When the news of the terrorist bombings in Belgium reached me I was filled with unbelief and then I got very angry. Which #@é&&!# dared to mess with my people at home, with my small beautiful country. There has been a lot of bombings lately, in Paris, Istanbul, Pakistan, Tunisia, but you never get used to it. Every time again I grieved. For humanity. But when I heard about the terrorist attacks in my home country it just hit me right in the heart.
This is a story about high peaks, bruises, Californian sun, friendship, a good plan B and a girl swinging and screaming high above trees.
This is about how Yosemite National Park managed to steal my heart. Yosemite, I adore you and your pretty mountains. You’re so majestic and yet humble. I love how the sun sets on your glorious peaks, how you make me sweat hiking up, how the soft evening light makes life look like a fairytale, how kind and warm the working crew is and most of all your grandiose views.
For me New Zealand is: mountains, lakes and gorgeous sunsets. In one word: nature.
I never imagined New Zealand would hide a wealth of cute little theatres. There are little theatres everywhere in this country, which caught me by surprise. In Belgium all the independent theatres were disappearing. Here it’s the opposite. Hurray for New Zealand!
Rafting in New Zealand has been on the menu for quite a long time. Because of work, holidays, babies (no not me), busy weekends and bad weather it took us more than a year. But we finally DID IT!
My motorbike trip through New Zealand feels like a lifetime ago, but it has only been THREE WEEKS. Sometimes I think I am living life too fast. But how do you slow down? Time flies, unfortunately, and especially when you are having fun. I don’t want to slow down on the fun, but I do want to enjoy it longer, I haven’t figured out how to handle this. If anyone knows the answer, please enlighten me!
But let’s focus on those good motorbike times. Before you think – wow what a badass chick, she rides a big motorbike – STOP. I am just the passenger, I happily sit in the back and hold on to my man, as described in many stereotypes. I do hope I get a tiny bit of badass points, ’cause we do go fast, I do need to focus to not fall asleep in the back (yes, this is possible) and we ride a Royal Enfield.
Wow, has your 2015 flown by as fast as mine? For me it was a year full excitement, changes, challenges and happiness.
It was the year where I left Belgium to really move abroad (and not just travel). It was also the year where I had to fight a bit to stay in New Zealand and it was the year where I won that fight! Woop woop!
2015 started off in the Maldives, what feels like a lifetime ago. In February I made the leap and moved to New Zealand. From then on my outdoor activities were going through the roof (yippie) and my visa battle began. But that tiny bit of stress didn’t keep me sad or inside. Looking back at my photos, I realise how much I’ve done. Have a look yourself!
I know. I am 2 days too late for this post. I was happily stuck in the New Zealand hills without a solid internet connection. Enjoying life and the nature sometimes means being not wireless connected. We can handle that, right?
The North Island of New Zealand has some impressive mountains, we can all agree on that. Mount Tongariro is the most famous one, but don’t forget Mount Taranaki in the southwest. I only found out about this one about half a year ago. Once I saw a photo I knew: I need to go here! This video shows you a Mount Taranaki hike that you can’t miss out on!
With Christmas around the corner more and more exciting plans are being made. Also, more and more tourists are arriving in New Zealand. Summer is here! Do I feel some cold winter vibes there my friends on the other side of the world?
Living in Christchurch, I travel a lot around in the South Island. A couple of hours drive (or even less) and you’ll find some really cool stuff to see and do. I call Christchurch the perfect location! Now and then the boyfriend and I fly out to the North Island, like we did a month ago.
