Waking Up on the Edge of the World
Posted on 28 February 2009 by Natalie
Believe it or not, daily life as a nomad is not that different than our previous lifestyle. Whether confined to a cubicle or living out of a backpack their are good days, and not as good days. Their are also, just plain awful days. However, it is not everyday I have the opportunity to wake up on the edge of the world. After leaving Wellington with no actual plan (other than to drive north), I knew we would find some interesting adventures.
I think it’s really important to leave room for spontaneous travel. That being said, I am not a naturally spontaneous individual. I love planning things and working out all the details until I feel confident that I am fully educated. The daily rhythm of backpacking often forces me to shed my hyper planning tendencies.
Waking up on the edge of the world doesn’t happen through planning. The following basic steps lead to waking up on the edge of the world.
- We drove north from Wellington with no plan. Ditch the guide book sometimes.
- I saw a place on the map called Castlepoint. There was a lighthouse icon in the atlas. It intrigued me.
- Justin and I spent about 20 minutes driving in circles searching for a tiny unmarked road.
- Once we found it, we drove for an hour until we reached the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
- Began exploring the surrounding bay on foot. Hiked through the cliffs around the lighthouse as the sun set.
- Red wine on the beach. Come prepared with glasses, a bottle and cork screw at all times.
- Sleeping in the car. It’s not glamorous, but sleeping bags and the ocean waves create a rather peaceful slumber.
- Waking up on the edge of the world! Hooray!!!
- Climbing cliffs along the Pacific as the sun rises, equally amazing.
Travel like this does not occur everyday. A perfect formula for spontaneity does not exist. In fact spontaneous travel, whether utilizing a guidebook or not, can lead to a miserable experience. While a willingness to sleep in your car is good, it will not necessarily lead to a great experience such as, ‘Waking Up on the Edge of the World.’ Instead they are rare and to be treasured.
I am aware that some of our readers (all 8 of you) have taken part in numerous wild adventures. Driving across America on a motorcycle, backpacking for months throughout the Middle East, and even meeting a stranger online to move thousands of miles in order to get married and live happily ever after. Adventure occurs daily, it doesn’t have to be bungee jumping.
Please comment any ‘Waking Up on the Edge of the World’ stories. It will be fun to vicariously live through each others adventures.
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Tags | New Zealand, unfamiliar
Hello, I’ve been reading your blog for a bit (found it through a link from another blog) and thought I’d say hi! I don’t think I’m *that* adventurous, though a few things I’ve done:
1. Moved from Ontario to Australia for my Aussie boyfriend – we dated for about 2 months when he was on exchange at my uni in Canada, then we did the long distance thing for about 7 1/2 months. It still freaks me out a bit that I did that!
2. We had a long weekend in uni a few years ago, with the Monday off (Victoria Day in May in Ontario) So 7 of us decided on the Wednesday that we were leaving on the Friday afternoon around 3pm, drove till 9am Saturday morning when we arrived in Myrtle Beach. Then we left around 1pm on Monday to arrive back home at 7am Tuesday morning (and some people went to class at 8:30am, I was lucky to not have class till that evening!) So we did 36 hours of driving for 40 hours there – best road trip ever!
Adventure & spontaneity are awesome, but I don’t feel like I’ve done enough. Looking forward to more!
Hey Jill, I am glad you found us and that you have enjoyed following the adventure. And I must say, it sounds like you have truly experienced spontaneity. What fun adventures!
Let us know if you have any advice on Sydney. We plan to head that way in a few weeks or so.
Not sure if you were talking about me in the “met a stranger on the internet” portion of your post but I only moved hundreds of miles for my hubby… but thanks for the shout out! Miss you guys! We thought about you ALOT at church today… Tim Elmore was giving a talk about finding your passion and Natalie sprung to both our minds instantly because you are one of the most passionate people we know. Keep the adventures coming!
Hey Tinkerbell…..I heard the same talk and I thought the same thing….Natalie, you need to go online and listen to this one! Miss hearing you sing and praise with me. Love, Mom
Im having my own adventures too. At the moment I am training to Circumnavigate d’Urville Island in a seakayak. Which has some pretty intense water around it should be a great experince.
I love reading about your adventures, and cant wait to travel the world like you guys are!
Love you
@Tinkerbell – Yes! I was refering to your person, ‘Waking up on the Edge of the World’ experience. I understand I exagerated the number of miles. However, the distance from Michigan to Durban, South Africa will make up for the miles. You see, my friend Abby has recently moved to South Africa and will be getting married to an African who lives in Durban. She didn’t meet him online, so I guess you could say I combined your ‘Edge of the World’ experience with hers.
Thank you for thinking of me during the talk on ‘PASSION’. I think I can be a rather passionate person. Everyone needs to have passion in life. I think it’s in everyone, but sometimes it gets a little trapped.
@Cathryn the dreamer – Sea kayaking around an island definately counts as an ‘Edge of the World’ experience. People often forget how much larger the waves feel when you are in a tiny kayak surrounded by ocean and the waves are increasing in size. Enjoy the adventure!!