The Nomadic Four

We spent our first week in New Zealand on the North Island, first north of Aukland, then exploring a national park surrounded by volcanoes. Everyone told us to prioritize the South Island and that’s where we’re headed. So far we’ve been absolutely blown away by how beautiful this country is. If the best is yet to come, I’m not sure what to expect because we are already completely in love. We settled in and got over our jet lag in a rural area north of Aukland called Dairy Flat. We stayed at a modern farmhouse on a large property, surrounded by cows and rolling green hills. There was a pond with ducklings, and lots of space to spread out. The kids worked on school projects and we relaxed, noting how lush, green and comfortable it is here. It reminds us a lot of home. The first few days were quite warm, in the mid 20s, and the days are long. It’s late spring and it’s lovely. We went on a few excursions, getting used to driving on the “other” side of the road and exploring the area. We wa...

The rest of our time in Indonesia was spent exploring islands, surfing, snorkeling, swimming, and seeing more wildlife. The wildlife in this country was the big draw for me when I initially suggested we come here. We were not disappointed, and everything else was like icing on the cake. I have to acknowledge that Indonesia isn’t the easiest country to travel in; we did have to push our boundaries a bit in terms of daily comfort. The roads aren’t in great shape in many places, there are lots of bugs and critters (especially at night), farm animals roam the streets and there is a lot of litter, including on many of the beaches. Plus, it can be hard to escape the heat. Still, the people we met were all extremely friendly and kind, we ate some delicious food, took in the most incredible views and swam on the most spectacular beaches. We visited remote places where we were all on our own. All this made up for the minor discomforts. The kids went from jumping off rocks to jumping off boats, ...