Back in Auckland, I am devastated at the thought of leaving what has to be the most beautiful country I have ever visited. New Zealand is truly captivating, with the most divine blue lakes, best tramping trails, vast and ever-changing landscapes, cascading waterfalls, whose early-morning dew sets the stage for gorgeous, sun-kissed rainbows, habitats to exotic, vibrantly-colored birds, raging rivers that flow from glaciers on top of the country's highest mountain peaks, fiords that home thousands of seals, penguins and dolphins, and beaches that make you weak in the knees. To name a few...
Last I wrote I had not completed my much-awaited sky dive, due to the weather in Taupo. But now I can happily write: SKY DIVING IS AWESOME. While most sky dives take you straight up to jump, this company offered, for the same price, a twenty-minute scenic flight over the Franz Josef glacier, the snow-capped mountains and a view of the foothills that creep out to the blue sea. After twenty minutes in awe, CJ, my tandem instructor, suddenly opened the door, pushing my legs out of the plane, not giving me a second to think about the "what ifs". Head back, I smiled for the camera and suddenly went spiraling down, down, down, thinking the free fall would never end, wind whipping my face, high on life yet again. For nearly 45 seconds I fell, arms out like a bird, gazing down at the earth below. BEST. FEELING. EVER. Then (thanks for your prayers!) the chute opened and I sat up in my harness, taking in the scenery below me, floating carelessly down to the green pasture. Once back on stable ground, our bus driver Drew greeted me with open arms, laughing that of all the people he has watched sky dive over the years, he could never hear one scream while exiting the plane quite as clearly as he could hear me. Go figure. Worth every single penny and every single second. I can't wait for my next jump.
Later that night, as we sat around a campfire where I taught my international group of friends the single best American tradition, S'Mores, I watched the moon rise over the same mountains I had just seen from the air, marveling at the giant orb's orange and eerie glow as it ascended into the twinkling, starry sky. The smell of salt water and the warm breeze of the hot summer day lulled me to sleep in my tent and I found myself thinking that it was perhaps one of my best days ever.
Waking up content with life, we headed on to the Bushman's Camp, learning about the venison industry from Possum Pete, a man whose humor enabled him to make a short documentary film entitled, "When Bambi was a Terrorist". I was fascinated at the industry that once had men jumping out of helicopters to man-handle "Bambi" into a net and found myself thinking yet again, "Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore". A scrumptious venison pie later, we were back on the road and headed to Punakaiki, where a long hike and a lovely country pub awaited us.
Our final stop was in Abel Tasman, the smallest national park in New Zealand, yet one of the most beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the Whitsunday Islands in Australia with its clear blue waters. A small group of us chose to do a 25 kilometer walk, where we stumbled upon Cleopatra's Pools, with a natural water slide and a sparkling-water beach for our lunch. After lunch, we ran down the hill to Anchorage, sprinting into the ocean, no other swimmers around, and splashing about as we gazed up at the stunning and hilly landscape.
A sad goodbye the following day, I left the crew in Nelson, where I spent a day relaxing in lush green vineyards on a wine and micro-brewery tour with my dear friend Iain. At a summer festival that night, we watched a carnival in the city square and ate good food, reminiscing about our fantastic trip.
While that pretty much sums up the end of the trip, I feel there are really no words to describe the experience I have had here. Rather than checking this country off my list, I have only added more things to do the next time I am here. I am sure I will return to this beautiful place. Until then, I will live for the memory.
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