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| This “piece of art” in New Plymouth is playfully typical of Kiwi’s great sense of humor. |
There’s no doubt if we traveled the day’s drive to reach the ferry to visit the South Island of New Zealand with a 3.5-hour ferry ride, we’d be in for a lot of surprises and amazing scenery. When we first arrived over five weeks ago, doing so had been a possibility.
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| We noticed ducks swimming in the waterway. |
As we researched plans for the future, paying well in advance for upcoming cruises, airfare, hotels, and vacation homes, we came to the realization that the cost of traveling to the South Island didn’t fit our current budgetary guidelines.
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| This waterway runs through downtown New Plymouth with a small waterfall. |
Having recently paid NZ $5730, US $3800 for health insurance with a substantial tax bill upcoming on the US income tax day on April 15th, we’ve had to pick and choose what makes the most sense at this time.
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| As the ducks approached the waterway, they began to “go for it.” |
We’re not unlike most people deciding on “vacations/holidays” as to when they make the most sense financially. The round trip cost of the ferry to the South Island $552, US $300. Add the cost of fuel, hotels, and meals on the road, we’d easily spend upwards of NZ $3011, US $2000 for a five-day getaway.
Even taking a minimum of five days with two full days of travel time getting to the South Island and back, leaving us only three days to travel which isn’t in essence enough time to visit the highlights.
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| It all happened so quickly I had no time to change the camera setting for better shots. |
As always in our worldwide travels, we have to pick and choose what makes the most sense. Living entirely off our monthly income plus saving for pricey future plans such as Antarctica and South America, we aren’t able to do everything we find appealing.
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| We couldn’t stop laughing as we watched the ducks navigate the waterfall. |
A part of the challenge for us is making all of our world travels work financially as well as encompassing our desires for vast experiences. So far, with as much world as we’ve seen to date, we’ve been confident with our decisions as to where we travel, our experiences,7 and upholding the maintenance of our carefully planned budget.
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| The area near the waterway. |
We have no margin for unplanned/unbudgeted events, only emergencies that may arise from time to time. Regardless of how good a “deal” we may receive on vacation home rentals, we still continue to have many other expenses in our travels.
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| Calm waters out to sea in this area. |
The fact that we’re always paying well in advance for future travels in large lump sums has had a bearing on what we choose to do in the interim. This strict adherence to our budget is the only way we can continue to travel the world.
In a way, it’s not unlike my strict dietary guidelines. If I didn’t follow this way of eating, always requiring a certain degree of self-control and sacrifice we wouldn’t be able to travel when I’d be subject to poor health.
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| Elephant pained on side of the building in downtown New Plymouth. |
It’s not a whole lot different with managing money…a certain degree of self-control and sacrifice is necessary. Often we write that we don’t like to travel far from our current location with a substantial part of those reasons revolving around the fact that traveling costs more money.
Paying for two places to “rest our heads” at night just doesn’t make a lot of sense to us on a regular basis, although on a rare special occasion we may choose to make an exception.
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| Walkway along the river in downtown New Plymouth. |
As we continue to relish in every aspect of the beautiful expansive Taranaki Region, we feel comfortable being able to continually find interesting and appealing points of interest and experiences we freely embrace.
Thanks to all of our readers for sharing this continuing journey with us wherever we may be. Have a filled day engaged with the activities that work for you, for your health, well-being, and way of life.
Photo from one year ago today, February 25, 2015:
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| At first, the tree we saw at the Hawaii National Botanical Garden, one year ago, we thought this tree had been painted which would be ridiculous in the tropical garden. Upon closer inspection, I could hardly believe my eyes. It is a Rainbow Eucalyptus or Eucalyptus Deglupta For more photos, please click here. |