Even the hottest water seems cold after a while. Yes, people do get sick of sunsets. Yes, beautiful things and happy times, they all fade in vibrance, given time. Its not you, it's science. Science has shown that, in the long run, losing $20 out of your wallet is no more substantially life-changing that winning millions in the lottery. It is also scientifically proven that "getting there" is often more than half the fun, as the anticipation of a goal is consistently more gratifying than it's achievement.
So what? Is nothing worth it then?
Of course not. But you don't have to subscribe to all of the bullshit expectations either. I have said before that it is ok not to love "paradise", because paradise and everything else that we ascribe these wonderful, seemingly meaningful names to, are just a matter of perspective.
Up until a month ago, I would plan my trip based on how big the font was of the possible towns I would visit. In short, I would look at the map, see which town had a bigger font (ex. Philadelphia vs. West Chester) and I would pick the "big-font" town. I did this because I figured there would be more choices of lodging, more places to eat, more fun to be had.
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| Place I ate two nights in a row, Mangonui. |
Turns out, I don't like big-font towns very much. Big-font towns have lots of traffic and too many restaurants to choose from and too much noise and I sort of like the idea of what Russell had for me; which was a couple of places for coffee and toasties in the morning, and one fantastic restaurant at night where I was not rushed, and I could watch the sunset and read a book. It's main street lasted less than a tenth of a mile.
I like places that make you want to go to sleep around 9PM. Literally sleepy, and absent of angst. I like a place that feels like that part of the forest you wandered through as a kid and wondered if anyone else had ever been in that very spot. Even though it is no discovery, it certainly feels like one.
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| Ride in New Plymouth. |
I'll say that I would not agree with the common small talk generalization that New Zealand is full of "wonderful" people. I would not say they are any more wonderful than any other place I have been. Look, the world doesn't have "wonderful" people really, it's how you are that makes them shitty or not shitty. Well, not completely. I've had a few experiences here where it was pretty clear that I wasn't so welcome. I think it gets like that in touristy places, no matter what.
And I know what it is like to feel that way. I spent three summers working on Nantucket and after a while I kind of had this "Thank you very much, sir" facade it was blended with a "please go away now" attitude. And I didn't even live there, I was just working the summers! So, I was actually the one that the people who lived there looked at and said "Thank you very much, sir" but "please go away now."
Of course, none of us could have existed without the other, and that's the rub.
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| Little piglet in Kerikeri. |
It could be great too, if NZ realized the money they are giving up. They whore themselves out to backpackers, who are here in army size regiments, but cyclists, the kind that want to come and tour and stay in lodges and buy sheepskins and pay mega-money for the experience, well, every one of them is worth 10 times as much tourist money you'll get out of a backpacker.
It's a shame, really, since this is a damn beautiful place. And I had some truly transcendental moments, but they were a hard find, I tell ya, a damn hard find. I don't think you could say that I did not make the most of my time here, that I did not continue searching, that I did not have some unforgettable moments, and that some rides that were, honestly, life-altering.
I guess, in summation, what I have come to learn, is that how I choose to see the world, is how it is. That might seem overly simplified, but I don't think it's wrong either.
And that's why there are as many worlds as there are people living in them.
See ya, En Zed.
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| Ride outside of Whangarei. |
