Tag: Lonely Planet

New Zealand Road Trip Route

Our two month campervan road trip of New Zealand is over and we had a great time. The New Zealand road trip route took us from Tauranga, North Island to Fiordland in the South and back. We drove over 6200km and saw countless beautiful sights.

Freedom camping near the beach in Hawkes Bay
Freedom camping near Napier, Hawkes Bay

Planning Our New Zealand Road Trip Route

Small as New Zealand is – equivalent to Colorado – there’s a lot to see and do. Before we hopped in the van, we didn’t have much of a plan besides seeing as much as we could. We bookmarked Lonely Planet, read people’s blogs, and used Google Maps to decide where to go and what to do.

Once we started driving, we only knew where we were going next. Then, as the days progressed, we booked two things weeks in advance: the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, and the Kaikoura Coastal Walk. Everything else we booked a day or two in advance or last minute.

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Heading Home: What I will Miss About Colombia

It’s been an experience. For someone who’s never travelled alone until this trip, I’ve done a lot of new things. I’ve also never been happier than when I saw Brian’s taxi arrive at the AirBnB in Cartagena and I knew the alone part was over! Now I am heading home and I don’t know what to even say after this amazing experience in Colombia. Here’s a recap of what I will miss about Colombia. It’s a lot.

Volunteering

The volunteering was really great – and really hard. I have a lot of respect for all teachers, and day care workers and babysitters. And parents. But day care workers? Wow. 26 2 year olds. In 33 degree heat and humidity and no air conditioning. Impressed. Next steps? Knowing I will never be a child care worker but still love to play with kids and having the utmost respect for those who do that every day.

Living in Cartagena

The home stay was also great. Warm and welcoming people and a different world for me. I definitely got to use my limited Spanish. Next steps? Spanish classes or a tutor back in Toronto. I went to a couple of language exchange meet-ups, in Cartagena and Medellin, and will seek those out in Toronto now.

What I Will Miss About Colombia

I will miss:

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Manizales to Medellin, Or I Hate the Bus

I hated it. To begin with, I am not a bus person. I need gravol for my motion sickness. This bus ride was supposed to take 4 hours and it ended up as 6 1/2. Plus it was 6 1/2 hours of windy roads. This happened to me already in Colombia and now I’ve learned my lesson. Non stop windy roads through mountains. The trip from Manizales to Medellin via bus reminded me that I hate bus trips.

The Roads from Manizales to Medellin via Bus

These roads were filled with trucks. Trucks that can’t handle windy roads up and down hills, so have to stop and wait at every single turn until there is enough room for them to navigate. Some of these waits lasted 15 minutes. Some felt like they were taking 30 minutes.

Brian said it was going to be worth it for the views. Nope. This wasn’t an epic road trip like The Garden Route or the Ring of Kerry. Not worth it. Hated it. Should have flown.

Losing my Book

Plus in all the desire to leave the most hated bus ever I left my Lonely Planet Colombia behind. I packed light but that was one of my prized possessions. It served its use and I am fine without it. It was pretty thin on Medellin – really? Only 4 pages for the 2nd biggest city in the country? Fine. We’ll use our wits and we’ll see how that goes! Maybe some good stories ahead!

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