Kia Ora!

 

When the impossible happened in 2016, I began to seriously consider a move away from this country where I no longer felt at home, and over the course of four hellacious years, I obsessively researched possible landing places–places where people mattered more than profits, where basic needs (food, shelter, health care) were recognized as rights, not privileges, where I could afford to live comfortably (if not lavishly), where I could make a new home for whatever remained of my life. Again and again, Portugal presented itself as that place. Portugal was warm and people-centered, welcoming, affordable, and safe. Steeped in a rich history, building toward a better future for all, it seemed like a real possibility. I had to find time and means to go there, to experience the reality. My friend, Catherine, who had spent some time in Portugal (and loved it), offered to be my travel companion, and we began looking for a good time to go.

But life: I went back to work, first just to help out for the final quarter of the 2021-22 school year, then stayed on for another year. Consumed with helping teachers and kids, parents and administrators navigate the challenges of new systems and ways to do school, I put major travel plans on hold. And with Trump and his corrupt administration gone, life, even with a deadly pandemic affecting every part of it, felt more manageable and hopeful. Maybe I didn’t need to leave my home and family and friends. Maybe I could just travel for traveling’s sake.

Catherine was game. But Portugal’s allure had faded, somewhat. It was dealing with some of the same right wing political problems that we were, struggling with economic issues, and, after several years on the Best-Places-to-Go list, had become a bit overwhelmed by and hostile to tourists. When Catherine suggested a November escape to New Zealand instead, I said yes! November–cold, dark autumn in Bend, balmy springtime for Kiwis–would be cheaper and less-crowded than other months. We could stay in VRBOs, camping cabins, and with Catherine’s friends, prepare our own food, share expenses, and afford a 3-week adventure.

Lucky me, Catherine is a master planner. Having organized and directed multiple groups of students on trips to New York and Washington DC, arranged details of excursions to Iceland and Costa Rica and Portugal and New Zealand and who-knows-where, she knew how to get the most for our money and time, and that she did.

Thanks to her, I got to experience the best of New Zealand’s North Island, from the remote, wind-battered tip at Cape Reinga to the lush, vineyard-covered hills of Waiheke Island; from the crowded sidewalks of Auckland’s bustling business district to the Pōhutukawa-lined harbor of Russell, and I loved every moment.