Touring Florist - Chapter Three
I’m now living in the camper practically full time and have officially left the home comforts of my flower farm stay in Auckland. There’s something so freeing about waking up in the morning and making the plan for that day purely depending on the weather, how I feel and what’s close by to explore. This simple, agenda free life seems to agree with me and my head feels pretty empty of anxieties, stresses or worries right now.
I’ve fit in quite a bit since the last update, including a trip down the West coast, some beautiful weddings, Valentine’s Day & a trip up to Northland. So whilst I plan to do a couple of special individual Journal posts for my favourite travel spots (just as soon as I get the time and some decent wifi signal) as a fortnightly summary goes, I reckon this one is a bit of a treat!
Raglan, Hamilton & Waitomo Caves
The first test drive of the van involved 3 nights down the West coast of the North island. I loaded up the camper with supplies & some nice natural wine thanks to Everyday and headed out with the best weather so far for the long weekend.
Staying in a mixture of freedom camping spots, and private campgrounds, I was surprised how quiet everything felt. After the ‘bustle’ of Auckland (which was nothing compared to a major UK city) these smaller towns and country roads felt almost placed there solely for my use.
Raglan, dubbed the ‘Byron Bay of NZ’, was a spot I knew I needed to visit. Situated on the west side about 2.5 hours south of Auckland, it’s a tiny high street with cafes, independent artists, and even a little yoga studio which I had time to try. But the beaches were the special part, and I made the most of them by parking up with something to eat and watching the surfers tumble around on the waves during sunset.
I also popped into Hamilton, which was pretty none eventful for a ‘city’, on my way to Waitomo glow worm caves. These caves are beautiful and one of the only places in the world you can see them, so a great experience if you get the time.
The final thing of note from my trip were the wonderous gardens of Tree Church and of course the flowers. I will write a full post about this spot as soon as I can, but it will be a pretty special memory from my time here.
Weddings +
New Zealand has a much smaller population that what I’m used to, so the weddings here are much more relaxed and chilled out in atmosphere.
Everything is much more low key, particularly as things are still scaling back up from covid, and the flowers make a big impact in these intimate ceremonies.
People also LOVE a destination wedding here, with guests travelling 5+ hours (or even flying) to be with the couple on their day. And with landscapes like these, who can blame them.
Recently I’ve lent a hand to a few fab florists, and learnt the ropes of a kiwi wedding (and most of the time the guest dress code is shorts and sunnies).
Thanks to Cecilia Fox, Green is the Thing & Best Day Ever for bringing me along on your beautiful events.
Northland
FINALLY SUMMER HAS ARRIVED IN NZ.
After unheard of extreme weather throughout Jan & Fab, it’s been a blessing to have a few consistent days of sunshine.
I’ve wild camped up and down the North coast, had a boat trip to some stunning spots in The Bay of Islands and explored some beautiful coastlines.
Highlights have included Whale Bay, Ngunguru, Russell, and a horse trek (and swim) along Sandy Bay.
More of this, pretty please New Zealand.
The next couple of weeks involve a bit more of the flowering side of things, so keep a look out on Instagram for Bryonia’s next adventure.
Jenna
x
