Given recent emotional events and the fast-paced adventure of New Zealand, I really felt the need to slow down my travels. Shifting to Australia was a great choice, given it was significantly warmer than New Zealand. With a lively population of about 2 million and the temperature hovering around 24C during the day, Brisbane felt very much like a Canadian spring (except the sun set before 5:30 pm).
On the evening I arrived, I was able to meetup with my friend Agata and her fiance Gilles for a drink. Being a Saturday night, the streets were bustling with throngs looking for the next big party. Partying with locals is awesome, and they shared many tips and recommendations for the month to follow. As you know, I love getting suggestions from friends and fellow travelers, and have based most of my travel on them.
Brisbane is split by a meandering river, and a walk along the boardwalk provided terrific views. It lead to a national park, which was a great spot to relax and watch strange looking birds bathe in the pools. Relaxing led to napping, and the warm weather, chirping birds and wind blowing through leaves made a tranquil backdrop.
Another day Agata was my tour guide and showed me around attractions that are not easily accessible, such as the top of the nearby mountain and the botanical garden.
Another night the three of us cooked dinner at their apartment, enjoyed several bottles of wine and then watched the latest episode of Game of Thrones.
Another day I wandered around the trendy area of New Farm, visiting cafes and reading the local newspaper. I also went to the gym for the first time in months.
Hanging out with friends and doing local activities in a city that seemed familiar really felt like home, which was a much needed feeling. I also just confirmed plans to be in Poland for months starting in July; more great friends in another very familiar place is wonderful therapy and will be a pleasurable break from the constant traveling.
It’s been 7 months and 12 countries since I left Montreal, and enormous amount of emotions arose recently. They have continued for longer than previous moments, so a friend suggested I dig deeper and write them down, to clearly identify what these feelings are and why I was experiencing them.
Let’s begin with some positives.
Solo traveling for long periods opens the door for self-discovery and I’ve learned many things about myself. I’ve pushed my comfort zone, tested my boundaries and grown from the experiences. I’ve learned how to recover from my mistakes and other unexpected events, to see positives when things go wrong. I’ve followed my passions and acknowledged you can never go wrong when pursing strong feelings, even if they don’t bring you the results you were hoping for. It brings me great pleasure and sense of self-worth when act in congruent with who I am, and displeasure when oppose my self.
When traveling, I’ve learned you need be to
adaptable, since things can and will change unexpectedly
patient, to handle the things that change and to accept yourself
understanding about efficiency, since not every moment will be perfectly timed
understanding about money loss, as part of being inefficient means wasting money
Everyday can be any adventure, and everyday I see something new.
Constantly meeting new people is exciting! The challenge however, is the word “constantly”; you’re constantly saying hello, introducing yourself, where you’re from and why you’re able to travel for so long. Then, from anywhere between a couple of hours to a couple of days, you’re constantly saying goodbye.
From this, a sense of emptiness and loneliness started. Emptiness because I’m not able to build a lasting relationship with anyone, and loneliness because I desire to be with people that already know and love me.
Before leaving, I mentally prepared to be homesick, and it took 7 months to strike. Despite all the Skype dates with my parents and my brother’s family, I miss them dearly. I miss hugging them, laughing with them. I miss play dates with my nephew, tickling him and teaching him about the world.
I miss my friends, going out for drinks and having dinner parties. I miss feeling more productive with my day and using my brain to build something. I miss my motorcycle. I miss Montreal in the summer, firmly believing it’s one of the world’s most interesting places in June and July.
It’s also tiring to regularly move from city to city, from country to country. It’s tiring to pack your things and say goodbye, because the desire to see what’s around the next corner keeps pulling you along. It’s tiring to eat out 3 times a day, since it’s challenging to cook in most places I stay (plus, you know, I hate cooking).
Hopefully these negative feelings will soon die a painful death and I can continue the great adventure!
“If you learn to really sit with loneliness and embrace it for the gift that it is… an opportunity to get to know YOU, to learn how strong you really are, to depend on no one but YOU for your happiness… you will realize that a little loneliness goes a LONG way in creating a richer, deeper, more vibrant and colorful YOU.”
― Mandy Hale
Changing the pace a little, I flew to New Zealand and rented a car for a two week road trip. Although it was early winter, I figured it would be warm enough, around 20C. Plus I needed to getaway from the very humid climate of Hong Kong.
I covered about 1800km of the north island, including Auckland, Waiheke island, Waitomo caves, Hobbiton, Taupo, Napier, Gisborne, Whakatane, Rotorua, Hot Water Beach and Snells Beach. It was a little aggressive, so the last few days were slower paced. Driving in NZ is awesome, as the roads are well paved and very, very curvy (almost as voluptuous as the people here… ouch!).
There are basically only two speed limits: 100km/h and 50km/h. Think about that for a moment. That means both highways and narrow country roads were very fast paced. What I love about this is: although you can go really fast, it doesn’t mean you should. This means NZ empowers their drivers to make right decisions, something Quebec would never do. If nothing else, I need to come back and rent a motorcycle to conquer these sweeping roads.
Here are the highlights of this escapade.
Waiheke is a luxurious island just north of Auckland, with many summer homes for millionaires. It reminded me of the early stages of Nantucket and St. Barth’s, but with a greater percentage of locals instead of foreigners. People bring couches as seating to the only theatre, and they can bring whatever food they desire (BBQ’s are probably not allowed though). There’s a 9 hole golf course and 30 small vineyards, and a wine tour was the perfect way to explore this cozy region. For a moment, I even explored the possibility of buying land and developing some houses, but the market is already too pricey.
Waitomo Caves hosts thousands of glowworms that live on the cave’s ceiling. They use bio-luminescence (similar to fireflies) to attract flies and insects into their dangling strands of web. Prey gets tangled in the web, and the worm feasts upon their carcass. Yummy! With so many glowworms lighting the otherwise pitch black cave, it was almost romantic. Note: photos were not allowed inside the cave.
Hobbiton looks exactly like in the movies. It’s situated on a 125 acre farm, and the movie guys invested 9 months to produce the Hobbit’s village, not including two years to make the fake tree that sits directly above Bilbo’s house. It’s just an outdoor set, so nothing is found inside the homes, but the attention to detail is incredible. Each resident’s home has a purpose, from the cheese-maker to the fisherman to the tailor, and there are incredibility realistic props for each. Front doors are found in various sizes, to allow actors to appear smaller or larger while standing in front of them. The tour was about 2 hours long, including a free beer in the Green Dragon Inn.
Napier is considered the Art Deco capital of the world, as it was completely rebuilt after a large earthquake in the 1930’s. City officials decided to stick with the 30’s theme ever since. so lots of quaint shops and restaurants were found here. Sadly I didn’t take any pictures because I left my camera in the car and was too lazy to get it.
Natural hot springs are found all over the north island, and I enjoyed several of them. It’s quite relaxing to have natural warm water wash your muscles after a long day of driving on the wrong side of the road. In Wai-O-Tapu there were pools of various colours and temperatures, heated by the nearby volcanoes. No bathing was possible, but the raw beauty was fascinating; it looked more like Mars than Earth.
Another spot was Hot Water Beach, where underground steam warms the beach’s sands up to 60C. People come at low tide and dig their own hot tubs, mixing warm water with cold to create the perfect spa experience.
For a cultural experience, I went to a Maori village for some live entertainment and traditional dinner. They taught us about their history and how they successfully integrated with Europeans. Dinner was cooked using natural hot steams, and was quite tasty. Considering how challenging it is to live in harmony with Canadian’s aboriginals, I was quite impressed how the Maori people thrive and are respected in today’s society.
Unfortunately, as the days passed, the weather got colder and wetter. Thus, instead of spending another month here, I decided to fly to the warmer part of Australia. New Zealand is awesome, and has incredible natural beauty, so I will return during their summer to visit much more of the islands.
