Lost in Wanderlust

For years I have heard about the stunning landscapes of New Zealand, and most people I have spoken to prefer the South Island. For this reason I knew I needed to visit, even if it was just for a few days. Although I did not have NEARLY enough time, I got to see just a few highlights of this amazing place.   I flew into Christchurch, a city which was devastated by an earthquake seven years ago. You could still see remains of the destruction everywhere but I loved the spirit of the city. Despite enduring something so heartbreaking, the people were coming together, and working hard to make the city even better than before. After exploring the city for a couple of days I took a day trip to Akaroa, a beautiful harbor side town. Getting out of the city gave me a chance to see the stunning landscape that the South is famous for When I got to Akaroa I had a couple of hours to explore before heading out on my dolphin excursion. I bopped around some shops then had a coffee with t...

90% of the time, my go to travel style can be described as "winging it". I don't like committing to a certain itinerary because I have found that sometimes the best experiences are spur of the moment unplanned adventure. This usually works for me, but in New Zealand not so much. The thing I did not think about beforehand was that I was traveling during the NZ summer, peak backpacker time. They also aren't fans of free wifi in the hostels which made it very difficult to fly by the seat of my pants. I ended up with the most ridiculous route of the North Island (literally went in circles) but I just embraced it and was happy to check off some pretty amazing things on the bucket  list. My favorite excursion was my visit to the Waitomo glow worm caves. Originally I planned on simply taking a nice leisurely boat through, but my travel agent suggested a more adventurous route. Little did i know this meant crawling through tiny spaces and jumping backwards down waterfall...

So back in November I saw an ad for a Black Friday sale that Topdeck was having. For those of you who don't know, Topdeck is a travel company who does epic bus tours for 18-30 something year olds.  At the time I was studying in Spain but had no idea what the heck was coming next. I figured I would log on during Black Friday and if there was a deal that called to me, I would buy it. There were deals for Russia (too cold) for Japan (too intimidating) and then I saw the deal for me. $300 for a 5 day bus tour of the North Island in NZ. Since it was 70 % off I immediately grabbed my credit card and booked it that very night. It was one of the most impulsive things I have ever done but one of the best ones. Our tour met in Wellington, some people had been traveling the South Island together already which was a bit intimidating but right away i found my clique. Four other travel buddies who were also joining the tour on that exact day (probably fate) And so for the next few days i s...

California was absolutely amazing. It definitely helped me get in the swing of things but to be honest I couldn't bring myself to think too much about New Zealand for fear of freaking out. I have never been so far away from home, never taken such a long flight, and why did I think it would be a good idea to do this alone!? Better just not to think about it.. And then suddenly it was the night before I was supposed to fly across the world. It was strange going to bed thinking "tomorrow I am going to New Zealand". Even as I chatted with my uber driver on the way to the airport none of what I was telling him seemed real. It wasn't until I saw the Kia Ora sign at the Auckland airport that it started to sink in.  Despite all my nerves and reservations the flight wasn't that bad and I made it safely to New Zealand. This is going to be the adventure of a lifetime and I am SO excited for what's to come!

After almost two months of working like crazy I finally have set off on the next great adventure! I will be chasing  summer around the world via New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Singapore then London! A few months ago I decided to start in California for a few days to break up the trip a bit. I absolutely love San Diego so i spent a few days cruising in a convertible, making friends with sea lions and paddle surfing! I absolutely love California because in one day you can hike a desert national park and later in the day be back by the sea..so cool! This was the best start to my adventure around the world!