Merge Like a Zip

Our belongings of the past nine months of travel lay splattered around the guest room here on the Parade. Items like our 1.5 person MEC tent (if you live in a tent, be sure to choose one that has a little wiggle room), to a half-filled bottle of sunscreen (helpful, however does not adequately protect you from New Zealand`s "lack of ozone" burn), to our well-used camp stove (with which we championed the one-pot meal). All pieces of equipment that have enabled us to survive this New Zealand adventure, now waiting to be packed away for the return to Canada.

How could I possibly begin to describe our time in New Zealand? We came, we surfed, we hiked, we wwoofed, we fought, we made up, we road-tripped, and we settled down. We milked cows, stuffed sausages, picked blueberries, and fed the sheep. We baked bread, ate pie, and met inspirational, remarkable people. We felt the beach with our feet on every coast, in white sand, brown sand, and black sand. We drank flat whites in urban cafes and fell in love with rural New Zealand. We will be back.

Soggy morning chores in our gumboots during a return visit to Soggy Bottom.

Little Piggy.

Learning the art of butchery over coffee.

Left alone in the butchery to pack sausages.

Savouring the last few bites of NZ`s no. 1 breakfast cereal.

Saying good-bye to Wellington.

Now to find our way back onto Canadian soil, find you and give you huge hugs,

seek out (paid) employment, and drive on the other side of the road.

Time to merge like a zip.

See you soon!