How I Ended Up @ Piha Beach(long post)

It is 8:20 a.m at the Auckland airport and I am about to catch a flight to Queenstown via Air New Zealand. It is a clean and easy to navigate airport and its only about 30 min from the Auckland City Center.

I feel like I have already caught up to the jet lag and I’m naturally waking up at about 5:15-5:30 am. I am knocking out whenever my head hits the pillow so I’m trying to stay awake as long as possible by not getting in the bed.

I landed in Auckland a few days ago and customs was a breeze. Their biggest concern were people bringing foreign food and used outdoor equipment. They were concerned about my hiking boots but I assured them that they were brand new(which they were). I’ve already been on a hiking tracks(trails) and they have stations where you must apply soap, water, and scrub your boots before entering. There are certain plants that cannot handle foreign soil or whatever. I’ll do some more research on that but I did take pics of the shoe cleaning entrances..they are neat.

I started thinking about taking a trip like this around late Nov. 23’. I started with the idea of really immersing myself in some type of social/volunteer work and I was looking at the some of the more poverty stricken places of the world.(Tanzania, Cambodia, Kenya,etc). The closer I got to exploring these options the more exhausted I became..I was already physically exhausted over here so I couldn’t imagine how it would once I got into over there. My thoughts of the trip shifted to a mix of sight seeing and helping people. I started to research South Africa, Japan, Thailand etc. New Zealand was definitely in the back of my mind.

Africa started to fall off the list as I became more and more uncertain on the war going on in the Middle East. It all seemed a little unpredictable at the time. Europe and South America were never considered for the trip because I imagined with them being so much closer and knowing people in both places that my life would eventually take me there one day. I can’t wait to explore both Continents again one day. Japan was my front runner for awhile on this trip. I liked the idea of the mountains, cuisine, bullet trains to get me places quickly, and big modern cities. Advanced asian culture. Language barrier would have been fine with me. I kept looking at the map..every single day.. and my eyes continuously would wander south of Japan and towards Oceania. It was far away. Very far away from home. I had always thought of saving Oceania to experience with someone special and I knew if I ever did go I would need at a bare minimum..2 weeks to explore.

Natural beauty began to take over as my number one interest for this trip…as much as I wanted to give back to a community..I had to give myself a little bit of a break. It became Japan or New Zealand/Australia. The vision of unrivaled views of all different kinds of landscapes took over. The lush green mountains surrounding beautiful lakes, rolling pastures, beaches, rainforests, fjords …I have always wanted to see a fjord. It all took over my mind. In typical Zack fashion..I booked a flight to New Zealand the day after we went under contract with a buyer. Prob a little risky but I was ready to go and I believed in it all working out. I booked with Delta whomI have been loyal to and earned status over the years so I knew I had flexibility in booking/flight changes/etc. They would help me out if something went wrong. That is one of the many reasons I fly with Delta. The number one airline in the world. When I booked that flight..I woke up the next day and could see the new chapter for the first time. I always knew there would be a new chapter after this but I didn’t know when.If the house stayed on the market much longer I was afraid I was going to drown. Thank you Jordan Muschamp for getting the job done and getting us two offers in 4 days of listing. I could breathe and I could envision a future again.

I guess I booked the flight in mid January 24’ and our closing date was the 23rd of February. I was cutting it close there as well..closing at 11:00 am in Atlanta and my flight was departing the same day at 8:00 pm. I think I stayed up 3-4 nights in a row messaging work exchange hosts, researching everything I could, and sketching out a rough plan of what I wanted to do. At the time I did not have a return flight and I was thinking of staying much longer than 70 days. After research, I noticed that it was mandatory for me to hold a return ticket to the States and I had to return within 90 days. I accepted that and was ready to book a return flight that would put me at the max of 90 days. My friend Marchant announced that very week that he and his fiancé Tatum planned on getting married a little earlier than I anticipated so I needed to consider the wedding. Marchant has been the definition of a true friend over the past two years and I would have hated to miss his wedding. I spent about two seconds contemplating what to do and then decided that I would cut the trip a little earlier and make it my mission to be back for his wedding. I can’t say that I would do this for about 90% of weddings tbh. I'm sorry. Love ya Marchant and Tatum. Marchant insisted I do whatever is best for me and if I missed it he would be okay and it would be all good. No way I’m missing it.

So here we are…packing up the house…figuring out how to minimize all of my bills…save money…make money(odd jobs..including a dog day care job.Thats another story). I’m saying goodbye to friends and family. Not goodbye forever, but I knew that the life as I knew it then was ending and new one was beginning. I knew my time in Atlanta was over. It was emotional. Atlanta has been a whirlwind for me and provided me a place to grow and learn. It has introduced me to many amazing people. My family is close by. My favorite music venues have provided me a place to escape sometimes weekly(not always the best habit). My favorite movie theatre had reopened in the past year in walking distance to my house. I had just moved into a dream house. My dog was growing up and my other dog was entering his last years. I spent January and February saying goodbye. Bittersweet.

I escaped every night by figuring out how to go about this trip. It helped curb the sad parts of this chapter ending. I didn’t want to over book or schedule too many things far in advance. I wanted to be able to adapt quickly to whatever change or challenge I may face along the way. I knew I needed to at least get the first couple weeks on the books.

I received a response from my number 1 choice on a work exchange app called work-away. He was in the South Island just outside of Queenstown and I was slated to start with him on todays date..the 28th. So I knew my flight was coming into the big city of Auckland way up on the North Island and I had about 3ish days to kill. I wanted to pick somewhere nearby Auckland that I could rest, treat myself, and adjust to the Jetlag. I didn’t realize how many spots, beaches, and islands surrounded Auckland. I wanted to relax at a beach and could not decide where to go. I eventually came across a picture of this massive rock near a beach sticking out of the water. Relaxing, an hour away, surf town, scenic…let’s go. I booked an airbnb for 3 nights in Piha Beach..and man.. I will pat myself on the back for this one because I couldn’t have chose a better place to accomplish the things I wanted the most for my first few days of the trip.

Piha Beach will get its own post.

Just took off from Auckland and I have a window seat. I’m going to be looking out the window the entire time because this is just amazing. I’m typically an aisle guy. But these views are unreal. Talk soon. Love.

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Arrival in Piha

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First post in NZ. Dedicated to Jane Simpkins