In the Venice airport I met a middle aged former backpacker, his wife, and his 2 kids. After politely asking about our travel plans he looked at me with a mischievous grin on his face, before imparting the following advise, in halting English.

“It good to work and travel. If you forget why you travel. Work for 2 weeks. You remember quickly.”

Both the man and his wife got a chuckle and walked back to their kids. Natalie and I laughed politely, as travelers tend to do when unsure of the appropriate protocol, and I quickly forgot this incident.  About a week after starting to work in Te Anau, I remembered this conversation. Truer words I have not not heard since beginning my nomadic wanderings.

So, as of January 29th, Natalie and I (along with our Subi) will be setting off on a leisurely drive up the west coast of the South Island. After taking a ferry to the North Island, we will be staying in Wellington for a few weeks (I cannot wait to see a city again. Small town living is starting to make me feel claustrophobic), before winding our way up to Auckland.

Natalie and I are going Nomadic once again and we are ecstatic. We have a few exciting adventures planned (ice climbing on a glacier, visiting vineyards, becoming scuba certified, etc) but we are also looking forward to wandering from place to place and exploring different regions of New Zealand.

Over the next several months we will be moving around South East Asia with the goal of spending 30 to 60 days (depending on visa requirements) exploring each country. Unlike the blitzkrieg type manner we used to dash through Western Europe, we will be taking a slow and more in depth look at South East Asia.  I can only hope that this will be a more rewarding way to travel.

Tags | New Zealand