Thank You New Zealand

So long, New Zealand!

We are driving our last leg of our road trip and have only one day left in this country. Our energies are plummeting to low and our thighs are starting to burn from the sun streaming in. Hundreds of dead bugs are splattered on our windshield like a sick murder scene as the old, Delta blues play in the background. Flat-bottomed clouds float as far as the eye can see and the naked road weaves in front of us.

My Mom recently said over the phone to me, “You’re not on a vacation. You’re on an adventure.” She’s right. We’re not spending our days lying out on a resort beach holding tropical drinks with micro umbrellas in our hands, but that’s not what we signed up for.

It has become a bona fide adventure for us already, an undertaking that can be trying at times, and we’re ready and eager for the next chapter. I feel strangely sentimental saying goodbye to our camper van... It’s been our loyal home for five weeks, but I do think it’s time to live in a bigger space with another human being other than a 5.5’ x 8’ box on wheels. We have seen so much of this wild country and we’ve spent hours on the road, through twists and turns, up mountains and then back down, across gravel and paved, with a handful of bumps along the way.

Oh, New Zealand, with your exotic birds, your lakes that are so blue they don’t seem real, your endless mountains, your raw coastlines, your warm people, your evening skies, and your giant trees...

Thank you. I’m not sure if I’ll ever see you again, but it’s been one for the books.

On to Sydney!

Cheers,

Tera