They always say you should see your own country before you see the world....and I have! I have travelled around New Zealand extensively over the years, and seen most of it, especially the North Island, but most of those South Island trips were a very long time ago and quite a distant memory. For the last few years I have had a hankering to do what will probably be my last road trip around more distant parts of the North Island that I haven't visited much recently, and most of the South Island, but I want to do it my way!
Doing it by myself wasn't an option I wanted to consider and the people I most would have liked to accompany me couldn't manage the required amount of time. Travelling for a period of several weeks with someone can be challenging and I know how important it is to find someone who you can easily fit in with. I thought about how easy my last two lengthy trips in India were with Tarun and realized that perhaps he would be the perfect travel companion. I know how much Tarun enjoys travelling and being a bit of a nature boy, how much he would enjoy New Zealand, so I wasn't surprised when he jumped at my invitation. It was a win-win situation for both of us, and I soon realized how much I would enjoy showing a visitor around my country...role reversal actually, and a nice way to thank Tarun for the amazing times he gave me in India.
Doing it by myself wasn't an option I wanted to consider and the people I most would have liked to accompany me couldn't manage the required amount of time. Travelling for a period of several weeks with someone can be challenging and I know how important it is to find someone who you can easily fit in with. I thought about how easy my last two lengthy trips in India were with Tarun and realized that perhaps he would be the perfect travel companion. I know how much Tarun enjoys travelling and being a bit of a nature boy, how much he would enjoy New Zealand, so I wasn't surprised when he jumped at my invitation. It was a win-win situation for both of us, and I soon realized how much I would enjoy showing a visitor around my country...role reversal actually, and a nice way to thank Tarun for the amazing times he gave me in India.
However the planning hasn't been plain sailing. The first issue was that 'my way' involved just driving off into the sunset with no set plans, just picking up accommodation as we liked. That idea came to an abrupt end when friends told me that they had travelled throughout the South Island at that time of the year and had difficulty finding accommodation at the last minute. I checked out a few places and quickly found out that these people weren't joking. Obviously tourism in New Zealand is doing well. As a result we now have pre-bookings at many places and the idea of 'just going' was a bit of a pipe dream.
The second obstacle was the visa! A reliable source told me that in one two week period alone, the Mumbai office of New Zealand Immigration had 20,000 applications from young single Indian males wanting visas for New Zealand. Naturally many of these were rejected, as was Tarun's, on the grounds that they couldn't guarantee he would return to India. Well, those of you who know Tarun will understand how ridiculous that is, but I guess the Dept of Immigration don't really know him. I managed to put forward a very good case for reassessment and the pretty NZ visa now occupies a page in his passport.
Tarun arrives in New Zealand on 8 March and will stay until 21 May. I hope you will enjoy following us on our trip.
