I am a big one for having no regrets. Its time to stop the regrets. I don’t want to be 60 years down the track (yes, I am going to live a long time) and sitting in my beautiful apartment overlooking the beach, with my sexy male nurse, thinking back over my life and having regrets about not doing things.

While I was designing my personal year planner for my subscribers on my ‘Adventure’ email list (which just hit 67,000 by the way) and in the column ‘Things I’ve always wanted to do’, I started writing down those things that I personally haven’t done yet.

I’ll be honest—there were NOT too many as I have always strived to make things happen in my life so I don’t have regrets. I think it ‘I will do it’ is my motto.

One thing on the list has evaded me for 15 years. For fifteen long years, I have come up with excuses why I can’t do this particular thing. What is it you may be asking? It’s a trip around the North Island.

Now, I love my country and have spent a lot of time in the South Island exploring (because who wouldn’t—it truly is the most beautiful piece of land in the world). But when it comes to the North Island, I have left it hanging. I know the excuses I have made: I don’t have time, summer is here and I have to get the most out of the weather at the beach, we can’t afford it….

In truth, for some reason it was always just too hard.  

So, I was sitting there at my desk looking at the list and I asked myself, ‘Will this trip be a regret? Would I chastise myself for not going or giving it the effort I do when I want to travel overseas?’

And the answer was ‘Yes’.

In that moment, I turned my thinking around. Is this really such a hard trip to plan? What was getting in the way (it’s not like I needed a plane—I have a car for crying out loud)? Could I not just get in my car and go?

The thought of packing the car up and just throwing a dart at the North Island map gave me shivers. My brain was going miles a minute at the possibilities. And then it hit me. Seriously, nothing should be stopping me.

Such wild thoughts led to an instant decision—I’m doing it!!!

Are you like me when you are traveling and you see a town or something on the side of the road that you might like to check out and you don’t stop BECAUSE you don’t want to lose your place in the traffic?

OMG, how silly. But I have found myself doing that. Or I want to get to my destination in a good time (better time than last time) so I won’t stop. Where has the spirit of exploration gone when traveling our own country, the freedom to check out the little towns that are off the highways?

So my new rule is if we see something of interest we have to STOP.

First stop? North Island. Look out because we are coming to explore you over the summer!!! One day I’m just going to chuck things in the car and go!!!

Spontaneity.

I hope you will join me on my adventure.  

To catch up on this adventure go to Day ONE,  Heading to Taupo 

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