As we were driving through New Zealand to Napier we passed by a fence strewn with old shoes and boots. The beautiful country back drop and its old fence had something oddly magical to it. We pulled over and took a few shots and hurried back into the car.
After doing a bit of research later on, it turns out there are many fences filled with shoes, and even bras in New Zealand. The fence of bras turned into a tourist attraction at one point and was deemed a driving hazard by the government (probably because people like me would block the road to take a picture) and required it be taken down. Maybe the shoes are a way to stick it back to the man, or just drum up more tourists. Either way I’m glad we caught a picture – but I woudn’t go out of my way to see it 😉
From what we heard, the country side of New Zealand is spectacular. We thought the best way to see NZ was by driving. We rented a car in Auckland and made our way down to Wellington – stopping in each of the must see towns along the way.
Getting use to driving on the other side of the road wasn’t too bad. What we had trouble catching on to was the fact that the turn signal was on the opposite side of the steering wheel than we were use to. On every turn we would accidentally turn on the windshield wipers, have a chuckle and carry on. It took a few hours to get use to that.
In the end it cost us about an extra $90 per day to have the car. It really broke into our budget but flying to all the towns would probably have been worst. Tip: Picking up and dropping the car off at the airport adds an additional %15 cost to the overall bill. If you can, plan well and drop it off in town, but be sure to mind the hours of operation.
I think this is true all around the world. Rarely do powerful individuals represent an entire nation. Sadly, those that are bent on hate, domination or simply wish to see the worst in people get the most attention in our country and others. That’s what fuels the divide – the news and politics hoping to spark a nation’s fears to cause conflict, get ratings or advance an agenda. Don’t be someone’s pawn. Ask your own questions, start your own conversations and meet the people being ruled by the “other side.”
I’m so glad we decided to rent a car and drive through New Zealand. The countryside is truly inspiring. (It is like a constant view of Windows Desktop XP for you nerds out there.) The peaks and valleys of green grass framed with blue skies are something not to be missed You can see why it was a great place to film the countryside for the movie Lord of the Rings.
To make it even more picture perfect we passed thousands of packs of cows and sheep along the way.
If the roadways of New Zealand are considered majestic then imagine how beautiful the countryside is when you go off the road into specifically designated national forests. We haven’t visited the famous hills of The Sound of Music – yet, but I would have to assume they are similar to these. Since pictures (and video) are worth a thousand words let’s make it easy and have you check out the hyperlapse video below that I took of our hike through the Tararua Forest Park.
As I mentioned the video, the countryside is more of a rolling plains type visual, were as all the forest we visited had more of a tropical foliage landscape.
When we asked our New Zealand friends what we should try while we were there they responded quickly with “The Feijoa!”
I have no idea why this fruit can’t be found anywhere else than New Zealand. It taste just like candy and would go over well with kids if they had to make these part of their daily fruit and veggie regiment. We also found the fruit in soft drinks – which were delicious as well.
I didn’t clarify well at the end of the video but you get the idea. It really does taste like a sweet tart type candy. So much so that it is a bit of a surprise when you eat it. You brain says, I’m about to eat a fruit, but your mouth says “I just ate candy right?”
One side note: We noticed that all the produce in the super market was either labeled “product of New Zealand” or “product of U.S.A” No other country was listed. Thought that was interesting, NZ prefers our produce over their neighbors.
If I had to sum it up I’d say Waiheke island was a cross between Sausalito, CA and OBX, VA. There are wineries, beautiful mountain views with glistening bays between. We really enjoyed our time here. To make the visit even more unique and special Jackie got us a Glamping tent on AirBnB for our stay.
We happened to have arrived during the Waiheke Jazz festival so most restaurants had bands playing. We strolled through the countryside and stopped at a few wineries. Our first was by far our favorite, Kennedy Point Vinyards. Not only was there a great selection of wine, but the staff was incredible helpful and fun.
The staff explaining a flight of Sarah from freshly picked grapes to aged ones.
Allie, one of the staff at Kennedy Point, saw us walking down the street later in the day and offered a ride home. Our feet were pretty tired so we took it! One conversation led to another and we ended up going to one of the Jazz show with her and her husband Felix. They were such a wonderful couple and we had a awesome time.
The other wineries we visited on Waiheke island were Stoney Ridge, which had an amazing view from it’s balcony, but it was a bit on the pricey side (shown below); and Wild on Waiheke, which didn’t have the friendliest staff and boasted archery and games on the vineyard but the came with an hour wait and around $30 price tag per person.
On our way to the Waitomo Work Caves we made a stop at the Marokopa Falls. It was a brief walk through the jungle-like bush before we could hear the force of the falls against the rocks in the distance. We started recording right before we first layed eyes on the falls so we could capture our reaction on film. It was a magnificent display of mother nature.
We arrived in Auckland at 5PM on April 3rd. It was a 3 hour flight from Nadi airport on Air New Zealand that we got for about $500 per person (not including the exorbitant price to check our backpacks.) We were picked up by a couple of friends that gave us a tour of the city. We got to catch some local vistas, took a walking tour of the shoreline and ended with some good food.
One thing we noticed from the vistas was the sprawling valley of one story houses. They spanned the horizon.
“Here we go – one month left until move-out day!” With our plane tickets bought, it just got real.
We posted to Facebook, Craigslist and taped signs on the street, “EVERYTHING MUST GO!” If you we’re looking to fill your apartment with more stuff, Sean and Jackie’s house was the place to be.
Price check on aisle 1
Why were we getting rid of everything? Well, this wasn’t like any other move-out day because it wasn’t really a move at all. We were going “nomad” for a year and for the first time in our moving history we were NOT figuring out how to relocate our stuff into another set of rooms and closets. It sounds like a subtle difference, letting all the things you’ve accumulated over the years go versus “go somewhere” but the feelings were monumentally different.
our soon to be filled backpacks
Our goal was to take everything we needed (and I emphasize *needed*) and make it all fit into each of our 50 Liter backpacks. So, goodbye couches, tables, blenders, utensils, and plates. Goodbye to our multitude of change-of-clothes options, Jackie’s coveted hairdryer, and, most notably, our current concept of home.
We’ve been planning this for years, well, at least talking about it for that long. You know the conversation, right? “Hey babe, what if we just dropped everything and just – went? Just you and I. Somewhere far away. Wouldn’t that be great?!”
The conversation would usually end with either an imaginative tour of all the top places we’d want to see or end with a comment like, “we have too much going on right now to leave.” Just like a modern day Goldie Locks it never feels like the right time to make it happen. The economy is always going too well or too poorly – when is the timing just right?
“Okay”, Jackie said, this time changing the typical end-game phrase, “If we did this what would it look like?” We talked about going to South America and making our way down to Patagonia. Maybe visit family in DC and then start in Europe? We could make the dollar stretch if we went to the South Pacific, right? How long would we go? Three months? Six? Sadly, the more time we gave ourselves to travel the more things we were able to do and thus – out of time again. In the same way our bag size grew and filled, it never felt like there was – enough. We were living Parkinson’s Law.
I won’t bore you with the play-by-play, but trust me in that researching locations, costs, transit systems and weather had us going back and forth between destinations, routes and timings ad nauseam.
But, now with our plane tickets bought there was no longer an ever widening gap between theory and reality. Our first stop is Fiji and we have 30 days to jettison what we didn’t need, pack what we do, and go.
Next up, making it happen economically!
Jen C. and Jeff came by to lend a hand and take some stuff
My view from the backseat of Jeff’s wagon after shoving our couch in it to quickly get it to his apartment on our last day in SF
Sean Shadmand 
