Reflections On New Zealand

"Never lose the opportunity to see anything that is beautiful"

                          -Ralph Waldo Emmerson 

We have spent the last 7 weeks traveling from the north end of New Zealand to the south. We started in Auckland, picked up a campervan, worked south to Wellington, crossed a ferry, camped in remote locations, took a train, picked up a rental car and bounced around hostels, apartments, resorts and ended at a farm.

We had high hopes for experiencing all New Zealand has to offer and must say that we gave it our best but know full well that we left a lot on the table. We feel we could easily spend a year here just rolling around and taking in the stunning scenery- it is truly unique.

The welcoming locals certainly aid the country's reputation. We have not encountered a single local who did not go out of their way to help us with anything needed whether directions, information, or resources. The Kiwi people are as friendly and accommodating as any we have met and certainly challenge how we would handle certain situations at home when an obvious foreigner appears troubled. Of course they did win the Rugby World Cup while we were here which elevated spirits of the entire country. We watched the semi-final game in a pub and were told prior to the game that if they lost the country would be in a funk for a month. Of course they won and we were able to watch the finals in a movie theater of people at 5AM - completely full - an awesome experience. The All Blacks were the first country to win back to back titles and also the the first country to win The Cup for a third time in history. Needless to say, we are fans and the boys now possess a higher appreciation for the game Dad played in college and loves so much.

The food and wine here were also spectacular. We all lost some weight while in Central and South America but have put that and likely a few extra pounds back on as we have traversed this country. With vineyards at every corner and lamb and venison in all restaurants, we ate quite well when we ate out. But with high costs, we actually cooked ourselves about 3/4th of the time.

We continue to figure out how to do life in this nomadic style and to an extent have come to a conclusion that by the time we get it dialed in, it will be time to return home. It's not easy and certainly not always as great as these posts may sound (at some point we will do a post that discusses mundane everyday stuff as opposed to the fun activities). Either way, we know we are blessed with this opportunity and we seek to grow closer to our Savior and each other each and every day. And so our journey continues. Thanks to all those who have commented, texted, and written us emails - it means more than you can know and helps us feel closer to the familiarity of home.

We leave you with some of New Zealand's unique travel experiences:

One lane bridges

Slippery when FROSTY!

How many times did we do a double take thinking that no one was driving the car ahead of us?

This street marking always made us think twice as it was in our lane but pointing at us ???

Huh?....  Oh yeah, merge like a zipper!

Lastly, the Kiwi's are known for their great sense of humor. Above is the best airplane safety video we have come across yet (and we have been on a plane or two at this point). It's the actual All Black players in the video, which is just another sense of the country's pride in their rugby team.