this is the hardest post I’ve ever had to write
Dear New Zealand,
I’m getting on a plane soon, and unlike Rachel, I can’t get off. My god, how badly I want to be able to get off that plane. How do I begin writing about you?
Thank you for being spectacular. Thank you for taking this solo traveller under your wing and showing me everything about you. I was a lost soul when I got here and I might not be fully found but I think I’m closer than I was.
I cannot put into words how unbelievable this year in New Zealand has been. From the cobbled streets of Wellington to the sandy beaches in the Far North, from the sounds and inlets of Marlborough to the wild rocky shores of Stewart Island, I have seen it all.
Every bit of scenery is amazing, every turn reveals something new. Every river is wide and rushing, every view from every mountain peak stuns me. Every coastline is rugged, wild, and powerful. I haven’t found a place to dislike.
I can’t express how much your landscape inspires me. The views over Lake Wanaka and Lake Rotoiti, the view from the dunes to the beach at Sandfly Bay, the incomparable Milford Sound, the vast Ninety Mile Beach.
To every single person I met in New Zealand (and I have a list)… thank you. Thank you so much. You are a gem. Thank you for the late nights, the early mornings, the hiking buddies, the bottle and bottles of local wine, the jobs, the love, the road trip companions.
Thanks for the long conversations about life, the bad jokes, the terrible puns, and the life lessons.
Dear New Zealand, it breaks my heart to get on that plane, to fly away from you. It will be the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long time, but I think that makes me lucky. I have something in my life that I cannot say goodbye to.
From the absolute bottom of my heart…. thank you for bringing me back to life.
Love, so much love,
Sarah aka Kansas aka The Girl With The Map Tattoo
(y’all ready for this list of names?) Thank you to… Chris, Sandra, Johnny and the crew from Memphis Belle, Bryn & Carley and kids, RR, Jono, Ryan, Ray, Doug, Paul, Euan, Grace, Paul, Sean, Marina, Brad, Emily, Christian, Kiwi Rob, Jane, Blondie, Corinna aka Schnabeltier, Garret and Char, Jack and Sophie, Kayak Dan, Raye and Craig, Adelaide and Benny, Chris and Katherine, Brad, Cameron, Ildy and Richard, Alan and Kaz, every *single* person that came into Rayz last summer, Taylor, Kaylen, Steve, Alana, Michael, Oliver, Frenchie, Diver Dan, Kenna, Pretty Dan, James, Anne, Valentina, Millie and Mark, Sophie, English Conor, Kayak Connor, Irish Connor, Scottish Connor, Sarah, Grace, Laur and the Haka team, Pip, Karen, Rose and the Parrot crowd, Elly, Fraser, Steve, Allison, Jessica, Michael, Sam, Tobyn, Aussie Chris, Christine, The Swiss Girls, Maja and Gilbert, Helen, Jana, and everyone from Hogwartz, Laura and Basti, Jen, Denise, Helen, Mandy, Johan, Oskar, Kaya, Adele, Kelvin, Leah, Scully and Kirsten, Sophie, Holly, Hannah, Chris, Sam, Olly, Dyl, Gabriel, Jacob, Bradley, Tyrone, Wendy and Camo, Amanda, Jackson and Tril, Molly, Mary, Georgia, Nick, Giff, and all the rest of you crazy Speight’s kids, Jeff, Dylan, Pete, Jack, Tom and Manu, John and Toni, Janey, Jill and Don, Remi and the fire+frisbee crew, Jacey, Declan, Tom, Ray, Steve and everyone else from Bazils, John, Zach, Margaret, Noah, Sophia, Lydia, Jeremy, Neil, Logan…… and to everyone else I might have forgotten on this long list of crazy cool people I met in NZ…. thanks for being rock stars. Maybe I’ll see you somewhere out there in this wild world. Remember.. it’s not about the journey, its about who you’re with. Thanks for being with me.
*Special thanks to Bryn, Christian, Rob, Jane, Raye and Craig, Kelvin, Adele, Garret and Char, Taylor, Kaylen, Diver Dan, Kenna, Helen, Mandy, Oskar, Johan, Laura and Basti, Tom, Kaya, Jill and Don, Paul, Ray, RR, Zach and John, and Logan ….. This is not goodbye, its see ya when I see ya. So much love.