I have been meaning to write this for a while now. Turning over in my head how I write about the last chapter of what has been such an amazing experience for my family. The last thing I wrote here was when we were leaving Hamilton. As you can probably guess lots has happened in the time between then and now. When we left Hamilton we were headed for Taranaki with a slightly different purpose in mind then we have had for the past three years of travelling. This time we had settling down on our minds.
For us, right from the start, this adventure always had an end date. We actually thought perhaps a year or 18 months would have been ample time to spend living in a bus. As it turns out it was a little bit longer then that. But at the start of 2020 we decided that it would be our last year of this gypsy life. It just felt like we were all ready for something new. Right from the start we always new that we wouldn’t be settling back in Tauranga when we stopped traveling. We had a few options in mind at the start but settled on Taranaki after a few visits early on in our travels.
When we left Hamilton and started the drive to New Plymouth I have to admit I had more than a few doubts in my head. We had only visited this area a handful of times. Would we actually enjoy living here or were we big mistake. Our plans for here felt so permanent and like such a commitment after living in a way where you could literally decide you wanted to move on and be somewhere new the next day. Now after a few months of sinking our toes into the wild, black sands of these west coast beaches and slowly finding our place in this new life, I’m happy to report that those worries were needless. Turns out this settling down again stuff is not to bad.
We’re doing it slowly though. Still in the bus for now, just with a bit of a permanent spot to base ourselves until we find a house. And that urge to explore and discover that has driven us on this whole big journey right from the start is still getting a chance to stretch it’s feet here. We have a huge stretch of the coast that’s easily accessible. That gorgeous mountain to explore. And when what’s on our doorstep isn’t enough we know how easily we can travel further in this beautiful country of ours.
I started this blog because I wanted to document our travels and have a record of the whole experience. It’s been it’s own journey for me, rediscovering how much I love to write. I’ve done a lot of it, both on here and just for myself. Filling pages of books with stories. Trying my hand at poetry. Scribbling away in a journal. I know that my writing will continue now, even if it’s just purely for my own enjoyment from here on in. Thank you for following along with our wanderings and reading my ramblings along the way. If anyone reading has done so because you have some wild crazy dream to live in a bus, or travel with children, or really any dream that you think you just shouldn’t do because it’s a bit outside the normal. I encourage you to just do it. Our big crazy dream has given us so much that is good and very little that is not. Happy wanderings people, wherever they might take you.
My Wandering Kiwi Family 