Yay, FIRST destination and Claire's dream! How awesome that you get to wake up each morning to something fresh and exciting. I am happy that you are following through with this choice to travel now. It gives me new perspective about the choice my own parents made to leave their Midwest lives to move with middle-school kids to Germany in their 40s, especially now as I watch them get older (and collect knee and shoulder injuries!). Collect all those *just for you* memories <3
Jon and I are elated that you are starting your journey in NZed! To this day we both feel the South Island may be the most breathtakingly beautiful place we have had the privilege to have experienced and explored in our lives. It was the start to our honeymoon. So, having said that, it obviously holds a really special place in our hearts. We drove the entirety of the South Island, enjoyed some of the most challenging yet spectacular hiking of our lives. Ate life-changing-unforgettable-extraordinary cuisine. And, met some of the nicest people we have ever encountered, that organically developed into us all becoming vvv close and dear friends of ours.
Claire can attest to receiving vvvv dramatic texts and FaceTimes about me “retiring” and “hanging up my hiking shoes forever” in Italy— so I fully support putting those miles on your knees now!
If you haven’t planned to already, stop in Oamaru to see the Blue Penguin Colony. It’s beyond adorable. Splurge on your Queenstown accommodations. Let yourself get lost in the magic that is Milford Sound. And lastly, stop at unassuming garden shops for some of the best meals you’ll ever have. I don’t know how they do it, but to this day we fondly associate random highway garden shops with the most complex, delicious, and unbelievably outstanding food we’ve ever had. Leaps and bounds better than Arzak but we all know how low that bar is, haha
Bourdain who has had such a profound and lasting impact on the way myself and so many people look at travel and food asserted, “that the journey should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” Cheers to the new marks this journey will leave on you— and hopefully not too many literal ones on your bodies!
Heading to S Island in a few days and noting all of your recommendations ❤️❤️ Bar has been set so high by everything we’ve read + your recs, which is crazy given how amazing just the N Island has been so far. And amazing tip for the garden shops, food is definitely a major priority. Looking forward to sharing more as we go 🙂
My treadmill has a few dozen locations around the world where I can “escape” my suburbs on my trots, and it just so happens that one of them “takes me through” Cathedral Cove. I’m just now heading to the gym, and when I “run” through the Cove today I’ll be filled with envy, longing, appreciation, and happiness as I reflect on your post, your trip, and everything yet to come. Throw in some zero-tech days for me; those were my fullest on our trip. Thanks for the update! Love, Louis and Victoria
Yay, FIRST destination and Claire's dream! How awesome that you get to wake up each morning to something fresh and exciting. I am happy that you are following through with this choice to travel now. It gives me new perspective about the choice my own parents made to leave their Midwest lives to move with middle-school kids to Germany in their 40s, especially now as I watch them get older (and collect knee and shoulder injuries!). Collect all those *just for you* memories <3
Thank you for your kind words and support. Appreciate you sharing your own reflection too ❤️
Jon and I are elated that you are starting your journey in NZed! To this day we both feel the South Island may be the most breathtakingly beautiful place we have had the privilege to have experienced and explored in our lives. It was the start to our honeymoon. So, having said that, it obviously holds a really special place in our hearts. We drove the entirety of the South Island, enjoyed some of the most challenging yet spectacular hiking of our lives. Ate life-changing-unforgettable-extraordinary cuisine. And, met some of the nicest people we have ever encountered, that organically developed into us all becoming vvv close and dear friends of ours.
Claire can attest to receiving vvvv dramatic texts and FaceTimes about me “retiring” and “hanging up my hiking shoes forever” in Italy— so I fully support putting those miles on your knees now!
If you haven’t planned to already, stop in Oamaru to see the Blue Penguin Colony. It’s beyond adorable. Splurge on your Queenstown accommodations. Let yourself get lost in the magic that is Milford Sound. And lastly, stop at unassuming garden shops for some of the best meals you’ll ever have. I don’t know how they do it, but to this day we fondly associate random highway garden shops with the most complex, delicious, and unbelievably outstanding food we’ve ever had. Leaps and bounds better than Arzak but we all know how low that bar is, haha
Bourdain who has had such a profound and lasting impact on the way myself and so many people look at travel and food asserted, “that the journey should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” Cheers to the new marks this journey will leave on you— and hopefully not too many literal ones on your bodies!
路顺风
路平安
Heading to S Island in a few days and noting all of your recommendations ❤️❤️ Bar has been set so high by everything we’ve read + your recs, which is crazy given how amazing just the N Island has been so far. And amazing tip for the garden shops, food is definitely a major priority. Looking forward to sharing more as we go 🙂
My treadmill has a few dozen locations around the world where I can “escape” my suburbs on my trots, and it just so happens that one of them “takes me through” Cathedral Cove. I’m just now heading to the gym, and when I “run” through the Cove today I’ll be filled with envy, longing, appreciation, and happiness as I reflect on your post, your trip, and everything yet to come. Throw in some zero-tech days for me; those were my fullest on our trip. Thanks for the update! Love, Louis and Victoria
We will throw in the zero tech days. Built in with some of the more remote destinations. Thanks for reading and we welcome your feedback 🙂 Here’s a Reel we made with some shots from Cathedral: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG4RqGmTh4p/?igsh=MWNkZWVpZDQ4Znpv