Recently Barb and I had the opportunity to visit New Zealand for a little over three weeks. The overall trip was amazing. It is a beautiful country and the trip was stimulating and rejuvenating. Traveling to various part of the world is something we really enjoy. Some people like to return to a familiar place repeatedly, but we enjoy newness, new things, new people, new experiences and new adventures.

Our trip actually began two years ago after a friend returned from NZ with high recommendations. I told Barb that I wanted to go south during the winter to NZ for a month. She agreed and began to explore the travel and housing arrangements. I started to scout the internet and YouTube for things to do and see in NZ.

We boarded a plane in Grand Rapids headed for NZ. Twenty four hours later we arrived. All over NZ, there are “Bed and Breakfasts (B&B)” and “Home Stays”. These are private homes where people open part of the house to travelers. This appealed to us because we could get a little more local feel for the country than if we stayed in motels. We arrived in Auckland, rented a car, and made connections with our first B&B host. (We used AirBnB.com to make reservations.) She was a delightful lady, Rosanna, who lived in Henderson, NZ, a suburb of Auckland about 45 minutes from the airport. She was very nice, giving us lots of tips for travel and fun things to do. The great part was that she also had a great interest in natural health, herbs and homeopathy. So we immediately spoke a common language.

The next day we left on an amazing adventure. We usually had a goal for the day, but made many stops and side trips. There are no straight or flat roads in NZ except a few motorways (freeways) in the big cities (500,000 people) and some areas in the big valleys in farm country. The speed limit is generally 100 kilometers per hour which is around 65 mph, but everyone drives faster, much faster. Most of the terrain is mountainous and rolling hills with sheep and cattle on every acre of grass in the country. There is a lot of geothermal activity in the central part of the north island. We saw some hot springs, mud pots and hot sand beaches. We did not have time to visit the main thermal area called mini Yellowstone, but did have three chances to bathe in hot pools in both natural settings and in cement pools. We spent one afternoon in a hot stream where it flowed into a cold river. Standing under the very hot waterfall, then jumping into the cold river was fun and very invigorating. NZ is full of amazing beaches, all beautiful with bright blue water, black sand, black pebbles or jagged rocks and bluffs. One place, Barb dug a hole in the sand on the beach and it filled with hot water. We rafted a river with 68 class three rapids and a gorge of amazing beauty. The wild life was sparse, mostly birds and small animals. Prices are quite high, but the monetary exchange was about 1 NZ dollar to 70 cents US. Gas was high at $1.80 per liter (around $7.00 per gallon). The food in the grocery stores was great and lots of good produce was available. We did not find the restaurant food all that great and it was more than double the US costs. Breakfast with eggs, toast, and bacon was around $20 NZ. We usually split meals since the portions did tend to be large. The people were great, friendly, and interested in the US, especially our politics. One city, Napier, was having a big festival. Everyone was in 1920’s costumes; there were many very old cars, steam tractors, vintage air craft doing an air show, and a soapbox derby. Hobbiton, an actual movie set for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies was quite amazing. We also visited two movie studios and watched how miniature sets and movie props (like armor, swords, monsters, trolls, etc.) are created. Great fun.

Driving the rental car was a trip. At the airport, I jumped into the left side of the car like usual, only to find no steering wheel or brakes. All the cars have right-sided controls and you drive on the left side of the road. It was quite easy to adapt except the signal lever was on the right of the steering wheel and I often turned on the wipers instead of signaling.

The funniest thing happened one day. While Barb was shopping, I sat on a bench on the street carving a walking stick from a piece of drift wood that I had found on the beach. A young woman in her twenties asked me what I was doing. I told her that I had a cane collection and I was making a walking stick. She asked, “Why?” I said, “So when I am old, if I need a cane I will have one to use.” She responded, “Just how much older do you think you will get.” LOL. It is all about perspective, I guess.

All in all, this was an amazing, productive, entertaining, and educational vacation. I saw many opportunities to create amazing outcomes, being at the right place at the right time. It is quite simple. To create something you must have a clear goal in mind with no timeline for completion. The manifestation timing will present itself as you mentally build momentum for your project. It is important to imagine and visualize yourself as if you have already completed the goal. If you do not have any old conflicting programs, the outcome will become reality. It is a law of nature, just like the law of gravity. It must happen. However, if there are conflicting inner programs based on your mental filters, then those thoughts and memories may have to be cleared first. Someone said to me, “You are so lucky, but I could never go on a trip like that.” The later part of that statement, which is totally untrue, will prevent this man and his family from creating a trip like this. It cannot ever happen until he can see himself there in his mind first. Success in any part of our lives is easy, if we know how to create it. Remember to be teachable. What are your dreams? You can make them come true. For a step by step guide to creating an amazing life, read Bob’s new book, A Shortcut to Success. 

Put Your Health in Your Own Hands.