Hiking New Zealand’s Most Underrated Trail: The Copland Track
New Zealand's most underrated trail, the Copland Track, has it all: dense rainforest, ice cold glacial rivers, waterfalls, swing bridges, and hidden hot pools... with a nasty surprise! Tune in to hear about Adam's favourite hike in New Zealand so far.
Adam also shares a few anecdotes from his trip up New Zealand's wet west coast, including a romantic glow worm walk with a Chinese tour group, an offensive interaction involving a banana smoothie, and the most bizarre Police check point, proving that the New Zealand Police Force are not only upbeat but festive, too! Free hot dogs anyone?
Support the show and access the Lost & Found section. Alun's been out and about in Blackpool, UK, helping the locals get home safely, using games involving Disney films.
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TIME STAMPS:
00:00 - Intro
02:50 - NZ's west coast's horrible weather
03:46 - The Copland Track
08:18 - The world's worst insect: Sandflies
14:20 - Adam strikes gold!
15:32 - The secret glow worm experience
16:46 - Romantic glow worm walk, with a Chinese tour group
23:02 - Banana smoothie: "You're not in Bali now, mate"
25:45 - Merry Police check point and the free hot dogs
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TRANSCRIPT:
Alun:
[0:02] Hello and welcome to this episode of Tripology, the greatest,
Welcome to Tripology
Alun:
[0:07] objectively greatest, backpacking show in the world. I'm Alun and I'm here with the ever overgrown Adam.
Adam:
[0:15] Overgrown, overweight and overwhelmed. Thank you everyone so much for tuning in every single week. We've got an amazing show for you today where I'm going to tell you about my favourite hike on New Zealand thus far, where I bathed in the hottest hot pools I've ever bathed and swam in the coldest river I've ever swam in. And then, of course, at the end of the show, we've got tales of a trip. So stay tuned for that. And then in the Patreon, the Lost and Found section, link in the description, we've got a little story from you, Alun.
Alun:
[0:40] Hot pools, cold rivers and heavy hiking. We're all excited to hear about your adventures, Adam. In this, an episode that takes place at the very tippy top of 2026. How's 2026 been for you so far?
Adam:
[0:54] Well, judging by the beard, what do you think? I mean, I've got chubby cheeks, which I'm trying my best to cover with what some might call is an attempt at a beard. But it's involved quite a lot of drinking, if I'm honest.
Alun:
[1:07] It's good to start off the episode with a tiny little bit of body dysmorphia. You, of course, a man who's quite clearly to anyone looking at you, felt and in shape, describing yourself there as having chubby cheeks. For me, 2026, in the family unit of all the years gone by, where 2025 was quite a sort of sedate elder statesman figure, 2026 so far has been sort of like a bit of a drunk, crazy auntie staggering around the top of the year like nobody's business. It's been ever such a bacchanalian, wondrous affair so far. And now I'm just trying to slow things down, apply the brakes early in January so that she doesn't spiral out of control and end up on the floor embarrassing herself.
Adam:
[1:49] Oh, God. So you've started as you as you mean to go on. You're doing the opposite of dry January. Is that what you're saying?
Alun:
[1:54] Yeah, my January has been sopping wet so far. It's been absolutely ludicrous.
Adam:
[2:01] Talking of sopping wet let's get right into the show the west coast of the south island of new zealand of course one of the wettest places on earth did you know that every single year there are it falls about seven to nine meters of rain i knew that yeah i.
Alun:
[2:16] Had that enough as a fact in my brain store and i was gonna say it if you didn't.
Adam:
[2:20] You obviously haven't been drinking that much then it's still there somewhere you need to shave off a few of those brain cells but yeah the The wet coast, people do jokingly call it that, but it's an amazing region filled with rainforests and waterways, loads of rivers and that sort of stuff. It's absolutely spectacular. The problem is that there's a few wonderful hikes to do in the region, most famously down in the Fjordland National Park. We've already heard me talk about a couple of those, but there's one that loads of people miss. And it's because, arguably because it's not deemed a great walk, one of the 11 great walks, it's also incredibly fucking hard to get it on a couple of days when the weather's not shite. Because as soon as the weather gets a little bit bad, there's a lot of risk in the area of, you know, unstable conditions. Obviously, when it's winter, there's avalanches, landslides, all this sort of stuff. So really, really hard to organise. You've got to be very patient and flexible and, you know, stay in the general area. And then as soon as you get a window of opportunity, you've got to go and hit it.
Alun:
[3:21] And that's exactly what you did, presumably, which is why we've gathered here today to talk about it. I would be upset, to be honest, if you told me, Alun, let's record a podcast, I've got a story to tell about hiking. You'd started off like that, and then you went, it seemed too hard, and so I stayed at home.
Adam:
[3:37] Yeah you know what it's like Alun when he's traveling sometimes things don't work out and that's the end of the episode it's just a week off um no it's amazing anyway the copland track if you if you haven't heard of it check it out if you do come to the south island of new zealand try and do it as best you can um don't worry about what time of year because the weather's just always shit most of the time um but we managed to catch it on a day or two because it is actually an out and back it's about 17 18 kilometers into the jungle hiking through some of the most spectacular rainforest i've ever seen and then we didn't quite know what was waiting for us at the other end but people usually camp or stay in a hut in the jungle and then walk all the way back the following day so the copland track itself in the early 1900s started off as a kind of a hunting area for the maoris and then in the early 1900s it was found by sort of european settlers and they tried to basically track it or tread it, because they were trying to get from Mount Cook all the way to the West Coast and use it as kind of a tourist trail. Ever since then, obviously, it's become sort of a tourist attraction. And... It was because of these very famous, very secluded, very hot, hot pools. Are you a fan of hot pools yourself, Mady?
Alun:
[4:54] I've been in some hot pools in my time, and I would describe my level of enjoyment across the plethora of hot pools I've been in as wildly varying. There was some hot pools at the Buddhist meditation center that I looked forward to because it was one of the only sense experiences I was able to get in that meditation center I was feeling that hot pool water on my skin. I've also been in hot pools where I thought, this is just dirty, warm water.
Adam:
[5:23] Yeah, yeah. I mean, the hot pools that we discovered after a full day of hiking, were also dirty warm water but to get there you have to go through sort of jungle climb over huge boulders over swing bridges uh that they just look like something out of Indiana Jones i mean it's like um not that i've seen indiana jones so maybe that's a poor reference to draw from no.
Alun:
[5:47] He does there isn't in the extended edition of indiana jones there is quite a drawn out scene in which indiana sits in.
Adam:
[5:54] A hot tub for.
Alun:
[5:54] A few hours.
Adam:
[5:55] I wouldn't know if that's true or not but But walking for about 17, 18 kilometres, as I said, my partner and I stopped off very early on, as we like to do, as you heard at the other hikes when we sort of wish we knew how long the day was going to be at the start. But we came across this wonderful river that was icy blue. I mean, it's basically filled with snow melt and sort of melting glaciers and whatever. The water is freezing cold. and we went um well unknowingly really went panning for gold i sort of saw some flecks in the uh the shoreline and i was getting absolutely burned to a crisp by the way i've just remembered i was like hunched god.
Alun:
[6:37] You were an oxymoron weren't you you're on your way to hot pools in a cold river getting burnt by the.
Adam:
[6:43] Sun panning.
Alun:
[6:44] For gold it must be have been difficult to be you in that scenario.
Adam:
[6:47] That's what i think you.
Alun:
[6:48] Had so many different temperatures going on in your body if someone threw an ice cube at you you would have.
Adam:
[6:53] Exploded you're probably not wrong i mean that's the thing about traveling uh intensely and also doing things like a road trip around countries like new zealand it's because stuff happens every single day but i guess that's the beauty of the podcast um because we can document i.
Alun:
[7:07] Was drinking tea in an igloo.
Adam:
[7:09] With a blanket on with a little.
Alun:
[7:10] Ice pack on my feet and it was a great time.
Adam:
[7:14] Someone turned the radiator off and all hell broke loose i.
Alun:
[7:17] Found a diamond.
Adam:
[7:18] At the bottom.
Alun:
[7:19] Of my bed.
Adam:
[7:19] It was something like that but i mean if anything sums up that track i mean it is that really it has absolutely everything you would want from a hike my partner and i stayed um alongside this river, so cold i mean you can't stay in it longer than about a minute um had lunch there and then we continued walking on as i said over these wonderful swing bridges these thick thick forest along the river um and then the river's kind of on the other side got these huge dramatic mountains it is jaw-droppingly beautiful it feels really sort of dense dense and thick and overgrown um just a kind of track for horses it was historically and it really doesn't look that much difference and then when you get to the the very end this place called the welcome hut it's just a small hut that you can book but we were carrying tent a tent um i was carrying a tent wink wink um and And then, yeah, we found our little camping spot. We stripped off, went to go in the hot pools, and the ranger came over and went, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you think you're going? And we were like, oh, we're just going to go to the hot pools. He was like, are you crazy? Have you not heard about the sand flies? I was like, well, I know the sand flies in the area. He was like, don't go anywhere near the sand flies. Don't go anywhere near the hot pools. I promise you the sand flies will eat you alive.
Alun:
[8:33] Especially you, big boy. The sand flies will have a great go on you.
Adam:
[8:38] Especially you, you fat, hairy. He didn't say that, the ranges are lovely. But anyway, we tested it, we went over to the hot pools, and before you know it, I don't know if you've seen or if you've experienced sand flies, do you know anything about them at all?
Alun:
[8:54] Yeah, so I did used to work as a sand fly research biologist. no i mean it's.
Adam:
[9:03] Funny that you've answered it like that but we both know that you know a lot about a lot of things so i just assume you know stuff.
Alun:
[9:11] Yeah my resolution by the way incidentally my new year's resolution is to lie a little bit more often so uh yes i was a sunflower research biologist i can tell you anything you want to know about them yeah wingspan 0.4.
Adam:
[9:28] Centimeters Well, I'll tell you something we did find out that immediately put us off. Sandflies, for anyone who has never, but doesn't know what one is, they're absolutely minute. But relative to their size, I think they cause the most pain. They must do. I mean, your daddy knows about bite talk or ratio, doesn't he?
Alun:
[9:46] Yeah, famously, absolutely doubled down on the stoat being the most powerful animal ever existed. I think he once said that if you scaled up a stoat and had it bite the sun, the universe would implode.
Adam:
[10:02] I'm certainly not going to say that he's wrong. But the sandflies, even though they're tiny, they're just like little black specks.
Alun:
[10:09] You can't say that.
Sandflies and Hot Pools
Adam:
[10:14] Thousands of them. I think I've got sunstroke. I'm going giddy. Thousands of them around swarming. It's really unpleasant to be around them. They're horrible. And they land on you and bite you. And the bite is really painful. It genuinely is. And when we found out this fact, right, which made it even more gruesome, basically sand flies will suck on your blood so that they can produce, the protein allows them to produce 10 times more young.
Alun:
[10:39] Yeah, I think similar to mosquitoes in that way, it's only the females that bite.
Adam:
[10:44] Oh, really?
Alun:
[10:45] And the occasional saucy male, but mostly the females. They always say if a female sunfly bites you it's for procreation and the furthering of her genetics. If a male does it, it's just for fun.
Adam:
[11:02] Dear oh dear this episode's gone sideways amazing um but anyway he said the ranger said look don't go there now because there's loads of sand flies they are horrible bastards i will put a um for those of you that are into feet maybe i'll put a photo on instagram of my feet that were absolutely bitten to you know awful awful scenes really itchy and don't itch them it'll scar and um and he said look about nine o'clock about nine o'clock 9 15 when the sun goes down all the sand flies fuck off and then you can go and enjoy the or you can go and enjoy the hot pools um so there we were we waited until 9 9 15 something like that as he said like the good people we are and um then stripped off and just sat in these hot pools for the rest of the evening mate i mean it was absolutely, wonderful the hot pools are dare i say almost too hot i mean i know i know i'm you know it's sort of sounds like i'm unappreciative or whatever but it was uh yeah you could stay hit them for too long and they did smell so sulfuric in smell were they, geothermally heated um and yeah pretty a little bit eggy and muddy like you mentioned.
Alun:
[12:08] But the sandflies could only possibly have attacked any part of you that was above the water so i think that ranger was over dramatizing the situation just get in the hot pools sink down to your eyes and then you might have a spotty forehead in the morning but other than that you'll be a-okay No.
Adam:
[12:25] No, I mean, like, to be fair, there are so, so many that even if you just had your head above water, it would be unbearable when there's so many of them around.
Alun:
[12:34] Got you.
Adam:
[12:35] They are horrible, horrible things. He even made a joke, actually, that God created New Zealand as the most beautiful country in the world. And then he created sand flies in order to keep it that way.
Alun:
[12:46] Yeah, exactly. Male sand flies. God creating them in his own image there.
Alun:
[12:55] Well, moving swiftly on to a place where I'm feeling stressed and alarmed by the potential for you to get bitten all over your face, body and genitals by
Tales of Capitalism
Alun:
[13:05] one of the scariest flies on this green earth. So I think I need to hear about some capitalism.
Alun:
[14:20] Some capitalism there helping me come to terms with my podcast friend, you know, being deformed by the bites of an aggressive insect in a hot pool where it just previously was cold in a cold river and found some gold.
Adam:
[14:35] That's it. I was having a lot of difficulty, Alun, trying to thermo-regulate my body.
Alun:
[14:42] How much gold did you find in the river?
Adam:
[14:44] Well, specks. A couple of specks. I thought I was onto something. and it's amazing what happens when you find gold i can i can see what those conquistadors were you know what was wrong why i became addictive because you you see a bit of gold and you're like oh my god it's so shiny and bright and you know there's just some quality about it that makes you want to find more of it and yeah it was i mean it was it was not enough to even keep i just lobbed it back in the river but it's still a nice experience i can see what these conquistadors felt when they got addicted.
Alun:
[15:17] To finding all this gold fuck off.
Adam:
[15:20] How materialistic of you juan but uh yeah anyway so like i said the rest of the night it was absolutely wonderful we just gazed out the stars the clouds parted just at the right time as you'd expect um and then the ranger this is where you know it gets quite interesting uh the ranger said i've got a little glowworm experience for you but no one's allowed to know what it is let.
Alun:
[15:41] Me get into your tent and i'll begin what i call the glowworm experience.
Adam:
[15:47] I know. I know. I know. He's in his late 70s, bless him. He's a volunteer. Amazing, amazing ranger.
Alun:
[15:54] That's no defence, is it?
Adam:
[15:58] He used to work for the BBC.
Alun:
[16:01] Now then, now then, I've got a glowworm here for you.
Adam:
[16:06] Touch the worm and make it glow no that's disgusting it's um i don't know what's happened here this was a good story once upon a time um anyway we we uh i was we were told and we basically swore we did make a promise that we wouldn't tell anyone about this glow worm experience and i know that probably sounds even more weird and more annoying yeah um and and for that reason you know if you do happen to find yourself doing the copland track and you do happen to go to welcome hut and stay there and you do happen to get a ranger called bruce do ask him for the glowworm experience it is worth doing wow the glowworm experience i can tell you about just a really quick anecdote on the way up to nelson a couple of things happened we stayed in this place called fox glacier where my partner found a glowworm kind of walk or area through a forest but we were you know pretty zapped we stayed up until 11 30 at night walked away it was about 10 minutes or something like that from where we were staying in this little motel and then entered the the forest.
Adam:
[17:07] And my partner was saying oh this is going to be really sweet really romantic um can't wait to just sort of walk walk this uh sort of little forest thing with you after the hike and stuff immediately after entering the track two huge white suvs showed up it was almost like the beginning of a rap video or something and about 20 chinese tourists got out and they all had these massive head torches on and these phone lights they ran into the forest after us it was absolutely comical I mean obviously completely changed the energy.
Adam:
[17:38] And then we sort of skipped ahead a little bit and tried to create some space, obviously, because you can't see the glowworms unless it's pitch black. My partner had her head torch on, switched to the red light. And just as we advanced, it was only a short track, but just as we advanced, we saw another red light coming towards us. And she was like, hang on, is it a mirror or what's going on?
Alun:
[18:02] Oh, no.
Adam:
[18:02] And so she tilted her head torch slightly. And it was this possum, a massive, massive possum with a hand mirror. It wasn't scared of us at all. It was a bit annoying because we didn't, I don't want to scare it or anything like that. And then just as we advanced a little bit further forward, this other possum flew out of the tree and started attacking it. and it was like this thing going on in front of us absolutely awful and then one of the chinese guys like was breathing on my girlfriend's neck and he said are they raccoons and she was like what the fuck it was this super like scary in the pitch black um and then the the possums broke it up and then one of them kind of ran towards us and started attacking us i squirted the entire bottle of water that i was carrying at it oh.
Alun:
[18:53] Adam that's not very masculine is it get away from me I'm having a glowworm experience and you're.
Adam:
[19:01] Ruining it I'm.
Alun:
[19:03] Up to here with sunflies And now you possums are having at.
Adam:
[19:07] It This voice that we're doing has crept into quite a few episodes recently I don't mind it Yeah.
Alun:
[19:12] And I'm not sure it's allowed So let's move on Yeah.
Adam:
[19:17] Um but yeah it completely like ruined the entire war because you can imagine we basically just went around as a chinese tourist group for this like little 30 30 minute loop um saw hardly any glow worms at all i mean it was one bush that was you know would have been worth looking at if there wasn't 50 cameras pointing at it were.
Alun:
[19:35] You upset with.
Adam:
[19:36] Bruce selling you on it no no this was a different glow web experience i got the the other one that he gave me was completely for free it was amazing oh.
Alun:
[19:43] Why are you telling that you got you so you only mentioned that bruce thing so that the very some people who meet bruce can ask him.
Adam:
[19:52] About it no but it's a segue into glowworms isn't it there's a link there oh yeah perfect a very nice segue, so yeah it's a bit hit or miss i mean it's just funny it's one of those like travel things that you can relate it to lots of different things you you try and make something perfect you got this idea in your head of something being sort of romantic or really special or you know whatever and uh yeah a massive tour group time turns up exactly at the same time yeah.
Alun:
[20:20] You think it's going to be beautiful and romantic and nice with your partner and then two.
Adam:
[20:23] Possums attack you a Chinese tourists breathing down.
Alun:
[20:27] Your neck your partner sprays water all over a possum so there's a matted wet mammal in the.
Adam:
[20:34] Glowworm game.
Alun:
[20:35] Snarling everyone's crying I know it's happened to me too many times Adam what um did you think of the glowworms I myself have met some glowworms once and uh fell in love with someone else on the tour and tried to impress them by gently swaying the glowworms with my breath and ended up blowing them.
Adam:
[20:55] Almost off the side of the rock face oh rock face really these were all in kind of like shrubbery and bushes that's really interesting no.
Alun:
[21:02] I met them in a cave system the glowworm caves they call it.
Adam:
[21:06] Oh the glowworm caves yeah oh i don't doubt it um i like glowworms a lot i mean they are quite impressive what i found really interesting is that when you see glowworms and especially a lot of them in the same place they seem like equally spaced out from one another yeah it's almost like it's almost like a net of fairy lights, is really the best way I can describe them. It's strange, isn't it? Are they territorial?
Alun:
[21:29] Well, I think the reason glowworms do as they do, baby, is because they slide down on that little piece of silk and they try and catch prey. And if you were too close together, they'd get stuck to each other's silk nets and they'd think, oh, I've caught a big one. Oh, it's you, Brian, my next door neighbor. Why don't you just shift over so you're out of my silky range because I keep on catching you every night. And whilst the conversation's fun, I will not eat you.
Adam:
[21:57] Yeah, I suppose. Yeah, it's interesting that they actually glow that sort of bright.
Alun:
[22:02] It's a bit like when me and you were in Pakistan and we kept on matching with each other on Tinder.
Adam:
[22:09] There's layers to that. I like it a lot. Dear, oh dear, Tinder. Does that exist in Pakistan?
Alun:
[22:17] No, and that's why we kept on, you know, when there's no one else in range, you will end up matching with your friends.
Adam:
[22:23] In range how far away were we from each other we're next to each other no.
Alun:
[22:28] But in pakistan there was no one else with tinder so it didn't matter like the glowworm.
Adam:
[22:33] Situation we were we were situated.
Alun:
[22:35] Far too close together.
Adam:
[22:36] For tinder to be effective you started getting more and more attractive the more swipes left i did you kept coming back i was like he's not that bad actually Oh.
Alun:
[22:46] It's him again.
Adam:
[22:48] He has got quite nice eyes.
Alun:
[22:49] In his chalwa kameez.
Adam:
[22:52] Dear, oh dear. I don't know what this episode's about now.
Alun:
[22:56] Neither do I.
Adam:
[22:57] So we were travelling up the west, as I said, the wet west. We went through this place called Hockey Tika. And it's a bit of a know-nothing town. I mean, it's the Hockey Tika Gorge, which is quite nice in good weather. You should go and see that if you're in the region. But on our way to Nelson, right, two really funny things happened. I went the Kiwis I just love their brutal honesty and, I mean, I told in the Patreon section one story about, you know, my first shift where I was confronted by a Kiwi that, you know, I mean, he took it a bit too far, if you ask me. Yeah, I put a smile on because I was at work. But we went into this cafe in Hockey Tika and my girlfriend wanted a banana milkshake. And because you just never know, do you? You just never know with smoothies and milkshakes and coffees and all this sort of stuff. You just never know. With some cafes in small towns in North America or the US.
Alun:
[23:53] You never know what you're going to get. You go in asking for a banana milkshake and they slide you 20 grams of heroin under the counter. Can I have a mango shake extra spicy? Yes, you can.
Adam:
[24:06] She wanted a banana smoothie. Anyway, ordered one in this cafe. And I said to Elle, you better just check that it's just like banana and milk and ice or whatever. Because, you know, you don't want any of those, you know, syrups or sugar or whatever. You just want natural ingredients. And you know what I mean. So in doing that, I said to the guy behind the counter, and just for those of you, because it is for context, right? I've got to show you, the people watching the video episode, I'm wearing, in this story, I'm wearing this tripology shirt where I've had the sleeves cut off. That is important to the story.
Alun:
[24:41] Wow, Adam. I think that's very lovely. Who did that for you? Because I know that you didn't do it yourself.
Adam:
[24:46] No, I did. I did.
Alun:
[24:47] Oh, I apologize, Adam.
Adam:
[24:49] Do you like it? Do you think it looks good? Should we release them?
Alun:
[24:51] I'll cut that bit out. Wow, Adam, I think that looks amazing.
Adam:
[24:56] But it's a simple thing, whatever. So anyway, I said to this guy working in the cafe, A bloke in his 40s, 50s. I said, just to make sure, mate, the banana smoothie, is there any added sugar? Is it just banana milk and ice? And he looked at me and went, you're not in Bali now, mate. We like it a little bit sweeter on the West Coast. We put syrup in it. Is that all right? I was like, to be honest, you lost me at Bali. Completely. He looked me up and down, looked at the sleeveless top. looked at my I don't know my demeanor or whatever he's like this guy is a hippie from Bali let me guess you meditate and you're a digital nomad yes.
Alun:
[25:39] Both of those things I actually don't like.
Adam:
[25:41] Bali yeah that was uh that was really funny and then as we drove up to Nelson we uh the most bizarre interaction with the police I've ever had we were driving along and as has happened as I've mentioned on podcasts before uh some episodes where I get stopped by the police we went around a corner I was just in this like rural area I mean there's nothing going on there, and no towns nothing turned around a corner and then all of a sudden I saw a police car with like a digital display board on the back it was parked on the side of the road and it said test, and I thought oh they're doing like a speed test or whatever so I slowed down a little bit as you would and even though I'm always driving the speed limit.
Alun:
[26:22] Ah we got you we were actually testing who slows down because those are.
Adam:
[26:26] Idiots laughing, i uh we went a bit further around the corner and then just almost out of nowhere there were i don't know 20 or 30 police cars some of them had their lights going there were loads of people stopped in the road there were police officers who were stopped in the road um like walking around as pedestrians and there was a clearing with like loads of food trucks and stuff i was like what is going on i put we pulled in and uh the officer sort of weighed me over wearing a christmas hat by the way which is like really strange seeing a police officer in full uniform but with a christmas hat and then tinsel around their neck and they go yeah we're just going to give you a breathalyzer test if you can just sort of tell me where you're from tell me a little bit about yourself so you know started speaking it just went beep and he was like yeah all right great just to let you know it's a bullshit detector and you beep beep just just to let you know we're um, we're just uh doing sort of a sort of insurance collaboration thing going on so this is a, breathalyzer test but over there uh there's a hot dog stand you can go and have a free hot dog they've got coffee as well we're doing free coffee all day there's a load of other things a total giveaway and that sort of stuff yeah you know just park up just have a walk if you go to the portal there there's someone offering a glowworm experience.
Bizarre Encounters with Police
Adam:
[27:50] Oh bro she got here quicker than we did um but it was um yeah it was just so surreal to, be around i don't know if anyone else has experienced this in new zealand but the police officers are so nice and they're not just nice they're upbeat they're like very pleasant to talk to and there was a there was a family from the u.s who were next to me getting getting one for hot dogs yeah.
Alun:
[28:14] Of course just living out that cliche were they that's nice.
Adam:
[28:17] What.
Alun:
[28:18] Were you doing having a spot of tea was there an australian there throwing a fucking.
Adam:
[28:22] Boomerang, but anyway no then this lady came over again full police uniform with a hat on she walked all right guys you on holiday yeah what's your play along you're here for and all this sort of stuff i thought this would never happen in the uk i was like eating this hot dog i even went up to the people i'd just been told by the police force that it was free and then you go up to the people that are doing the giveaway and stuff it was also part of an insurance a big company had sponsored the event and whatever but you i was like i think it's really free and they're like yeah you can have as many as you want i don't know what did you do mate don't say that how.
Alun:
[28:55] Many did you have.
Adam:
[28:57] For free sausage hold me back, wow but uh yeah yeah you know it's just it was just such a wicked experience and um, We're already a little bit behind schedule, but there's no way I'm not enjoying this and then talking about it on the podcast a week or so later.
Alun:
[29:19] There you go. So that's just an endorsement of the police force in New Zealand.
Adam:
[29:23] Yeah, who do a wonderful job and they seem to enjoy doing it as well.
Alun:
[29:28] Sometimes you say things on the podcast that I have to wonder whether you've... Like, did they give you those hot dogs in exchange for a mention on the show or something? like did you fail the breathalyzer and they were like oh i'll let you off mate if you talk.
Adam:
[29:43] About the police function.
Alun:
[29:44] On the show.
Adam:
[29:44] No not at all but you know if anyone listens if anyone finds this podcast um because they are hoping to go on a road trip around new zealand or whatever i just i hope to inspire people and also inform people on what a road trip around new zealand is going to be like and it will be beautiful scenery and it also will be free hot dogs by the side of the road with the police force.
Alun:
[30:04] Okay, well, I like it. This episode was like a series of little short stories. It was interconnected by you on a road trip, but really, it was sort of like the kind of thing that happens to you if you order a banana milkshake, get some drugs, do them, and then sort of let experiences happen to you quick smart. It was like a comic book, that episode, and I liked it.
Reflections on Life and Travel
Alun:
[30:27] Adam, that is all we have time for this week I think your caravan camping New Zealand adventures are going ever so well I'm very proud of you I'm off to some incredible adventures really soon and we'll be sure to hear about them on future weeks right now though I've got a couple of little anecdotes and stories that I want to talk about in the Patreon section there's a link in the description if you want to subscribe to Patreon and why wouldn't you when you've got beautiful episodes like that to enjoy yes.
Adam:
[30:55] Thank you so much everyone for supporting us thank you for listening to us talk about our lives we really do appreciate it and we hope to see you over in the patreon section we'll see you there. Bye!
