@Gwendolyn2018 Thanks, my apologies, I should have picked that up.

Yes, I read about the very hot summer. Climate change is definitely happening, Hopefully our summer won’t be too hot either.

I lived in the Northern hemisphere for a while. Coming back, I realised that there’s a subtle bias in media. For example, Invasion,” the science-fiction drama series on Apple + has all its main characters and the action based in the Northern hemisphere. Nothing about the South.

There’s only 10–12% of the total global human population there, so that’s probably a reason why.

@Gwendolyn2018 Yes, I remember reading the book On The Beach, it’s a powerful novel. Seen the movie too, which was a worthwhile watch.

There’s a few Americans dotted around, they seem to like it here. Judging from the comments from an American kiwi citizen I met on a airport bus in Sydney pre covid, when I was flying between the hemispheres….

You’re perfectly welcome to visit and check it out. The borders are open again, a number of American airlines are starting up their routes too as well. There’s a direct flight from New York to Auckland now, for example.

@Gwendolyn2018 I enjoy post apocalyptic stuff as well, usually movies that don’t take themselves seriously. Don’t read fiction now, doesn’t appeal to me. Just a personal choice.

I understand how travelling abroad can be intimidating, maybe a group tour might be the way forward. However, NZ is very tourist oriented and people are usually pretty helpful. Could start off with a group tour to gain a bit of confidence, then try some independent travelling afterwards.

The best way is to plan and book everything beforehand, then it doesn’t seem to be so daunting. So you know what you’re going to see every day and how you’re going to get there. All the information is on the internet now, the planning and breaking it down into individual days and destinations makes it a lot easier.

One option may be to book an airline and accommodation package with hotel transfers thrown in, then day trips when you arrive.

Information centres are so helpful, even the locals use them.

I went on a roadie (Road trip) earlier this month up to Cape Reinga, the very top of the North Island. A big bucket list ticking exercise, hadn’t visited before. Spent ages doing the itinerary in a Word document, so I had a mental picture of what I was doing on each day of the journey. Having the plan made the trip a lot more enjoyable. It was flexible, my mate Ivan and I changed it to fit in other things we wanted to see as the journey progressed.

Hope this helps.

@Gwendolyn2018 Only story I know about Eris is the golden apple. Did you set the teen girls fighting among each other over who was prettiest?

Pagans get recycled

@Gwendolyn2018 I'm in awe of nature. It is full of beauty and wonder.