Hello and welcome to this week’s update from the mrlukeniktravels blog from Nelson, New Zealand. As I write this it is New Year’s Eve and a warm 28 degrees Celsius. Soon 2019, quite literally, will be dawning. The coming year will hopefully bring many adventures, experiences and, most certainly, plenty of travel. This year has been packed full of those three things. So, much like most people at this time of year, I am in a reflective mood as a compose this post. Alongside that, I have been out and about in Nelson and environs. So here we go…
On arriving in Nelson one of the first actions was to climb to the summit of the Centre of New Zealand. As the name suggests it is reputedly the geographical centre of the country. From this point (known as zero, zero) in 1870 began the geographical surveying of New Zealand. Later, it was discovered that the gravitational centre of the islands lies around 55km south, but is less impressive. The lookout provides great views of the city and is a real help in orientating myself in a new place. Sometimes it is nice not to just rely on just Google maps. If I am feeling particularly brave I might even look at and use a paper map! After reaching the summit, I spent a pleasant day hiking amongst the valleys and hills that sit right next to the city.
Yesterday I spent the day at the beach, kayaking and swimming in the sea. This was the first sandy beach since the Bay of Islands which made a change from black volcanic pebbles. The small islands in the bay were fun to explore with some friends from the hostel. There were also some kayak races too, but I think the results are best kept secret. I am hoping soon to increase my new found skills in paddle-boarding too, maybe I will win more races on that platform. Feeling salt on the skin is one of my favourite experiences and good for it too. Unfortunately, the sand flies were also enjoying the beach too. Being bitten, I have to admit, did remove some of the shine to the day. Insect repellent at the ready! Time in an idyllic location is not always a perfect experience.
As this year draws to a close, it is time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months. It has been a year of considerable change for me, particularly spending nearly seven months on the road. After packing up a life and job at home I headed out into the world. I have experienced so many places, met lots of people and adjusted to different climates. I have done all sorts of things that I would never have considered before I departed (a bungee jump, for example). Whilst of course there have been difficult moments, on the whole it has been a fantastic experience. It is a cliché to that I have learnt lots about myself but it is true- perhaps I should have learnt it earlier! I did not deliberately embark on a voyage of self discovery, but some has definitely occurred.
My hopes for the coming year include more of the same from this one. More countries, experiences and connections with others. Next stop after New Zealand will be Australia in a couple of months’ time. After that, the tropical regions coming calling. I am not a maker of New Year resolutions, but there are a lot of things to be achieved in the coming year. It can be easy to want to achieve everything immediately, but often the greater the amount of time and effort spent, the greater the satisfaction when it is achieved. As I have said in the blog before, travel is not perfect or ideal and, just like it’s opposite being static, there will be bumps in the road- quite literally. However, that is not to be overly pessimistic; there are also great times to be had too!
That is almost all for this week and, this week in particular, year. The new year will begin in less than 12 hours as I write this blog. Being in New Zealand means having a head-start on the rest of the world for these kinds of events. Therefore, continuing on from 2018, my Twitter feed is @mrlukeniktravel- I am trying to tweet more often in 2019! For pictures that are hopefully pleasing to the eye, there is my Instagram account @mrlukeniktravels. All that remains for me to say is, wherever you are reading this, I wish you happy New Year and a peaceful 2019. As always, stay safe and travel on.
