NEW ZEALAND TRIP POST: View From The Top Of The World

8/27



On the cruise



Well it’s Saturday and after a week of working it hard, it was time to play hard and take advantage of being in this completely beautiful part of the world.  As part of the Habitat for Humanity Global Village program, they like to offer a little R&R for the volunteers and today we had a full day of activities planned.

We kicked off the day riding the bus from where we were staying into the city of Auckland.  Once in the city, we boarded a cruise ship that was going to take us around the harbor.  The view of the city from the boat was incredible!   It was such a unique way to see everything and we even got to make two stops during our journey. 

Our first destination was Davenport.  The small beach town was gorgeous and overall our visit here was a relaxing one.  Everyone pretty much separated into smaller groups and went their separate ways when we docked in Davenport.  There were plenty of options for people to do while in this town.  My group just walked around exploring, checked out some of the shops and art galleries in the area, took advantage of some great photo opportunities, and had a few drinks at a local café.  Not a bad way to spend a sunny morning in New Zealand J

After Davenport, we got back on the boat and headed off to our next destination, Rangitoto Island.  Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island near Auckland.  Unlike Davenport, here there was only one thing to do and that was climb the volcano (don’t worry it was dormant).  As we started on our way up, there was a sign telling us it was approximately 1 hour to the top.  It was then that I realized, this whole hiking the volcano thing was going to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.  As we made our way up the lava rock covered trail, several things crossed my mind.  I thought of my hiking boots that were sitting on the floor in my hotel room since no one mentioned we would be climbing a mountain.  I cursed the fact that I thought wearing Ugg boots was the best idea for footwear because they were warm (it was like hiking in socks).  I contemplated just how out of shape I was.  At times, I even doubted that I would make it all the way to the top.  However, my overly competitive nature kept telling me I was not only going to keep going and make it but I was going to do it as quickly as I could. 

 As I looked at the city from the top of Rangitoto, all my other thoughts were gone and replaced with just how beautiful the scenery in front of me was.  Even though Rangitoto isn’t that high of a peak, for the brief time I spent at the top, I couldn’t help but feel on top of the world.  At that time, I felt like I could do anything.



Me at the top :)



Like I said, it’s not like I hiked Everest or something but standing at the top of Rangitoto Summit was validation that after everything I’ve been through, I’m still standing and even more importantly, I’m better than I’ve ever been.  Just like climbing the volcano, life is hard.  Sometimes you want to give up but you have to keep pushing to get to where you want to go.  There will be moments when you will doubt yourself.   There will be set backs.  Today it was footwear or my lack of physical fitness but in life it might be losing a relationship or job you didn’t get or just your perfect plan not quite turning out the way we thought it would.   Hopefully, the voices in your head will tell you that despite all the odds against you, if you want it bad enough then you have to keep going until you reach the top.