I got my bags packed on a roll heading out there and I'm ready to go looking real good

in my passport photo.

Amateur Traveler episode 767. Today the amateur traveler talks about

Dolphins and boulders, Ferry pools and ferry doors, waterfalls, and a hole in

hole in a rock as we go to the New Zealand Northland.

Welcome to the amateur traveler. I'm your host Chris Christensen. Let's talk about

New Zealand. I'd like to welcome to the show Heather Markel from Heather begins dot com and Heather has

come to talk to us about New Zealand Heather welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for having me so excited to be here and what is your connection with New Zealand? You're in New Zealand now,

although your trip there has been a little longer than perhaps anticipated.

Indeed, I've been a full-time traveler for several years and in February 21st of 2020 I landed here,

zipped around the South Island thinking it would be like a three- trip before heading off to Australia and then the

pandemic was declared and then I ended up being locked down here and I'm two weeks shy of my

one and a half year anniversary in New Zealand.

Got it.

And why should someone go to New Zealand?

Not just to avoid the pandemic.

Yeah, really.

Well, although you probably, you can't get in now anyway, but that would be a stellar reason.

But I think there's a lot of reasons.

I mean, first off, I don't know if you ever saw the Disney film Moana, but I didn't know at the time that there's some talk that it may be based on New Zealand and coming here and seeing these landscapes that reminded me a little bit of the Moana film and just it's so

ungodly beautiful it's insane. Also I'm because I've traveled a lot in the world

...