After exploring the Coromandels and Auckland, I headed to a remote town by the ocean on the North Island of NZ called Raglan. I was hoping to just slow down and do some surfing, since the waves here are touted as some of the best in New Zealand. However I ended up doing way more than just surfing. I hitchhiked for the first time, made a fellow traveler friend, and took the best photo I’ve ever taken.

I checked into my hostel in Raglan on Monday September 24th, 2018. It was pretty cheap (~$20/night) empty and quiet but during the busy summer season it’s a yoga/eco/surf retreat. There were a handful of other travelers there but most of them were staying and working for their accommodation. The ‘rooms’ were just repurposed old train carriages and there was limited wifi and power outlets.

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In my first week and a half of traveling through New Zealand I’ve chatted and hung out with some really interesting and friendly people. I met most of them at the hostels that I stay at, and it’s eye opening to see how different people from all over the world travel, live, and set goals.

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Day 2 of exploring the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. I went to hike the Pinnacles, which is a ~6hour round trip hike to a peak with great views of the surrounding areas. Originally used as a path for loggers. I was excited as this was my first hike in New Zealand and I’d get a chance to see all the plants and nature firsthand.

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Made a friend at the airport in Auckland and we made plans to explore the Coromandel Peninsula over the past weekend. It’s an area about 2 hours east of Auckland with some stunning hikes and beaches. Over the course of 2 days we explored New Chums Beach, Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Beach and did the Pinnacle Hike. I keep hearing the South Island is much more scenic than the North Island of New Zealand but that’s almost hard for me to believe because I was blown away at the natural beauty I encountered this weekend.

Day 1 - Beaches and Coves:

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It’s been a week since I left home to go on a long term trip around the world, and being a homebody, I know that not having a place to call home for a while will take it’s toll on me if I’m not able to manage it. But even though I don’t have a physical place to ‘go home to’ as I bounce from hostel to hostel, I think that I may be able to find little pockets of ‘home’ in everyday things. If I can do that, it’ll allow me to enjoy all the new things without being overwhelmed, and keep the feelings of homesickness at bay.

So far I’ve been looking for and finding these pockets of home in:

• Music - Reviving and listening to my old playlists.
• Food - Taking my time to cook warm hearty meals and buying food and snacks that I used to eat a lot back home.
• Friends - Messaging friends back home, and making new friends and connections.
• Rituals - Drinking a cup of hot chocolate or tea in the morning or taking my time to wash up and get ready for the day.

My photo journal of Auckland, New Zealand:

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Destinations: As many as I can
Trip Length: ~1 year
Vacation Days Used: N/A (I’ve quit my job)
Trip Cost: $20,000

For a long time now I’ve been feeling like my life has been too predictable. I’ve grown up and stayed in the same city in Southern California for 20 years and I knew what I was going to do the next day, the next week, the next month, even the next year with a pretty high degree of accuracy. Although the days themselves weren’t bad, it was suffocating feeling like my life had already been written.

So I decided to make a change and write the chapters of my life the way I want it to be.

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Over the past month I’ve been getting ready to go on an extended trip, country hopping around the world. Figuring out what to pack has been a lot of fun and an eye opening experience. I realized how much random stuff I had and how little of it I actually needed to live, especially since I wanted to travel light with just a carry on 40L backpack. It motivated me to get rid of a lot of my things in my house before leaving on my trip.

In the end I donated about 80% of my clothes and threw away a ton of random boxes/trinkets I had been hoarding. A lot of things were hard to part with because I had initially kept them as ways to remember little bits of my past, but I figured that those experiences and memories are either in my head or have become a part of me, so it doesn’t mean I’m letting go or forgetting those things, I just didn’t need all those little trinkets piling up in my garage and closets.

In the end I was pretty proud of the way I simplified both my house and my backpack. I’ve included my long term packing list below:

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