One of the most important things we’ve learned during our travels is that 24 hours is an extraordinary amount of time, and so much can change in an instant. For example, just a day ago, we never imagined we would be here right now:
But perhaps we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves. An update:
The last two weeks we’ve been back on the WWOOF, staying at a vineyard in a region called Upper Moutere, which is essentially the front door to the gorgeous Abel Tasman national park, a postcard-perfect cropping of golden beaches, crusted with beautiful stones that slips into a gentle sheet of sapphire blue water.
We continued to work with the vines, trimming fruit, fixing nets, and making use of the family’s beautiful hunting dog, Tui, who was instrumental in our hunt for net-trapped birds every morning Often she’d disappear, coming back with a mouth full of feathers.
We'd usually let her do the dirty work, while we spent the majority of our time gorging ourselves on nice ripe grapes.
Then of course crushing a cup of wine while looking over the vineyard that produced it.
The last two weeks we’ve been back on the WWOOF, staying at a vineyard in a region called Upper Moutere, which is essentially the front door to the gorgeous Abel Tasman national park, a postcard-perfect cropping of golden beaches, crusted with beautiful stones that slips into a gentle sheet of sapphire blue water.
We continued to work with the vines, trimming fruit, fixing nets, and making use of the family’s beautiful hunting dog, Tui, who was instrumental in our hunt for net-trapped birds every morning Often she’d disappear, coming back with a mouth full of feathers.
We'd usually let her do the dirty work, while we spent the majority of our time gorging ourselves on nice ripe grapes.
Then of course crushing a cup of wine while looking over the vineyard that produced it.
We had originally planned to stay in Upper Moutere for six weeks, then just four weeks, but in a split decision, we’ve vacated. On account of one man. A man who really loves Avacadoes, who really hates gravel roads. He wants to kill every bug in New Zealand. He’s Max Böckler.
And the fabled ghost mobile is still ticking! Max drove by and it only took us fifteen minutes to realize that due to a lack of, shall we say, compatibility between us and the Family, we decided on a whim to hit to road again with Max. And we’ve never felt better.
To quote Ove: “I love how I don’t know where I’m sleeping tonight.”
It was a tough choice to leave. It probably would have been easier to just be complacent and endure our time there. Sometimes saying yes and changing things is the harder to do. Staying still is, by comparison, pretty easy. But the reward to saying yes and changing a situation, to realize that if a situation is unfavourable, all it takes is a couple steps down the road and before long at all something stimulating, something completely new and exciting presents itself.
If your page is full, and cluttered, and miserable, just turn the page. And keep turning. The book is never ever full.
So the next chapter, just like that, has begun. We’re still winging it, there’s no plans. Plans, we’ve learned, lock you in place, keep you closed off from the miracle of unexpected possibilities.
Things never go to plan anyways.
Oh right, the sunset. Well, let's just say it was an absurd, unfortunate stroke of luck. But that's a story for another time.
So much can change in twenty four hours. We never go to sleep the same person. We make plans, hit roadblocks, and stumble over obstacles. But that's human nature. It's the life we lead.
So skip the plan, and just go. Just be. Live. Play. Jump. Run. Fall down. Get up. Fall down again. Keep trying. Adapt. Keep walking. Laugh. Trip. Dance. Drink. Eat. Move. Move again. And keep moving. Keep on moving. Keep on smiling. Keep on laughing.
Keep on living.
-K&B
To quote Ove: “I love how I don’t know where I’m sleeping tonight.”
It was a tough choice to leave. It probably would have been easier to just be complacent and endure our time there. Sometimes saying yes and changing things is the harder to do. Staying still is, by comparison, pretty easy. But the reward to saying yes and changing a situation, to realize that if a situation is unfavourable, all it takes is a couple steps down the road and before long at all something stimulating, something completely new and exciting presents itself.
If your page is full, and cluttered, and miserable, just turn the page. And keep turning. The book is never ever full.
So the next chapter, just like that, has begun. We’re still winging it, there’s no plans. Plans, we’ve learned, lock you in place, keep you closed off from the miracle of unexpected possibilities.
Things never go to plan anyways.
Oh right, the sunset. Well, let's just say it was an absurd, unfortunate stroke of luck. But that's a story for another time.
So much can change in twenty four hours. We never go to sleep the same person. We make plans, hit roadblocks, and stumble over obstacles. But that's human nature. It's the life we lead.
So skip the plan, and just go. Just be. Live. Play. Jump. Run. Fall down. Get up. Fall down again. Keep trying. Adapt. Keep walking. Laugh. Trip. Dance. Drink. Eat. Move. Move again. And keep moving. Keep on moving. Keep on smiling. Keep on laughing.
Keep on living.
-K&B