Motueka Kaiteriteri Murchison Greymouth I've been meaning to mention that it doesn't get dark until around 10:00 this time of year! These days are insanely long and its easy to take advantage of them. The pictures of the sky were taken at 9:20p.m. Its hard to believe that a 12 hour flight can take you to a different season. Also hard to believe is the fact that I won't experience winter at all this year- though the last few days here in NZ have accounted for more inches of rainfall than I've seen in three years in San Diego. And NO, [View Full Entry]

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Three days into it and we're having the time of our lives. We got the campervan on Saturday (don't forget we're a day ahead of you, so technicallly I'm writing this from the future), so the real New Zealand adventure has begun. I will never forget hitting the road for the first time, on the opposite side of the road, sitting in the driver seat on the right side of the vehicle. I admit, the first couple turn offs were a bit hairy, but after a few kilometers (thats right we use km's down here) I got used to it. I [View Full Entry]

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After a grueling 12.5 hour red eye flight, we arrived in Christchurch, the largest city in the south island at around 8:00 a.m. We hired a taxi van to bring us to our hostel for a much needed crash out session. The place is accordingly named "Tranquil Lodge." A sprawling old shack in a neigborhood with more greenery than I've ever seen in one place. This city has an impressive amount of flora and fauna, as we soon discovered in the Botanic Gardens just outside the main downtown area of Christchurch. The main square of Christchurch itself had more hustle and [View Full Entry]

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Home base. Not exactly home town, but home... for now. As for the next few months, the world will be home my home base. Equipped with only a backpack, the essentials, and my beautiful partna, I will become a wanderer by choice. This is what Ive always wanted; I have no reason not to do it. A wise woman once told me, "not to dare is to lose one's self," and I have no intentions of losing myself. So I throw my bow lines and sail away from the safe harbor which has nestled me for 25 years and catch the [View Full Entry]

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