Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
It's strange to think that after two months of exploring i'm finally home. It's also strange to think of everything that happened over the last two months and how much i've changed. I always thought people were exaggerating when they said that their travels changed their lives, but I guess in some it really is true. Now i'm home and about to begin the next chapter of my life at university.
I've made so many memories along this trip with old friends and also new friends. I've met all sorts of people along the way, some i've know for ever and others who I only knew for five minutes in passing, but all of them made an impact on my travels. So i'll start at the beginning.
In Auckland we were met by Josephene, my second cousin. We also met her friend who drove us. Then we met her friends Graham and Julie and their daughter. We met the people she worked with at the citezens advise bureau.
In Hamilton we stayed with my cousin Jo and her husband Dave. We met her other other cousin David and his parents. All the people we met black water rafting.
In Taupo was Noel and Gail my second cousin.
In New Plymouth my uncle Keith and his wife Christine.
In Wellington we stayed with Darran and my cousin Pam and I met the newest addition to the Bromley family, baby Willow who was only a few weeks old!
In Kaikoura we met the owners of the hostel, the lady who offered us a lift back from town with our groceries, the girl who worked in the aquarium there.
In Christchurch we met a man who tried to sell us something at the shopping mall and then ended up speaking to us for 30 minutes.
In Methven we met the couple who owned the B&B we stayed in.
In Lake Tekapo - the German girl who cooked dinner at the same time as us and the man who worked in reception and gave us free hot chocolate.
In Mt Cook we met the hitch hiker Dom who we gave a lift to Wanaka.
In Wanaka we stayed with Kura and Donald family friends of Claudia's and we met their whole family. We met their friends from bowles.
In Dunedin we met the hostel ghost who stole our keys.
In Auckland on the way back we met the man who worked in coffee shop who let us use the wifi for free and didnt kick us out after sitting there not having ordered anything in the last hour and a half.
In the Cook Islands we met a family who had been there for 12 days from Austrailia. They gave us a burger for lunch because they ordered too many. They also gave us all their left over food when they checked out. And some flippers so we could snorkel. We met a man who used to own an art publishing company. He also worked in music and talked alot about jazz music. He was from Manchester but moved to New Zealand. We then met the Fishers. They were from Paeroa. They sat at our table at Te Vara Nui and bought us a cocktail. They also told us alot about things to do on the Island as they had visited a few times before. We spoke to them a lot. They stayed in our hotel too.
I didn't know many of these people before. Now I can easily say that they are friends.
To everyone we stayed with, to the people who helped us when we needed it and to those people who only crossed our paths for five minutes; thank you. Without all of you our trip wouldn't have been what it was and it certainly was amazing.
Anais Nin
"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls." Anais Nin
I will never forget the experience I have had over the past 9 weeks because as cheesy as it is, even if I didnt believe it when I set off in July, this trip has changed me as a person, now all I want to do is explore some more.
So, as this is also my last blog entry, I just want to thank all of you who have read through the last 2 months and in some way traveled with me, i hope its been entertaining!
Signing off for the last time,
Aroha Nui,
Sophie x
- comments