, as well as my love for music. They perked up, expressing their love for playing music too. They told me about a weekly gathering of musicians right in the heart of Queenstown. “There’s drums and guitars, bongos, singers. The other night I was even playing my trombone!” the fellow in the back was telling me, enthusiasm heavy in his tone. “Yeah you should come along bro, it’s a crazy jam!”

I couldn’t believe my ears. A jam night… in Queenstown? This is exactly what I was seeking ever since I arrived in the early summer of 2016! I stopped outside the bar Surreal to drop off my two new friends, and shook their hands vigorously after taking Marcos’ Facebook for contact. I couldn’t thank them enough! I always longed to find my tribe of musicians, and now, after almost 2 years here, I had found it. I was absolutely dumbfounded … what an incredible discovery! This was real treasure! 

As I headed on my way home, I couldn’t believe that it really happened, that I really did discover something as my instinct had told me. And it was found out of pure surrender to the natural way of things. Thinking back to everything that transpired, I almost choked on how marvellously it worked out. There was a rhyme and a reason behind everything that happened, as it was all leading me to the moment I picked up the two intrepid hitchhikers. Perhaps it really was destined.

All I could think was 'So that's what the Mountain Town was hiding!'