Dreams versus reality

Over the past few months, I have toyed with the idea of travelling around NZ in a campervan with my two dogs. I imagined parking up next to some glorious mercury tinged beach, with a sunset that kissed the earth with the light and then smothered the land with a mantle of stars. I would sit in my van and be inspired to write…words would trip and fall over each other as they competed for space and I would write furiously. I would write well and I would write better than ever.

I hired a camper van, and here is where the dream ended. I was cramped. There are very few dog-friendly camping areas. There is poison down everywhere and my dogs love wekas. It rained. The dogs got wet. The bedding got wet, I got wet….it rained more and more…I drove and drove. I finally had to pull into a caravan park so I could use the heater to warm up and dry the van. The kitchen was a distance from the van…

I couldn’t use the van kitchen in the wet because there was no ventilation..and the open window near the oven would put out the gas. I couldn’t write… I could never write under these circumstances. I realised that travelling is more than arriving somewhere… it’s about tasting new food, experiencing new languages and cultures and seeing life through different eyes. While tourists may love the campervan experience…it really isn’t for us natives…..no matter where I went…there were the same custard squares, the same lamingtons, the same sandwiches and coffee……..and everyone spoke English. But it was an adventure and has settled me down!!

Onto my draft with renewed optimism.