“With no direction home….” (Dylan)
It didn’t take long for our longtime friends Joost & Suzanne to settle into the antipodal groove. An inspiring visit to the Auckland Museum, a stroll through the city center, and a smooth sail to Waiheke (wine! tapas!) and Motutapu (hikes, WWII bunkers!) did the trick. With 39 hours of travel from Belgium behind them—and a 12-hour jet lag now more or less digested- our traveling party was ready to pick up the camper vans in Christchurch and hit the road.
Neither the midges nor the sandflies, neither the blisters nor the heatstrokes and campervan-induced hip injuries could slow us down or break our stride as we crossed the mountain passes to the Tasman Sea.
Every Kiwi we met along the way stole our hearts—just like the land they so fondly call home. From the enthusiastic owners of the bric-a brac shop in an 19th century building in Hokitika to the no-nonsense, hard-working, straight-talking mistress of the Otira Stagecoach Hotel to the international art-collecting couple who welcomed us into their Greymouth home which they had transformed into a true art lover’s haven. The corrugated steel building, once a church now housed their carefully curated collection. “Since we don’t have children, we are pouring all our passion and finances into our paintings.” they told us. “Thank you so much for visiting.”
Everyone had a story to tell, and they shared it eagerly. We were just as eager to listen. Take, for instance, the story about Dutch parents from Friesland —ik spreek een beetje Nederlands—who moved to the other side of the world in the ’70s to seek and find contentment.
Or the lady who recently fled troubles in South Africa—praat gerus Afrikaans —to discover a safe haven on the greenest of islands, never mind the “12 gangs”. And then there was the 55 -year old pounamu selling lady who confessed about her homeland holding onto her so tightly that the longing to return always outweighed the joy of vacationing abroad. And we totally get it. The land is simply fabulous, and what’s even more spectacular is that the Kiwis don’t take their forests and ocean for granted . To say it with a Māori proverb: “If the land is well, and the sea is well, the people will thrive.”
Speaking about the Maori, we find it exhilarating how the culture is all around us. All The street signs are both in English and Maori, the automated voice announcing the bus stops does it in English and Māori, public art is permeated by “whakatauki” , Māori wisdom. We especially like the proverb about true leadership : “Ko te kai a te rangatira, he kōrero“. The food of chiefs is dialogue. And to know that in the 1980’s – which is really not so long ago-, it was even forbidden to speak the language at all.
We have now reached Queenstown. The road is long and winding towards the fjords and Milford Sound. We are still without direction home.
Consider staying in NZ for another year. Most cruisers miss out on sailing the fjords because they “do the south Island” by car/campervan. Don’t miss out on the South Island and Steward Island by boat. One of our top 3 destinations in the world.
OCC has a webinar by yours truly re cruising down there and circumnavigating NZ if you need more inspiration.
Cheers Andrea
Ah, very tempting. Maybe in another life team. But the dice have been cast.
Met plezier gelezen! Lijkt me daar prachtig en inspirerend.
En een paradijs voor wandelaars Lieve. Jammer dat het zo ver ligt voor ons Belgen.
Wow, wat een heerlijke reis, mooie foto’s en inspirerende verhalen! Merci en nog veel plezier bij het tree huggen 😘
Ja, we moeten Joost in de gaten houden, of we zijn hem kwijt in het woud.
Weeral een prachtig verslag , we verstaan dat Marie daar zo graag woont en werkt .
Wij nu ook!!!