Monday, January 10, 2011

NZ Introduction: The Grizwolds Go To New Zealand

If I'm honest, the honeymoon was planned before the wedding. We knew where we wanted to go. We talked about how we would get around and what the basic plan would be during a hike months before a ring was bought or a proposal was thought of. Originally we were going to try to hit both New Zealand and, as I saw it referred to on a T-shirt (the most effective way of judging a culture), the West Island of Australia. This was later scrapped when we priced plane tickets for that hop and saw the amount of things to do in New Zealand.

You see, the whole “its an island” thing is very misleading. I live on an island. It isn't very big. Three weeks on this island would be more than enough time to hit every relevant thing you would like to do as a tourist. Twice.

The island of New Zealand is somewhat larger than Hawaii. So large, in fact, it is its own country. With its own money and everything. This, I think, should have been a clue. Imagine our surprise then, when we realized that three weeks is not nearly enough time to see and do a fraction of the awesome that is the NZ (and that's “Zed”, we are speaking the Queen's English after all).

The following is my daily journal from our three weeks honeymoon traveling around the land of the long white cloud and the short brown bird. It is sometimes funny, occasionally introspective, possibly serious, and may occasionally feel like being poked in the eye with a sharp stick or beaten over the head with a soapbox. It features laughs, love, food, driving on the wrong side of the road, accents, Kiwis, kiwis, pain, motorcycle sad, Top Gear jokes, cliches, hiking, boat rides, shopping, yarn, rugby, wine, school, and a caravan named Captain Slow.

And sheep. Lots and lots of sheep.

There is no way I would remember half of the trip in a year (six months. Ok, next week) if I hadn't written it all down in the very nice leather-bound journal Angela got me for my birthday pretty much for this purpose. So this is for us. For our memories and so we can look at our pictures and say, “Where was that again?” and be able to figure it out. So we know what we did this time so when we go next time we know where we've been, where we've yet to go, and where we need to revisit. But we are a sharing people, and you must be interested or you wouldn't have opened this page, so welcome to our trip.

Mind the sheep.

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