Mountains and Valleys in NZ ~ September 25 - December 5, 2011

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When I wrote last I was enjoying a festive spell with Dan, Kate, and Jett to cheer rugby and marriage in Auckland, NZ. What a treat it was for me to be part of their lovely marriage day, and pack in the snuggles with the most adorable Best Man, Jett Jones. Even after Team Jones flew home, I kept the rugby banner flying and trooped off in spirit to the pubs in my Auckland neighborhood to watch the final rounds and the nerve-wrackingly historic superfinal of the Rugby World Cup. No one was surprised but all were thrilled nonetheless when the kiwi All Blacks gave the quiet nation a reason to shout with pride at a well-deserved title victory.

In fact, a lot of my time in New Zealand was confusing for me, and filled with experiences that were both up and down. Family time was delicious, but I was in shock at being back in the city and coordinating with people I care so much about after months of farm life and completely independent time. I spent longer in Auckland than I intended, waiting for some free spots at farms I was looking forward to visiting, and initially it made me grumpy to be stuck in this not-amazing-at-all city. But in fact the Auckland time turned into a needed hiatus when I could go for long morning runs, spend hours painting for my illustrated travel journals, read Jane Austen and Homer and Murikami, cook and laugh with new friends, cheer rugby, and enjoy long showers and sunny afternoons at my cozy Auckland hostel, a spacious and pristinely finished Victorian mansion called Verandahs, after the huge sunny porches where my hostel friends and I passed many sunny happy afternoons and festive evenings. The farms I ended up working on in NZ – a small family property and an historic commune (!) were all physically gorgeous with gardens I loved working in, but the people were crazypants (unwelcoming spirits, poor management, head lice, dirty living space, give-me-something-for-nothing hippies, poor potty training, poor food rations, and bickering) so I cut all my farm stays down from several weeks to just one before I could gracefully escape. Of the friends I met in New Zealand, a couple turned a little sour, but several have become close girlfriends who I look forward to meeting up with again on the journey.

I found myself thinking a great deal at the end of my time in NZ about one of the most important concepts I’ve returned to again and again in my life: community. Through personal experience, philosophical study, and ongoing discussion with mindful heartfelt folks everywhere, I’ve collected a lot of thoughts on this topic and am always intrigued by the depth and complexity there to continue to experience and mull over. This year has taught me that there are so many parallels between the qualities of nurturing, growing communities whether they’re in a small town, a family, a classroom, a garden, a workers’ collective, or a big city… in literature and philosophy and religion it’s human nature to seek and explore these nurturing spheres where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and in turn the whole enhances the parts as members with individual integrity and a place in the big embrace. This might sound like a tangential thought-ramble, but actually it’s the best I can sum up my experience in New Zealand, which was filled with the ups and downs of real life, but all meaningful in the embrace of the bigger view of my travels that this time and thinking gave me.

Fortunately, I ended my time in New Zealand on a delightful note with two weeks of wilderness hiking and adventuring along the coast and extraordinary mountain ranges in the north bit of the south island. There I was treated to some of the most glowing landscapes, endless winding rainforest beaches (viewed with toes in the sand), endless winding bare mountain ridges (viewed with boots on the peaks), cozy mountain huts to take off those boots and rest weary hiking feet curled up with books, hidden pubs lively with folk music and amazing honey beer hearty food and chocolate truffles, and clifside garden oasis campsites where my little orange tent smiled. The nicest part of New Zealand was making some lovely new friends – at the hostel, in the garden, on the mountains, and in the national parks – with whom I traveled, have kept in touch, and look forward to further traveling fun in the near future.

Nonetheless, I was really happy to come back to Australia in early December. And I’m excited to see where my journey unfolds from here.