Actual kiwi :) Lived in Queenstown since 2004. Proud owner of hot tub, trampoline and waffle maker.

(let me guess, you are German and 19..? lol)

Hi everyone, you are welcome to send me a message, but be aware that we constantly get a lot of requests.
To help people understand if I don't always get back to you, it's more of a group agreement with the others in the flat (a 3 bedroom rental) here whether or not it is suitable to invite someone to stay. We are long term residents have our own separate routines and work hours. Windows of opportunity when the lounge is free and everyone is fine with some extra strangers around is fairly limited.
Sometimes I can tell that the flatmates just need breaks from it to reclaim the lounge back for themselves with some space and quiet and the opportunity to invite their own friends over in the flat they pay rent for.
We are generally more likely to take single travelers or friends rather than couples or larger groups. We can't really give any confirmations too far in advance sorry, as it's pretty much always going to be a last minute / "why not if we can and they seem cool" kind of thing..
..but in saying that, please still feel free to make contact and stay in touch as your arrival gets closer, as we do take people in quite regularly when we can. (Have hosted over 100 people in about 2 years)
Hopefully you'll agree it's all about meeting other like minded helpful / generous / interesting / fun people, and not just a panicked plea when the hostels are full or cost more than expected.

So tell us a bit about yourselves, and who you are travelling with(!), what you hope to do while you're here, and why you're trying couchsurfing.
Any offers of party tricks / unique cultural performances / cooking dishes / drinking games may help :)
Cheers.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've had over 100 international flatmates in my time here, really love the friendly vibe and attitude of the Queenstown community and its new visitors. I like being a local helpful host and prefer a busy sociable house. We were pretty used to having a back yard full of vans and tents as friends of flatmates make their way to NZ. Unfortunately no longer have a dog (yellow lab best buddy for the last 16 years,) moved into a bigger house, and now it seems quiet.. so looking to keep things fun, meet new people and help them out when we can.
The locals here tend to band together and town is so small that you can't really go anywhere without seeing and hanging out with regulars you know, so hosting is something of a deliberate attempt to meet some new people and be reminded of the excitement of experiencing Queenstown for the first time.

Interests

• dogs
• design
• painting
• drawing
• hip-hop music
• basketball
• animation
• pizza
• djing
• alcohol
• photoshop

Music, Movies, and Books

Big into hip hop, funk and turntablist DJ mixes, but I have to know everything popular for my job (top40 charts kinda crowd). And that's ranging from rock to pop to house to rnb to rap to trap to dubstep to drum n bass... I've even DJ-ed weddings with 70s and 80s music.
I have heard uptown funk more times than anyone should have to, yet somehow retain sanity.
A fan of animation, I made some claymation skits that made it onto a kids tv show here when I was at uni.
Have helped my dad film documentaries (he's an artist: https://www.grahamesydney.co.nz/). Did some film papers at uni too along with my design and computing.
Collector of all the good films / docos / tv shows going. Have a well curated plex library :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Represented NZ for my age group in basketball 3 years running when I was in High School, led to being an exchange student in the USA for my senior year.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Local knowledge. I work at a pizza restaurant / bar who have a bunch of venues all over town, so have a good deal for cheaper drinks and meals which always makes a big difference on nights out.

The chance to meet an actual kiwi in Queenstown. (We are apparently a rare breed around here..)
Qt feels mostly populated with people from the UK. In winter we get a big surge of Australians coming for the snow sports season, Summer has a lot of Germans and French etc here for hiking. There are about 5,000 Brazilians here at any given time (easy place for work visas). Increasingly high numbers of Chinese and Indians around now too. It's comparatively expensive living (rent is crazy) so kiwis tend to just come here to snowboard and party like the rest of the tourists. But the local workforce is mainly hospitality and adventure tourism, and a lot of the staff tend to be early 20s UK / Europe / Aussie / North American backpackers on 1 or 2 year work visas.

Town of about 25,000 residents, catering to pretty much all of the 2 million tourists NZ sees a year. So there you go.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Canada, Cook Islands, England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, United States