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Published: April 25th 2016
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Queenstown
New Zealand I knew I was standing on the most beautiful spot on earth. I don't remember exactly where it was, but it was somewhere in New Zealand's South Island. Jeremy and I had decided to drive the length of the two islands in twelve days, Queenstown to Auckland. The rental car was old and the radio didn't work and we'd often wake up in the morning to a dead battery. As the trip's navigator, it was twelve days of, "Stay to the left!," "watch the road!," "Oh wow that's beautiful," "stay to the left!," "wait stop here!," "I'm hungry," "where are we?," "stay to the left!"
I stood in that spot, wherever it was on the South Island and reflected on my other travels. I knew without a doubt what I was witnessing at that moment was beauty of a most supreme nature I would never encounter another scene as spectacular again. In an effort to relish the moment, I thought to myself, "What is it like to experience the most beautiful spot on earth? How am I feeling at this very moment in time?"
Jeremy snapped a few photos, started skipping rocks into the lake, fiddled with the map.
I could tell he was getting anxious. "We should get going," he said, "We've got a long way to go before we have to stop for the night."
"Can't I have ten minutes to enjoy the most beautiful place on earth?" I whined.
"I guess," he murmured. "But hurry."
"How can I HURRY and enjoy it? How is that even possible?" I retorted.
"I don't know what to tell ya sweet cheeks, but your belly achin' is cutting into your ten minutes," he said.
"I'm TRYING to reflect and you're ruining my moment!" I snapped.
"No, I'M not ruining your moment," he reminded me. "I'M keeping us on a schedule so we can see EVERYTHING in twelve days which incidentally was YOUR idea."
Now that was a valid point. On paper, from the comfort of my couch in the middle of nowhere, Illinois, I reasoned it was entirely possibly to see everything in twelve days; at least hit the best parts. I mapped our course, circled the highlights, made the hotel reservations, clicked my heels three times, waved my magic wand and said to my husband, "Make it so."
And make it
so he did; from Queenstown to Wellington to Auckland. We drove from sunup to sundown. Most stops involved one of us staying in the running car while the other jumped out to take photos. But we also hiked til we hurt and ate til we were stuffed and laughed til we cried.
So if you asked me, "What does it feel like to stand on the most beautiful spot on earth?" I'd likely have on word come to mind. Exhausting.
Yes, you can see New Zealand in twelve days. You can drive like a maniac and cram in all the highlights. But don't count on savoring anything. Don't count on a moment of quiet reflection.
But for goodness sakes, no belly achin' either.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
And I thought seeing both islands in two weeks in October 2012 was an accomplishment...
I think we both need to slow down a bit; especially when traveling to such beautiful countries.