abel tasman

This weekend, I travelled with Cat, Justin, Jesse, and Adam to Abel Tasman National Park, where we kayaked for two days and spent the last day in Nelson. Kayaking through the park was amazing; aside from the beautiful scenery, it was incredible to stare at a map of the coast and realize you had cut through all the water surrounding it in only a few hours.

Dealing with the airports in New Zealand was different than I imagined it would be, however. There was no security checkpoint, and there was only one main gate at the Hamilton airport. The airports in Wellington and Nelson were a bit larger, but there were no x-rays or metal detectors, and you only had to show your ID when you checked in to get your tickets. I hadn't thought about it before I packed, but I had a water bottle and shampoo in my backpack, and for a few minutes I was concerned there was a restriction on the size of the liquids you could carry. Turns out I had nothing to worry about; in fact, everything restricted from being carried on a plane through New Zealand could fit in a single display case, which they had put out near the entrance of the airport. It's kind of disappointing to realize all the security risks that exist in the US after experiencing such a simple way to travel.

Another thing that was a little shocking was on the last night of our trip. We all went to a restaurant in Nelson that had the option of ordering your food raw and having it cooked at your table. However, I can't really imagine any restaurant existing in the US where they will hand you a stone filled with raw chicken and lamb and only say, "Make sure you cook that chicken well before you eat it." By now, someone surely would have sued that restaurant, or at least given them a really hard time about that.

I suppose that overall, I've gotten the impression that New Zealanders are a bit more laid-back than the people I'm used to seeing every day at home. The general stress level is much lower, and it makes it easy to relax just about anywhere.