Exploring Beloved Community and Hospitality at Maine Seacoast Mission
“You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”– J.R.R. Tolkien,The Fellowship of the Ring It is always a deeply personal experience to lead a group to the Maine Seacoast Mission in Cherryfield, ME. I was born and raised in this area;…
The Magic of Hobbiton
My family joined me for the last week in New Zealand and it has been really wonderful. After so much time on my own, I greeted them with much gratitude. I had truly missed them! My family includes my husband Todd, and 2 young adult daughters Fiona (26) and Olivia (22). Fiona lives in LA…
Conservation Culture: Exploring New Zealand’s Ecological Embrace
“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” Alice Walker One of the greatest joys on traveling in New Zealand, is experiencing the natural world. I have been camping in a van, which is a certain way to travel that causes me…
Maori Matariki Ceremony: A Spiritual Journey in New Zealand
Just off the center of the photo, you can see a bright star, Matariki. I rose at 4 am to make it to the boat on the wharf in Paihia, on the north tip of New Zealand. I joined about 80 others, mostly Maori, to commemorate Matariki. In my research before the trip, I really…
Experiencing New Zealand: A Journey Beyond Maps
I first knew the phrase ‘Map Is not Territory’ from the title of a influential book by J.Z. Smith at the University of Chicago. It turns out, ‘Map Is Not Territory’ has a much wider application. I found myself thinking about this phrase as I drove from Auckland to the Coromandel Peninisula in New Zealand.…
Vanlife in New Zealand: My First Sunset and Sunrise Adventure
Millenials and Gen Z have taken to #VanLife and are having adventures, living their best lives on the road, so I thought I’d give it try in NZ! I picked up my van in Auckland, no problem. I chose Escape vans because of the price and the reviews, AND they each have unique graffiti art.…
It’s an adventure just to get to the starting place, Auckland, NZ
It’s Friday June 21 at 7:30 am in NZ, but Thursday Iune 20 at 3:30 in my home in Connecticut. I am in a different world now, where the time-space continuum is messing with my reality. The first leg of my journey in June 18 was delayed, so as to miss my flight to NZ.…
Beginnings: The plan for New Zealand
I believe more in adventures, not journeys. Life as a journey sounds more like “wherever you go, there you are.” But an adventure! Well, that’s more purposeful, more open-ended. The dictionary definition of adventure “an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.” Whereas a journey is “the act of traveling from one place to…
It’s all about the feet
Yesterday I finished the 100 Mile Wilderness in 7 days with my daughter Fiona. I’m not going to lie; it was really difficult. I took heart that Fiona said “this is hard for me and I’m 23. I hope I can do something like this when I’m 50.” Day 1 rained all day, but in…
153 miles down, 110 to go
On Tuesday July 20 I completed the Grafton Notch to Monson section of the AT, 153 miles. I hiked 20 continuous days, with several “half” days for resupply, with an average 7.5 miles per day. I’m certainly not the speediest hiker, but I’m satisfied with my progress and I’ve learned a lot. There is a…
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Nicole Grant Yonkman 