One of the first things I learned on my recent trip to New Zealand was that the word Kiwi can describe 2 things – the bird or a native New Zealander. What about the fruit? NEVER say only the word Kiwi to refer to the fruit – it’s always called a Kiwifruit, otherwise it might be slightly offensive to the people and the bird. Although I’m not sure that the residents of New Zealand are ones to get easily offended, so I think they’ll understand if you accidentally call the fruit a Kiwi. =)
Immediately upon arriving in New Zealand, I was struck by the cleanliness of not only the land, but also the food. Every place that we went – Auckland, Queenstown, Waiheke Island, Milford Sound and surrounding areas was by far the cleanest place I’ve ever been – no litter, gum, cigarette butts or anything else to be found. There were very clean public toilets, trash/recycling cans and cigarette butt containers everywhere, so you had to be very deliberate if for some reason you wanted to litter. You could tell that it was just a way of life to them and that they respected their land and wanted to keep it beautiful.
Then there was the food – soooooooooooo delicious, clean and fresh! There were amazing vegetarian options everywhere that we went and they were very aware of food intolerances and most menus marked whether items were gluten, soy and/or dairy-free. Many many places boasted farm-to-table, or paddock-to-plate menus and I feel that even if they didn’t advertise this freshness of their food, it was a million times more fresh and local than most of the food that we eat in the states. The sauces seemed simple, yet were bursting with flavor. The french fries were insanely good everywhere! We were in a large group and every one of us recognized how great the french fries were – some people thought they were fried in duck fat, others thought they might have been triple fried, whatever it was, they were the best fries that I have ever had – by FAR! And they didn’t make you feel like you just downed a tub of grease, I’m not sure how the Kiwis do it, but it’s likely that I will never enjoy a french fry so much again unless I go back to New Zealand. I also bought some “processed food” a few times and I checked the labels each time – there were never any fillers or any ingredients that I couldn’t pronounced or sounded like it came from a science lab. AMAZING! I will admit that I ate far too much in quantity of food, but I never felt sick like I do most of the time at home because the food was so natural, clean, unprocessed and likely had much less sugar and other sweeteners than our food in the states. The food that was supposed to be sweet had a great taste, but was never overly sweet and never gave me a stomach ache (except the time that I wanted to try everything and I ate a gigantic meal). Not only do the Kiwis respect their land, but they respect their bodies! The experience encouraged me to continue striving for good, organic, natural foods as much as possible, not only because it’s good for you but because it tastes better and it makes you feel great as well.
New Zealand is an adventure-seeker’s paradise! There was literally never-ending activities in the Queenstown area of the South Island. I’m not sure how the rest of the country is, but if there is even half as much stuff to do as there is in Queenstown, it’s still an amazing place for outdoor enthusiasts and thrill-seekers! It seemed that on every block in Queenstown there was some kind of adventure being advertised – crazy jet boat rides, bungy jumping, largest swing in the world, be catapulted across a canyon, mountain biking everywhere, paddleboarding, fishing, ride on or under the water in any kind of contraption, the list goes on! There were amazing hiking trails just outside of our hotel room, I can’t imagine what I would have found if I actually drove somewhere! I LOVED the vibe there and felt like I could have done a huge adventure everyday for a month and still not even scratched the surface. In our short 3.5-day stay in Queenstown we packed a lot of fun in – we hiked up to the Skyline rec area, took in the amazing views and then rode the gondola back down.
Then we rode through the Southern Alps on a small plane that took us in very close to the beautiful mountains, glaciers and waterfalls and into the Milford Sound – the 8th wonder of the world. It was one of the most breathtaking places that I have ever been. We cruised through the sound and saw bottle-nosed dolphins, got up-close-and-personal with a few waterfalls (apparently getting sprayed in the face by the falls makes you look 10 years younger, we shall see!), saw Little Blue penguins waddling about on the rocks, and a group of seals sunning themselves on a large rock. We flew back to Queenstown over the sun-soaked mountains and couldn’t believe the luck that we had with the weather.
The next day we went off for our biggest thrill yet – bungy jumping! We went to the first commercial bungy jumping site, the Kawarau bridge, with AJ Hackett Bungy. We had about 11 people in our group that jumped and we had sooooooo much fun!! The bungy operators seemed very surprised that we were all excited and not seeming too nervous. I think most of us did a great job of hiding it! I actually love the thrill of things like this, so I was definitely excited! Jumping definitely tested our ability to overcome an instinctual protective mechanism, push through fear and find a courage that is difficult to test in any other way. I loved the AJ Hackett motto: “Live More, Fear Less.” I feel like if you can bungy jump, you can do just about anything you set your mind to!
We loved the bungy jumping so much that we had to try the highest and longest swing in the world. So the next day, a few of us headed farther up into the outskirts of Queensland to the Nevis Canyon. The platform was so high off the ground, just held up by cables going across the canyon. Just walking on the narrow hanging bridge to get out to the platform was a thrill! You can go two-at-a-time, so my hubby and I went together – it was so fun to experience it together! It was so high and the freefall and swing across the canyon were breathtaking, then we gently swung back and forth over the river as the system hoisted us back up to the crazy high platform and talked about how much we loved the rush!
If you want to break out of your comfort zone and push yourself to do something that many consider absolutely crazy – go to Queenstown! Many of my patients are held back by fear – fear of pain, fear of being judged, fear of stepping outside of their small comfort zone, fear of disappointing themselves and others and many suffer from some form of anxiety. Obviously, a trip to Queenstown might be a little extreme, and many of the activities may not be safe for some medical issues and injuries, but this trip reminded me to not let fear hold me back. If there is a true reason that something shouldn’t be done (I wouldn’t suggest bungy jumping to someone with severe back/neck pain), obviously, be smart about it. But if the fear seems irrational, or if you keep telling yourself that you can’t do something but really wish that you could, think of AJ Hackett’s words – Live More, Fear Less. We only have one life, and where I live we are lucky enough to have many freedoms and choices. Don’t let fear hold you back. Sometimes it works best to take baby steps, and sometimes diving off of the bridge is the way to go. But no matter how you do it, DO IT!
Those Kiwis definitely have the right idea – you’ve got one life, LIVE IT WELL!
If you have pain or an injury that is holding you back, please contact Solstice Physical Therapy so that we can help you live your best life!
www.SolsticePhysicalTherapy.com
(720) 369-7738
**This is not to be considered medical advice, please contact a physical therapist or other healthcare professional for more information. All content on lisawilcoxpt.com is created for informational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice, treatment or diagnosis.
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