Raglan

wait, what year are we in?!
see all photos »

My time here in the absolutely amazing country is almost up and although I am really excited to go to Chile/Easter Island and Argentina I am quite sad to be leaving here. I spent the last 10 days or so in Raglan, trying to get better. I had a bad cold, no energy at all but Raglan was a good place to be for that. I really liked the place I stayed- it was very low-key and an easy place to just hang out- for pictures check out www.solscape.co.nz

raglan
see all photos »

It was also there that I said a sad goodbye to Betsey, my dear van. While I was at Solscape lounging on the couch one day an English girl walked in and asked if, by chance, anyone was selling a van. I said that I would in fact be selling my van the next week so she had a look. She was looking for something much cheaper than I wanted for Betsey but she was still interested. The following day her boyfriend, who happens to be an American who has lived for many years in Santa Cruz, had a look at the van too. They liked her and made me an offer much lower than I was hoping to get. I really liked them- they live in Raglan and Betsey would have a good home so I told them I would consider their offer and give them a call. After talking  to a few people about the current backpacker car market (not so good- it's winter and no one is coming through looking for cars), and the fact hat Betsey's registration and warrant of fitness was up in 3 weeks I decided to go ahead and let her go. Otherwise it would mean doing the registration myself and getting the WOF which could potentally cost quite a bit of money THEN going to Auckland and trying to sell her to backpackers who currently don't exist. It was just too easy how it all came to pass so I figured it was meant to be. The day I made the decision was hard- I cried and cried. I think I cried not just because I was losing Betsey but because it symbolized the end of my New Zealand trip. I love this place, it feels like home to me and I really can't bear the thought of leaving!

raglan rainbow
see all photos »

The actual sale of the car was quite sweet- I went to pick Sarah up at her house and we sat drinking tea and chatting for hours. Then a friend of hers came by and I got to wear my gumboots for one last time and take a walk through the bush down to the beach. We finally went into town and exchanged paperwork and money and it was all over. I really couldn't have asked for a better situation, aside from the money, which really wasn't all that bad- it would have cost the same or more to rent a van and it certainly wouldn't have been Betsey!

sarah, new proud owner of betsey, and the pups
see all photos »

I was left with a slight problem, though- I had a bike, a surfboard and waaaay too much luggage (it was quite easy  to collect having a van to store things in!) that I needed to get back to Auckland, via Fred & Colleen's (where I borrowed the bike).  After some thinking I figured the easiest way was to rent a car for the day and that worked out fine- I drove back to the Coromandel to Fred & Colleen's , had a great dinner and good sleep then headed to Auckland the next morning.

how can a girl not be happy in gum boots?
see all photos »

I just spent the last two nights on Wai Heke Island,just off of Auckland, with Margaret and John Edwards who my mom met at the wine faire in LA this year. They have an absolutely beautiful house with vineyards and olives. I was lucky to be there during processing time so I have learned more about olive oil making in the last 2 days than I ever did in my 20+ summers in Tuscany. Margaret and John make some of the best oil in New Zealand and it was quite interesting to be involved in the process. Plus I got to stay in a stunning place and I even had time to take their old truck and explore some of the island, which is very beautiful.

fred & colleen
see all photos »

Just one more day left here- hopefully I will spend it mountain biking with Clinton. I am going to miss this place- it just really feels good to me here. People are so nice and very humble and down to earth. Any place where most of the population owns a pair of gumboots is good, in my book. Life here feels a lot more simple than at home. People seem to be more content with life as it comes. People stay married here and they seem happy- Margaret and her husband John just celebrated their 44 year anniversary and they appear to like each other still! This is not uncommon, from what I have observed. And things here aren't fancy- sure the city folk are extra-hip which is really fun to see too but people are just normal. Houses are small and tidy, cars aren't super flash and people still use words like "crikey".

stormy surf
see all photos »

And then there is the natural beauty and the outdooor lifestyle that people lead here- I guess with a place as stunning as this how could you not want to be outdoors all of the time? One of the other really cool things is that this country only has something like 4 million inhabitants- that means that during times like now, when tourism is down because of the "bad" weather, beaches, forests and everything but the ski slopes are totally deserted. What a treat to be all alone in some of the most beautiful scenery that exists.

sunset # ???
see all photos »

So I am very sad to leave but I have a strong feeling that New Zealand is somewhere in my future. It's too good here- I think I have found a place where I belong.