Journal #30: New Zealand
3/31/16
Cover Photo: “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”
Sheep Spotted: 0

I think regression is the ultimate bad habit.

I love traveling, but traveling for a long period of time has done weird things to my mind- it’s more than riding the ups and downs (which are inevitable)- I feel like the longer I’m gone, the more I have to fight against regressing to the norm (as in- how I would live back home).

This trip to New Zealand has been one of the best trips I’ve ever taken- full of memorable moments, adventures, and photographs. It may sound strange, but even though I’ve loved being here, I am extremely excited (and nervous!) about the next month in Australia.

I will definitely miss New Zealand- after all I’ve wanted to travel here for 8+ years and the trip has (almost) run flawlessly; however, I think being here a month (on my 5th week now- crazy) has made me a little too comfortable.

I’ve always loved the feeling of leaping without looking- as in taking big actions without spending huge amounts of time to think about them. Some of the best things in my life have come from this and I’m hoping to add Australia to that list.

As some of the people who read this blog may know- I didn’t initially plan on going to Australia. In fact, I didn’t even buy my plane ticket from Auckland to Sydney until a week before I left for Queenstown. I then proceeded to plan the entire trip from scratch over the course of two days (despite admittedly knowing little to nothing about Australia before that).

So this will be a true adventure into the unknown and I could not be more excited about it!

But that all begins tomorrow- right now, I’d like to reflect back on this past month in New Zealand. For starters- I’ve been blessed with unbelievably good weather- I’ve been here officially for 31 days and had rain on only 4 of those days (only 1 of which actually prevented me from doing any sightseeing).

I’ve been all over the country- from South to North- and seen nearly every type of terrain: mountains, rivers, valleys, lakes, glaciers and volcanoes. I would guess I’ve drunk over 60 different New Zealand beers and hiked over 200 miles. I’ve also stayed in 7 different cities/towns and visited countless others.

My favorite memories are without a doubt from the Southwest- being in the mountains (especially my trips to Mount Cook and the Routeburn Track) was an incredible experience (and the reasoning for today’s photo from Mt. Cook). That 2-week period of the trip will forever influence my future travels.

In terms of the cities- to me Wellington and Queenstown created my favorite memories. Wellington, culturally, just seems like an incredible place to live.
Queenstown on the other hand is one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever seen- surrounded on all sides by mountains and a crystal blue lake- the place just screams ‘epic adventure.’

I’ve also had five different (and awesome) AirBNB hosts. Their guidance and support on this trip played no small part in making it run smoothly.

All and all, this trip has been a dream come true. I will miss New Zealand but I am ready for the next stage of my adventure!

Off to Sydney tomorrow- talk to you all then!

-MB