Kiwi Krazy

Tara and I took off for New Zealand on the eighth of September. It was a dream we both have had for so long and we decided to just go for it even though everything's getting a little tight here at the end of the trip. Well worth it...

1. In our typical haphazard manner, we had to go on a wild goose chase for a print off of our ticket out of New Zealand before we could board our plane to go there. We are flying out with a different airline and couldn't quite remember what we booked, thus our adventure began. At least we showed up 2 1/2 hours early because we knew something like this would happen.

2. We flew for the first time ever with Emirates airline. Absolutely the best airline I've ever been on. It even beat out Qantas with their ice cream treats. Get this. Before we board they have a whole range of magazines and newspapers you get to pick from to read on the airplane (and keep!...we asked). Tara and I naturally nabbed up some Vogues (I did consider getting a Sydney newspaper but knew that on holiday I would never take the time to read it). Then, we had hot towels given to us to wash our hands. Our seats reclined like true recliners, where your seat moved not just the back. We had our own individual TV screens with TV and movie options. I finally got to see the latest X-men movie! Our brunch consisted of an cheese and capsicum omelet, cheese and crackers, chocolate, roll with butter, fruit, oranged juice, coffee, and CHEESECAKE! The bathrooms were incredibly spacious (definitely enough room for two people...now I understand...hahaha). They had a full length mirror in them. I can't even fathom what first class would be like. This airline put every American line to shame. Hands down.

3. Immediately after arriving in Christchurch (one of the biggest cities on the South Island), Tara and I rented a white Toyota Corolla and took off on our Kiwi adventure. Yes that's right. I am currently driving on the left side of the road, navigating round abouts, nearly always remembering to yield to the right, and trying not to be too much of a hazard....at least when I back up their is this horrendous blaring backing up noise...Tara and I joke that it's like a neon sign "stay clear, we are a tourists." I think we're finally getting the hang of it...although there was one point where I had to shout "give way! give way! give way!" to Tara because she forgot to yield to the right as a car came spinning around the roundabout. Death look. Sorry. Hazard.

4. We ended up in the town of Kaikoura for the night. The next day we indulged in wonderful tourist fare such as a sheep sheering show, holding and feeding baby lambs, walking amongst a seal colony, and eating at a seafood BBQ shack along the road.

5. We left Kaikoura in the late afternoon for the wine country around Blenheim. We weren't too impressed with the small town, so we continued to the town of Renwick (like 20 minutes away). Tara had read about a small English style pub called the "Cork and Keg" with home brewed beer and cider. We stopped in and felt instant love for the little pub! After grabbing a New Zealand cider, we pulled up in front of the flaming fire, and a cat jumped up into our laps for a cuddle. Daisy started purring and I noticed some liquid falling on my sleeve. I told Tara, "look I'm making her drool!" Tara promptly put me straight, "Cats don't drool. That's snot." Which promptly made me deposit Daisy to the floor. We met the owners Diane and Larry. They treated us to warm company, cider, nachos, and blanket (kindnesses that bring backpackers nearly to tears...which we almost did a couple times that night). Tara and I had one of the best heart to hearts we had on the trip and soon Diane joined. She works with special needs and mentally ill patients and just had so much wisdom and encouragement to share with us. The blankets were most welcome as Tara and I decided to sleep in our car in their car park that night. It seemed like a good idea until we both were fidgeting so much and trying not to notice our bodies were numb with cold. At one point, I hit the hazard lights and in our half awake and slightly tipsy minds, we had no idea what was going on. I somewhat panicked before Tara realized it was merely that we were the hazard, as usual, and pushed them off. At 4:30 a.m. we gave up our car sleeping adventure, returned the blankets with a thank you note, and drove off to our next adventure....pumping petrol.

6. We stopped in a small sleepy town for coffee and brekky, as the sun rose and revealed the stunning landscape. Yes it is as beautiful as everyone says. Tara and I continue to drop our mouths in awe that such a place exists. It's green. It's full of hills and mountains and seemingly untouched streams and sheep and cows and incredible trees and the most impossibly windy roads that all the natives take at break neck speeds. The beautiful thing about having a car is we can make our own agenda at our own pace. At one point we decided we wanted to off road to see what the French Pass was about...about ten minutes in we realized it was a two hour drive out of our way...so we turned about...took another pic of the amazing scenery....and found a touristy "pioneer house" to visit. Mind you it is only seven in the morning at this point and we're creeping around on someone's property to see it. Didn't look too hard core. The guest book even said "better than my house!"

7. At about eight in the morning we came to our next destination, Nelson. It's one of the bigger town's at about 43, 000! We booked into the "Green Monkey" hostel and snuggled under our double bed to warm up and nap. The afternoon comprised of us walking the small mountain-esque town, window shopping, and finding a Starbucks! We're off tomorrow to do some national park hiking, perhaps even some sea kayaking. This is a gallop about the South Island trip and we have no time to really soak in any place long. Tara and I agree...this part of our adventure has been nothing but refreshing and exhilarating!

8. How are we taking pictures without our cameras??? Well we've reverted back to our childhoods. We have disposable cameras!!! We have no idea what's turning out but we're having heaps of fun capturing our New Zealand adventure.

9. I look forward to Lord of the Rings scenery and a flight with my friend Andrew from the Outback over the mountains!


A reflection:

In my final days in Sydney before leaving for New Zealand, I had begun to fill as though it was time to go back to the States. I had seen so much, created community with so many. Nothing turned out to be as expected, a mantra of our trip. It's almost humorous that just as I was gearing up to leave, visit New Zealand, and come home to figure out my next adventure abroad, I find something new. It is unexplainable and completely unexpected. It is beautiful how the actions of others perfectly combined to bring on a chance encounter, a new risk to be taken up. It would happen this way. The mantra still holds true, even in our last days. My life has been building toward a moment like this. I've been refined. It's kindred. It's instant. It's raw. It's grace. It's sacred. It gives hope. In the end it is about seizing the day, dancing joyfully in the moment, and perhaps taking the risk to not let go.....