My time in New Zealand has come to a close. It's been a rush - I've covered just about every bit of coast on the South Island, shot through the north, and seen so much scenic, incredible, varied pieces of nature that I've become rather jaded. I've seen seals and penguins, had fantails attack me, climbed mountains and even helped brew a local craft beer or two.
There's still so much I haven't done - I didn't make it to the mud pools, the hot beaches; I still have not seen a kiwi or even a tui! I've only seen one of the (at least) three species of penguin that appear in New Zealand. I've seen the smallest bit of Maori culture. There's still skydiving and bungee jumping, cliff diving and cave tubing.
Of course no one can do it all. People stay here for months, live here even, and they still can't get it all in. Maybe that's an important note for travel - you're not crossing countries off your list, ticking off places like they're done and dusted. Travel should be a taste on the tongue, a scent, a view caught for a second before the trees pass in front of you or the weather changes. It's an ephemeral brush of something familiar but alien.
Maybe that's just the wanderlust talking. As they say, sometimes you meet twice. I'm pretty sure for New Zealand and me that's a given.
