This week’s photography challenge inspires me greatly. I live in the Netherlands and I’ve always felt the confines of the small country I call my home. With 17 million people on a small stretch of land that you can drive through from one end to the other in about three hours, I sometimes feel claustrophobic. We are with so many people that school holidays are divided into three regions as to not have everybody ‘out and about’ at the same time. Whenever the sun’s out, beaches and parks are filled to the brim with everyone wanting to catch that bit of the good weather.
This is what I’m used to, this is my home, where my roots are, where I live and work and go about my business.
And I never questioned this. Until I started travelling outside of Europe.
The first time I travelled outside of Europe was fascinating and enlightening. I went on a working holiday to Australia after bagging my first Bachelor degree. My Dutch and European frame of reference started showing cracks from all the new impressions. Back home, I longed for unspoilt nature, void of people. In Australia there was plenty of it and it was the strangest thing ever, because at first, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I wasn’t used to so much space and, admittedly, I was feeling rather lost and overwhelmed.
Fast forward to a few years later, when I went to New Zealand for the first time. It was my second time out of Europe and I was expecting a similar experience as I had in Australia. While I feel I have a ‘love-hate’ relationship with Australia, New Zealand was oozing love. I was a bit uneasy when I first started travelling New Zealand, but after a while I felt right at home. It was simply mind boggling to realise such a beautiful country exists at all. When I boarded the plane home, I was crying. I was crying so much that the person next to me asked me if I was alright. I’ve never experienced a place like this. I never could have imagined that I’d fall in love with a country so far away. As if a part of me belonged there all along and I just found it again.
Since that first time I’ve been back to New Zealand three more times. The most recent trip was earlier this year, when I spent four weeks travelling the country with my wonderful mom. I was worried that New Zealand might become ‘normal’ and I’d be more ‘been there, done that’ after multiple visits. Nothing could be further from the truth. That amazing blanket of belonging warms my heart still. I’ve come to love the space, the emptiness, people having time for a chat, the rugged nature, the calmth of mind and the sense of adventure I get when all options are open. As if it’s suddenly okay to be content with little, and to be happy with being right where you are. Far from the rat race, far from people wanting ‘more, more, more’ at the expense of authenticity, kindness and humanity.
New Zealand taught me to strip back to the core and to enjoy the little things. I enjoy my daily life and my working life a lot more than I used to. And while I don’t think I can move out of this tiny and overpopulated patch of Europe that I call home, I have another place in the world that I love.
Maybe I have to accept that my heart belongs to two places…
Alive and Trekking 
I hope you come back to Australia again one day, perhaps as a side trip when next you go to New Zealand.
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I do plan to come back to Australia! I’ve been there three times now and still haven’t made my way up to Darwin, the Kimberly etc. Still heaps to see, I just think I’ll skip Sydney next time, haha.
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Once you’ve been to Sydney, you don’t need to go again. Come to Queensland!
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Hehehe, true. Would love to see more of Queensland! I’ve seen a few things: Cape Tribulation, Cairns, Noosa, Whitsundays, Brisbane, Fraser Island. But I know there is so much more to see and do!
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You have seen some lovely areas – next time the Outback??
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Love the vastness of the Outback for sure! I did a tour from Perth to Alice Springs. We drove for three days before seeing some sign of civilisation, haha. But it was amazing and would love to go again!
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Fantastic!
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So – then we feel the same about New Zealand – belonging and deep and sincere love. I dream of returning one day, feels good to read you experienced the same joy every time you visited! But, it is a very long flight and you have to stay for a long time to be worth it. And the crying. Unstoppable for me as well. I never wanted to leave… My daughter stayed longer, to work for a nature organization. She too is dreaming of returning some day.
I will follow you on your adventures.
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Glad you and your daughter get it! 🙂 it really is ‘seeing is believing’. Pretty ‘weird’ to find such a magical place that fits so well, isn’t it? And always emotional to leave again, glad I’m not the only one in that.
I count myself so lucky to have been there four times now. I already know I want to go back but realistically, it won’t happen until 2021 at the earliest. Not only because I indeed need to have plenty of time to explore since it is a very long flight, but also because there are so many places I want to go to as well!
Welcome and happy to have you! 🙂
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♥
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Some places just keep calling you back and it’s absolutely beautiful the way it makes you feel every time 🙂
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Yes, this exactly! 🙂
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I admire New Zealand so much. Itis a beautiful country that I long to see more of. New Zealanders are lovely people too.
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Me too. I definitely left a part of my heart there. Such a wonderful country and lovely people! Do you have a favourite something you visited in New Zealand?
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I’ve seen very little. We did a cruise mostly the North Island so I only got to go ashore at a few places. I loved Napier because of the beautiful art deco buildings and I really liked Wellington. It has a great vibe. I want to go back one day to see the South Island especially the fjords and the great train journeys you can do but really, I’d just like to spend more time exploring on land.
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Both the North and South Islands are beautiful. I enjoyed Napier, I really like Wellington as well! On the South Island, I love Nelson, Wanaka, Matukituki Valley, Stewart Island and so much more. If you ever get out there, I highly recommend Hopewell lodge (http://hopewell.co.nz) in the Marlborough Sounds, it’s paradise and the owners are lovely people!
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