In three weeks, I will be on my way again to a place that has intrigued me since I was a child. New Zealand. Many other countries are on my list, and yet, even though I have been twice, I am super excited to go back. I know that much has changed since I was there the first time. In fourteen years (wow, has it really been THAT long?), immigration laws have changed and the demographic is vastly different, and the population has boomed. Tourism has increased dramatically, making it far less inviting to visit the typical touristy places (so gratefully, I have already seen most of them at least once). This all has it's benefits - it means that there are more public washrooms in more places, more availability to services, roads are better (when I first went there, most roads on the south island were tar and chip, now many are paved and wider).
It also has it's downside. Everywhere will be busier, taking photographs will not be quite as pleasant. There will be more people to remove or try to crop out (unless the intention is to photograph them), landscapes are not as clean and natural as they once were. It's more difficult to find spaces on tours etc. (although we don't plan to take many). Parking, restaurants, etc. will be harder to find spaces in. But...
We will be there for 4 weeks this time. Yes. Still can't believe we've been able to make this happen. I would so love to have our partners going with us, but my partner is otherwise engaged in his business, so we are making this a girls trip. And that means doing whatever we decide to do when we wake up. We have our route planned, rental cars, interior flights and scenic rail trips booked, but other than that, we are open to suggestion.
We (my friend Linda and I) are still super excited. It will still not be as crazy as it is almost everywhere else. And we are approaching our time there very differently this time. WE are very different this time.
Yes, we want to see the gorgeous scenery, experience wildlife and nature as much as possible, enjoy the cuisine and culture, but we also are really looking forward to taking our time and enjoying the ride. Being flexible about what we do, and what we see. Focus on the path less travelled, going to places many people either aren't aware of, or aren't interested in taking the time to go there.
We will be taking the Scenic Drives as often as we can. We will be hiking the short trails as much as possible (we're not as young as we were before!). We are trying not to have a rigid schedule so that we can detour and take the scenic drives. We're staying in one place a little longer, rather than a single night here and there and driving allllll the time.
My photography has grown leaps and bounds - certainly since my fist time there. My gear is better, my approach, artistry, confidence and perspectives have all grown. I'm more relaxed. I strongly believe that in order to truly enjoy a vacation like this, you need to be relaxed before you go. If you go when you're stressed, you'll still have that stress on your mind and cannot be mindful and intentional about the experience, and are less likely to remember it.
I've also been writing a LOT more since then - not here, I haven't been ready to share everything I've written, but I'm getting there. Life has had it's ups and downs, and I've changed my perspective over the years on that, too. I'm not here for anyone else, I don't write or photograph or create or think or do for anyone else. None of us should. I'm sure I'll share more of my thoughts on this later, but for now, I'll just say that I'm not being selfish, or even self-involved or self-centered, I'm just putting on my own oxygen mask first.
Looking forward to sharing more, and hopefully bringing along a few of you with me, and maybe even enticing some of you to make the same trip for yourself - or another trip.
