Kiwi Hospitality

There's another horn that needs tooting, I've realized. The New Zealand countryside can't steal all the glory. Tribute must also be paid to my wonderful hosts, the Kiwi friends and friends-of-friends who have been taking me into their homes and and bringing me along on their holidays. In Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tongariro, Akaroa, and Arthur's Pass, I've been fed and housed and driven about by the most wonderful people, and I'd like you to meet them too.

Me and Tommy with Beth, Laura, and Kev: youth workers and North Island hosts extraordinaires. They worked at a summer camp with our friend Luisa last year, and this year they have offered us their homes and cars whenever we needed to clean up, rest a bit, or stage some northern adventures. Pretty incredible for people who had never met us before January.

Tommy with Juliette, Jane, and Megan; Tommy with Richard. I met Juliette, Megan, and Richard in France (you may remember them from the photos of the castle holiday), and they've since introduced me to a whole network of fun-loving Kiwis and to a variety of typically Kiwi holiday destinations down south. You couldn't ask for more delightful, silly, and generous friends.

Giving and receiving hospitality is one of the most marvelous parts of travel for me. The "pay it forward" economy of helping someone along on a journey seems such a strong proof against the lie that humans are inherently selfish. It restores your faith in the potentially exponential effects of friendship. And I hope that someday, I'll be able to pass some of this good energy on to others. Negative emotions aren't the only ones that snowball and pick up speed when you roll them down a hill.