Two months and two weeks - the countdown has well and truly started! I'm still sitting at my Gran's kitchen table, sweating a little - partly from the heat of the rainy season summer, and partly from the wonder of how and why I'm embarking on such a quest as to walk the length of the country. There is no gold filled dragon's lair in Bluff after all.. or is there...? My passport arrived: the online passport service is amazing, they had my passport ready in two days - normal service, go NZ! But DHL let down the team by making me stress another ten days before getting into my hot little hands. Anyway, it's here and my lesson is learned: don't check expiry of passport ON THE PLANE. Since my first post, quite a few friends have expressed an interest - in either joining me on parts of the trail - or cheering me on from a distance :D Thanks for your kind words and interest! I will endeavour to make this a trip worth writing home about! I've decided on a camera - Hurrah! The choice was pretty massive - there was quite a choice out there, you have the type (DSLR, Mirrorless, good point and shoot), you have make, model, budget and of course what you're going to mainly shoot. And THEN you have the choice of lenses!! I've gone the mirrorless path - quite ironic really.. in a kind of clueless goes with mirrorless? kind of way... and my baby, once I get it will be a Fujifilm XT-1. DutyFree was left in the dust after remembering I had a contact at Fujifilm NZ. Boom! So that was the easy part! Haha! - Be able to make it back to NZ, and to figure out how to record what my eyes will see on this journey. I'm still working on a schedule - How do I get down to Wellington on foot from Cape Reinga in October to Wellington by December 23rd (when my friends start the Queen Charlotte) while trying to maintain my business back in Auckland and all the other stuff?! Um. I need to get back to you on that one. At any rate I've shifted my start date forward and my departure is now September 4th. My birthday - 36 years crazy. I figure this will be quite a ride in the next few years - the future is looming large and isn't so distant anymore... haha! In essence that is what this trip is about for me: Taking this time while I can, really being in the moment and learning my own pace... I've joined a couple of groups on Facebook - Te Araroa and a group for this year's walkers. Loads of questions and answers flying around. I have the benefit of coming back to a base, <section walking> and as a kiwi, I won't be battling with the language barrier or cultural differences like most others who seem to be international visitors. Got a few more bits of gear to get - namely a PLB or Personal Locator Beacon - there are a few models with GPS attached which would be handy - and a whole lot more planning. Wish me luck!
1 Comment
Alice
22/6/2016 07:12:04 pm
Cheers to you for getting so much accomplished!!
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AuthorCouch potato itching to see more of her own land Archives
October 2016
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