New Zealand Gave Me Some Bruises
New Zealand is stunning — lush green hills, endless trees, and skies so blue they almost don’t look real. But as beautiful as it is, New Zealand kicked my ass.
It was also where I tried WorkAway for the first time — a membership-based platform that connects travelers and hosts. You trade your labor for accommodation and meals (or sometimes a bit of pay). It sounded like the perfect setup for my year of travel adventures.
That’s how I ended up in Thames, a quiet retirement town on the North Island. The average age there hovers around the mid-50s, compared to the country’s mid-30s. Not exactly a backpacker hub, but I was eager to dive in and try something new.
My two and a half weeks in Thames were… eventful. I got a speeding ticket, gave a statement to the city council, got trapped indoors for two days because of a storm, and battled bug bites daily.
So, let’s start with the ticket.
On my way to the Coromandel, I got pulled over for going 10 km over the limit on a nightmare of a curvy, mountain road. I’d been psyching myself up with upbeat pop music, trying to stay alert, when flashing lights appeared behind me. The officer was friendly enough — we chatted, I smiled, and I drove away $15 USD poorer. What irritated me most was that as soon as I slowed down, other drivers were tailgating me like I was crawling. Where were their tickets?
Then came day six of my WorkAway gig. Every morning I walked my host’s elderly, gentle dog. She was obedient — until the day she wasn’t. Another dog barked at us from across the street, and I tugged the leash to keep her close, but she lunged anyway. Before I knew it, a scuffle broke out. It was pure chaos. The other owner was understandably upset — her dog was half the size of the one I was walking — and stormed off. I apologized and told my host what happened, since I didn’t even know how to reach the other person. My host was gracious about it.
A few days later, though, a council member stopped me on my walk — kind, polite, but official. He asked for my statement, and in the end, I ended up paying half the vet bill for the other dog.
In the end, that experience reminded me that travel isn’t just about the perfect Instagram photo or the cinematic video montage. Sometimes, it’s about the messy, unfiltered parts — where you’re learning, adapting, and occasionally paying a fine.