Before It Was Over: Part I

Jackie Endres
Apr 17, 2020
10 min read

I awoke this morning, trying to shake loose the dream that had gripped me all night. Stress dreams have peppered my sleep on and off for the last couple of weeks. That didn’t happen in our first week in Sunriver, OR. Then, it was sort of new and novel—an extension to our adventures.

But now, reality has started to sink in, and it feels like I’m the one sinking at night. Last night, it was the stress of a job. Finding jobs. Moving for jobs. Working for others. Resumes. Interviews. Talking about our sabbatical in the right way. Navigating corporate culture, structure, and expectations once again. The week before it was a stress dream about travel. And other nights health is the focus, or family, or where we will live. The new reality would feel easier to take if we could pinpoint what that reality is. But like much of the rest of the world, we can’t. So we wait, we plan, we postpone, we keep busy, we lean into each other.

This morning, we shook the dust from our dreams and went for a walk. We had a long conversation about the new normal, focusing on how we will get jobs, how we will support each other no matter what, and dreaming of a future beyond the uncertainty.

It’s been three weeks now since we’ve returned to the States and--despite ample time--I just haven’t been able to bring myself to writing about the last leg of our trip.

In part, because it’s just too sad. Most days, we live joyously and gratefully, enjoying our glimpse into retired life in the mountains. But, there isn’t a day that has gone by yet where we haven’t expressed sadness, longing, or nostalgia for our shortened trip. In part, it’s just sad that it’s over. It was always going to end, this sadness was always going to be here. We tear up thinking about our kawaii Japanese experiences, Heather’s kimchi birthday in Seoul, the dear friends we made in Southeast Asia, having real live visitors in Tokyo, Bali, and Australia, and the never-ending hikes and views of New Zealand. Leaving that all behind has been gut-wrenching. But we were always going to leave it behind.

It’s more than that. It was a surprise ending. We had such big plans—sandboarding in the Middle East, African safaris and road trips, South American adventures, sipping wine in Portugal… It’s not missing these things, it’s missing out on them. Indefinitely, and maybe forever.

Anyway, it’s just been a bit overwhelming. And thinking about going back and looking at photos, scanning our innocent and ignorant little faces smiling from atop a Luge lift… well, it’s just a hard task and hard ask. But we know we’ll want this memory because it is the last one we have. And writing about it doesn’t end the trip for us. It was already ended. We cognitively know that. Alas, it’s just hard to feel that. But after our walk and conversation this morning, I know it is time to pick up the pieces and write them down.

I realized after sorting pictures for this blog that I can’t do it all at once. It’s too much for me to take in right now. So, I’m breaking it down a bit. This will be the first in a series of three(ish) for our last leg of our RTW adventure before we knew it was going to end.

Wellington

In the first iteration of our New Zealand plan, we were going to focus mainly on the South Island, and finish our trip in Auckland without much North Island exploration. After receiving suggestions from friends, and realizing the South Island road trip wasn’t actually exhausting, we changed our flight plan and itinerary to fly into the southern tip of the North Island, Wellington.

There, we rented a car and a little room above a man’s home along the bay. The home itself was cozy enough, but the property left a bit to be desired. There, piles of “projects” (basically abandoned woodworking and home improvement efforts) scattered through the courtyard and the entryway to our second level room. We took a couple of days in Wellington to catch our breath, write a blog, and make a plan for the North Island. (And here's what happens when you fall asleep with your phone in my possession.)

We enjoyed the southern tip's ocean views, fulfilled our Oceania dream of eating “ice creams” in a movie theatre, and spent half a day exploring the Te Papa museum. Te Papa--“Our Place"--is a free-to-enter gem full of exhibits around wildlife, nature, art, and culture. We most enjoyed the exhibits centered around native species, birds, and natural phenomena. One highlight was the world’s only complete colossal squid specimen, weight over 1000 lbs and with eyes the size of soccer balls.

A lowlight was the World War I exhibit “Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War,” which was cool for the to-scale large models they had of soldiers, but otherwise off-putting as it seemed to glorify a single battle and was full of what felt like propaganda and racism—a first for us in New Zealand. It is perhaps our cultural ignorance that had us feeling distaste for this, so don’t let us dissuade you from seeing for yourself if you ever happen upon the Te Papa while this exhibit is still running. (Also, we are both missing any pictures of that day. Go figure.)

Tongariro Crossing

One thing that was not on our radar at all was the Tongariro Crossing. As I mentioned, we really didn’t plan to tour much of the North Island until about halfway through our South Island journey. So, we hadn’t invested much time in what to do once we got there. Thankfully, we had friends who helped. Our friend Michael spilled an entire email of his favorite New Zealand spots and urged us to traverse this hike, saying, “If you can work out the logistics, I recommend the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. There are lots of signs that warn people against going, but I'm convinced that's to scare away folks that don't have any business doing a 19.4 km hike with 1000 m of climb. Based on your past posts, I believe the two of you are quite capable.”

It was a bit tricky because we had to select where to stay nearby (staying in the park isn’t possible), and it is a long point-to-point hike so a shuttle has to be arranged. We decided on staying at the Plateau Lodge, across from one shuttle’s drop-off and pick-up. We scheduled our pick-up for 7 AM and got to the hike about a half-hour later. The hike was estimated at 7-9 hours, and with the shuttle picking up every hour from 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM we figured we would be good. We sort of were.

The trail was quite busy throughout, and we kept getting annoyed with a group of young women who surged to pass us, stopped to take photos and block the path, and after we subsequently passed would surge ahead again. We eventually lost them (Let's burn some dust here, eat my rubber!) around two or so hours, which gave us some peace.

The day started chillily, but clear so we had endless views, including of the perfectly conical Mount Ngauruhoe (pronounced something like Nau-roo-hō-ā). If you’re familiar with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, you’ll recognize this mountain by another name—Mount Doom. Though hikers are strongly advised against summiting this active volcano, some do, adding a couple of hours to their trip. We weren’t overly confident in our hiking pace, so we settled for waves and pictures and moved on.

After a steady ash-colored climb, we were rewarded with new colors of Mars. This spot, Red Crater, is the highest point of the hike at 1886 meters. The rock formation coming out of the crater is Lava Dike (actual name) which we love for many reasons.

From this high point, we began a skidding descent towards several bright green pools known as The Emerald Lakes. Walking wasn’t an option due to the loose rocks, so we dug our feet in and skied/slid until we were on the more planar ground. The lakes truly are that color green, so dyed from the volcanic mineral and sunlight. Further on we passed Blue Lake, which yes, was blue, but on the day we saw it didn’t seem surprising (perhaps because we had seen the Gatorade waters of the South Island).

Then, I went to the bathroom with the door open because we had shaken free from other hikers.

I found out mid-pee I was about to have a visitor.

It was about this time that the scenery opened up and flattened out and we decided to pick up the pace. The path was flat and wide enough for us to run, so we stripped out of our long sleeves and began our jogged return. The scenery for this half of the hike was different. More vegetation and softer hills led us back. And as we descended, the vegetation ascended and by the base of the hike, trees were full and tall.

We finished the hike in 4 hours and 18 minutes, so… arriving just before noon we were hopeful that there was a 12:30 PM shuttle.

There wasn’t. We waited for our hour and a half+ for the shuttle. But not without purpose. The woman who got into my bathroom photo was another early finisher. And when I was trying to negotiate with some German tourists who had a van at the finish to take us back to town, she ran to their van as well, wildly asking if they knew where she could get some water. The Germans rejected us all and we returned to sit and wait.

I had set out on the hike with 3L of water and Heather with 2, so I knew we had some to spare. I asked if she was out and offered to pour from my water bladder into her small water bottle (maybe .5-.75L). She accepted but pleaded for me to just give her a small amount, and she offered food in return. We had plenty, so I filled her up and we both settled for conversation. I learned that she had gotten divorced and left Italy to travel on her own (get it, girl!). She was navigating through New Zealand 100% via public transit. I didn’t even know that was an option, but my goodness the courage (and, I'll bet, stories).

It was wonderful to chat with her, and of course, we shared our respective travel and life stories. I regret not exchanging names/numbers because friends in international places are so lovely to have. Before we knew it, our shuttle arrived and we were on our way back to the Plateau and on to Rotorua.

In truth, the hike is no joke. The month prior, one hiker suffered second-degree burns when he got too close to the Emerald Lakes trying to get a picture and broke through a crust. There are multiple other stories of hikers ill-prepared for the pass’s weather and the results were fatal. We take our safety seriously, and we were extremely lucky for the conditions (and that we didn’t try to get “that photo”).

Roadside Oddities

Throughout the South Island, we regaled you with tales of our stopovers to view roadside oddities such as the Bra Fence of Cardrona. The North Island did not disappoint, and I will share the best of our stopovers here.

Mount Cleese

North of Wellington and en route to Tongariro Crossing lies the town of Palmerstown North. Here, there is a 45.2m “mountain” named for the comedian of Monty Python fame, John Cleese. It’s not quite an honor, however. As the story goes, Cleese was touring New Zealand and raved about a couple of his stops including Wellington and Christchurch. However, he disliked Palmerstown North so much that he said, “If you wish to kill yourself but lack the courage to, I think a visit to Palmerston North will do the trick.” This jab caused the town to playfully retaliate by renaming its trash heap with the tagline, “All manner of crap happily recycled.” (Thanks to Atlas Obscura for the history lesson.)

No Bull

Not far from Palmerstown North is the quaint town of Bulls. This fertile farmland embraces not just its bovines, but also wordplay. Everywhere you go in the town there is a pun to be discovered. To not ruin it, I’ll leave these photos here for you to scan for your own pun scavenger hunt.

Gumboot Capital of the World

Travel an hour northeast of Bulls, and you’ll step foot into the town of Taihape, known as the gumboot capital of the world. Though it all started with a gumboot-shod character from a Kiwi TV show hailing from Taihape, the town has embraced the theme, even holding Gumboot Day every year on the Tuesday after Easter. That day, you can participate in a number of gumboot themed contests, including the gumboot toss (men's size 8). Also, if you’re new to this term, a gumboot is just a rubber boot, but with more pride. You can learn all about New Zealand’s love of gumboots here.

The World’s Biggest (and Best) Carrot

Zigzag back to the east and drive through the town of Ohakune. Here, you’ll find a vegetable-themed adventure park and—believe it—the tallest carrot in the world. New Zealand carrots, by the way, are also the best tasting carrots we’ve ever had. I don’t know what is special about the NZ soil, but I’ve never had a richer or sweeter tasting carrot than those we devoured across New Zealand.

The Toothbrush Fence

We replace our toothbrushes about once every three months or if we get sick. Since Heather got sick (we are leaning towards her having been COVID-pos), we decided to trade in our toothbrushes just in time to drive past the Toothbrush Fence in Te Pahu. At this fence, you can have your dental tool brush bristles with the likes of Prime Minister Helen Clark and Bret & Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords. Apparently, though, you’re supposed to mail your toothbrush to the bucket. We didn’t know that, so used some creative wire bending to secure ours.

Other Fun Stops

The Deka Sign in Huntly, advertising a popular retailer from the 80s and 90s that has been out of business for over a decade but is now a symbol of the town with its own cult following.
An overlook where I got to prove to Heather once and for all that chickens do chase humans.
Pony poo for sale
Biltong Plus, a retailer of South African products where we stopped when, north of Auckland in mid-March, it appeared that this store would be as close as we would get to any South African experience
Tirau, where the visitor center is a large corrugated iron dog, and other town buildings are a sheep and ram