Mitre Peak in the Distance, originally uploaded by bexadler.

Today I could have been climbing Mitre Peak (pictured above) with a woman who once climbed Mt. Everest, but instead I was on a flight back up to Auckland so I can catch my flight out of here to Thailand. It was the first great opportunity I’ve had to turn down in the past four months of traveling and I so wish I could have stayed to do the climb. With that and so many other things left unseen here in New Zealand I know I’ll make it back here one day, which is the only thing making it possible for me to leave now.

I have lived so much in the past three months that I’ve spent here and I’m more than a little heartbroken to be leaving. I’m sad to think that this will all have seemed just a dream in a few weeks’ time. Worse still is knowing that I’ll likely fall just as deeply in love with Thailand as I have fallen for New Zealand. Or maybe that’s a blessing because it will help ease the pain of leaving these lovely islands. Either way, I’m on to a new land in a couple of days to play with elephants and climb stone walls along the ocean. I’d love to linger here for the rest of my days but adventure awaits, no?

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