Sorry for the radio silence! My husband and I just returned from a mind blowing three weeks in New Zealand. We've been planning this trip ever since we honeymooned in Australia in 2011 and heard such wonderful things about the country. What you often here is true:
- There are innumerable sheep. Everywhere. Tiptoeing around mountains that I would fall off of after striking my best "pretend I'm flexible" yoga pose to cling, while they saunter on around casually. Far far more than people. 3 million people to 60 million sheep at last count.
- You really must visit separately from Australia. Australia is enormous and deserves its own itinerary, even then you'll never have enough time. We spent three weeks at a fast pace and should have spent three months!
- Campers everywhere. Campers and sheep.
I'm also going to do a post on the spiritual aspects of the trip. Those of you who've read my posts know that my faith is what sees me through - from the day to day, the challenges of an autoimmune disease, to the big picture aspects of life. Being immersed in nature for weeks allowed me a lot of time to contemplate the divine. Swimming with dolphins in the wild and whale watching in particular filled me with a sense of awe and reverence that stays with me today, a month from our return, as sharply as it were yesterday, and so I hope forever.
But while I pull these together, enjoy some photos of our time there!
More to come soon!