Welcome to New Zealand!

Another place in this world, another continent.

The perks of being back in a westernised country are many. Dry public toilets that have toilet paper, the food in the supermarket looks familiar, beaches are clean and roads are in good condition. Yet at the same time, many things are to be missed. People live their lives in a more closed off manner, no fruit shakes, no milk tea/chai and no cheap hotels. Eleven hours in the air and suddenly there is a part of the world that looks so familiar and yet everything is different.

Cuddled by all the warm clothes we can manage to wear and that have been hidden in our backpacks the past 10 months we set out to discover New Zealand. A country of intense beauty, winding roads and of course of ‘Lord of the Rings’.

Instead of motorbikes we this time ended up in a campervan. Maybe a campervan is an overstatement as it is, well, tiny, but it’s perfect to conquer the small unsealed roads, sharp corners and keep us warm when temperatures drop below 0°C. Even though it is tiny, it has a ‘port-o-poty’ (read: a toilet that fits into your hand luggage), a sink, fresh water and a grey water tank. To make things even better we have a gas stove to get some proper cooking done! Summarized: it’s a travellers (messy) dream on wheels!

Given, it doesn’t make my heart beat faster and my toes curl of excitement as a motorbike does, but it’s yet another experience I can add to my list. And instead of cooling you down it keeps you nice and snug in winter!

Anyhow, enough about the campervan, let’s talk about New Zealand! Our gateway to Oceania. Honestly, after a few days I fell in love. It felt like home, but better. Villages separated by endless green hills, century old forests and emerald blue bays. Green villages, small houses, cute houses and enormously friendly inhabitants. The first time we asked for a little information this ended with chocolates, home-made biscuits and fresh eggs of which we prepared a delicious breakfast. Up till now the kindness of people has been overwhelming!

We have been living every day intensely. Outside in the cold, but with a breathtaking scenery. If there is a place that will convince you life is beautiful, it will be here! I wish I could master the words to describe such beauty, but it’s utterly fur filling. Pure joy, intense love and never-ending peace. The perfect location for a fantasy filmset as the difference between myth and reality is easily forgotten. It kind of reminds me of Scotland, but then remoter, bigger and wilder. The forces of nature can’t be overlooked!

Around Rotorua the earth is boiling, bubbling and spitting steam up into the air. Warm water sprouts out of the earth with a curtain of steam lingering between the trees. Where are those demons? Where did the dinosaurs go exactly? No avoiding the question, what else is out there? 

Who are we but mere visitors in a world of immense power. Let’s tread lightly! Let’s rejoice and be happy to be part of what can be so beautiful!