Writing /

What comes nextWhat comes next

Published on September 2, 2019 ⋅ 1min read

So, "where are you going next?", you ask?

Well, it all started with a documentary called The Passage. It's an excellent video, you can watch it here. And it just so happens that this year also coincides with a special day... Dad's 60th birthday.

# The plan

What better way to celebrate 60 years of life, than getting out and living? Dad and I had always talked about doing a trip together in the past, but it never eventuated. Life happened and things pulled us in different directions. I've done a lot of travelling over the last few years, and I felt it was time for another real adventure. Something that would push me to my limits, bring me to those uncomfortable, character-building situations. I've done a lot of urban travelling, visiting cities all around Europe etc, blind weekend trips with strangers (see Epic Llama: https://www.epicllama.com/) and I've gotten comfortable with that. Perhaps too comfortable.

Inspired by the aforementioned video, I proposed an epic birthday celebration to make his 60th a truly memorable year. And Dad agreed to it.

In short, Dad and I shall be travelling for 2 months in Chile (and a little bit of Argentina) hiking through various national parks, the longest of which will be an 8 day hike around the O-circuit in Torres del Paine. Then we'll fly to NZ, where I'll attend a wedding, followed by 3 of the Great Walks of NZ: Abel Tasman, Heaphy and Kepler tracks.

My girlfriend, Katharina, will also fly to NZ and join us for the last hike, after which, we'll explore a bit of the North Island.

I depart Berlin at the end of September and will return on New Year's day, fully maximising the time afforded me by my 3 month sabbatical.

I've been preparing for this all year and with each passing day the anticipation, and excitement, grows! It's always been far off in the future, but now I'm in the final month before departure, the trip feels like it's actually happening and I am scrambling to make final preparations (such as getting fit!). The future is now!