There’s a difference between vacationing and traveling. Taking a vacation invokes images of relaxing, unwinding, and recharging your batteries by doing absolutely nothing.
Traveling can still be used to relax, but it’s edgier. It can be stressful. Flights are not always fun or convenient or go the way planned. Ships get affected by strong winds and rough waves. Trains break down.
Arguably sitting on the beach with a book (vacation) or overlooking a mountain view with a nice cold drink (vacation) are much more relaxing and restful than hopping from one place to the next exploring all you can about the new place your eyes are seeing for the first time.
I have been fortunate and blessed to be able to see many places in my relatively short life time so far, and my latest adventure carried me to Australia and New Zealand. This has been a bucket list item for me for a while now. I just struggled to see how it would come true. The flight there is nothing to be desired. I didn’t want to travel alone. Lucky for me, my brother also has wanted to see New Zealand for a long time too. Some might say we were predisposed as young children to go there. We were sort of raised on Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Jackson just so happened to use New Zealand as his backdrop for Middle Earth. To say we were excited to see it with our eyes would be an understatement.
So, my brother, myself, my husband, and my brother’s girlfriend (now fiancé! They got engaged overlooking the Southern Alps) made the trek down there this past month. When we first booked this cruise, I was excited and ready to leave that moment to get away. However, as we got closer, I started feeling anxious about the flight (I’ve gotten sick in the past and other misfortunes lingered in my brain). I kept thinking about all the steps we had to take before actually arriving on the ship and setting sail. Out of the four of us, I did a lot of the prep and paperwork to make sure we had all we needed. There also was a good bit to do to wrap up at work and home to make it possible for us to leave. The preparation and journey to your bucket list spot is certainly not the fun part.
We got to see just a little bit of Australia (sailed from Sydney, and then ports in Eden, Burnie (Tasmania), and Melbourne). Then we sailed on to New Zealand to visit Lyttleton (Christchurch), Wellington, Napier, and Tauranga. We docked in Auckland and then flew home. Unfortunately, we were supposed to stop in Dunedin for our first port in New Zealand, but the weather did not permit for us to safely make port. We were definitely bummed, but it just gave us another reason to go back one day! What we did get to see and do was so worth the trip though: kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, a koala, seals, beautiful coastlines and scenery, Milford Sound, Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound, a tour of Christchurch and a ride to see where Edoras was filmed in the Lord of the Rings ( Mt. Sunday), an overview of Napier and its Art Deco architecture, and of course, Hobbiton ended our wonderful trip. I could go into detail about all we did and explored, but I think I’ll let some of my pictures speak for the trip.
It was the perfect mixture of vacationing and travelling. We explored and had adventure when we could, but we also had a good amount of time for rest too. The biggest thing I struggled with was coming home when I wasn’t ready to leave, and then having to adjust back to regular life and all the numerous responsibilities I’d rather put off longer.
One of the biggest takeaways this trip gave me was to soak up all the moments, continue to look for peace in all situations, remove myself from places I no longer need to remain, and to search for God everywhere I go. I was blown away by the beauty I saw, and I pray that feeling of the wow factor never ceases as I continue to explore His creation.
I’m not sure where I will go next, or what the next step will be for me, but I am open to whatever God wants to show me next.
Mirror, Mirror 