Reflection on Australia and New Zealand

On the last day of our visit to New Zealand, I took some time to reflect on the trip.  

We have seen more places than 80 percent of Aussies and Kiwis have seen, said Blinky, our guide. In Australia, we have been in two major cities (Sydney and Melbourne), the Outback, the rain forest, and the Great Barrier Reef. We saw flooding due to extreme rainfall in the desert as well as lower temperatures for this time of the summer. In New Zealand, we saw the changes in urban Auckland and the majestic countryside of the South Island, complete with a tour of the Milford Sound. We learned about efforts each country is making to be more multicultural, especially with the indigenous peoples who lived there before the white colonialists arrived.

Our flights were all on-time, our hotels comfortable and well-sited, and our local bus drivers were excellent and safe. Meals were good, and we sampled many local favorites even though some of them were overly fatty. One great revelation of this trip is that I am too sedentary and need to get more exercise. I also found that I longed to be home again in France and hearing the language even though I still don't understand it completely. It will also be good to get back to simple meals--I don't want to see eggs for breakfast for a LONG time! 

As I write this, I am in Queenstown seated on a simple park bench with a memorial plaque bearing the names of a couple who had lived in the area for 28 years. I suddenly became connected to them, which led to a reflection of this trip and what it has meant to me.

The couple probably placed the bench here because they enjoyed the exquisite beauty of the landscape and wanted to share it with others. This view has changed a few times over the past 150 years when the white Europeans settled this land first as a gold mining town and now as a fun and adventure park. And yet, as you look beyond these "uses" of the land, the land's profound beauty remains. 

The wind rustles the green and yellow leaves of the trees. The deep blue water contrasts the view with the timelessness of the mountains that stand there ever-present like the tabernacle of a cathedral. The permanence of the mountains is God-like. The peace and quiet of this place contrasts the noise, pretension, pain, and suffering of our modern world, which once again witnesses Nature's enduring presence. The crunching sound of walkers and bicycles on the gravel path beside the bench represents the various intrusions onto this land: The Māori. The colonizers. The industrialists. The tourists. What have they given? What have they taken? How were they changed? What do they understand? The Cambridges who lived here for 28 years left a simple park bench that overlooks the beauty of this lake and mountains.

At 72 years old, I look back on my life and try to figure out what I have to leave to this world. What is my legacy? The intangibles: educating young people, informing the public about various institutions, serving God as a Sister of St. Joseph and now as an associate and staff member of the International Centre. I have been one who prepares others for their own journey ahead. I'm the "in-between". I'm also on the edge of what normal people do, never fully investing in any one thing. I sample things and prefer to know a little about a lot instead of delving deeply and expertly into one thing. That I finally found journalism as my metier was a long journey, but I made it. That I have been able to travel and now live in France has been a dream come true. I am satisfied and grateful for this wonderful gift.

However, I won't leave the world anything concrete such as a bench for people to sit on and enjoy the beauty and peace of this place. But, perhaps, my writings are my legacy. I've written hundreds of articles and blogs. Once I return to the USA, I'll compile them in book form and give them to my nephew or maybe the Kalamazoo Public Library. 

I have lived a good life and enjoyed it. , and I have seen the world and encountered people from all walks of life and studied many different cultures. Not many people have done that nor do they have such a desire. And even though I'll never be recognized for my efforts, I did accomplish what I set out to do in life. That is satisfaction enough. I did end up doing what I wanted even though I struggled knowing exactly what that would be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another quiet walk along the lakeshore and another view of the Remarkable Mountains gave me a moment to give thanks to my Dad for helping me finance this incredible trip of a lifetime: three weeks in Australia and New Zealand--with other trips to come.

Our time here is now coming to an end and in a day or so we will all go home. It's a sad sort of feeling to have spent this much time with a group of people only to say good-bye and probably never see or communicate with them again. However, the memories, stories, and photos of the places we have visited are treasures that we will have forever. That is pure gift. I thank all my fellow travelers and Blinky, our guide, for this supreme pleasure.