no safe place to land

(the big little adventure that wasn’t)

as i write this, we’re sitting in a hotel in the south island of new zealand, drinking coffee and contemplating breakfast, our original christmas plans thwarted.

if all had gone to plan, we would have been touching down on the wide sands of mason bay, stewart island about 8am this morning, ready to spend four nights completely off-grid in DOC (department of conservation) huts.

but the weather had other ideas...

…yesterday afternoon our flight was cancelled. this made the logistics of the remainder of our trip pretty close to impossible.

the beach we were to be landing on has strong westerly winds, no match for the tiny aircraft we had chartered. given the remoteness of our destination, there were no other guaranteed options for getting there that would give us more than one—or perhaps two—nights before we would have to turn around and come back. (if they even worked out at all.)

whilst there was maybe / somewhat / possibly a shorter alternative to the trip we’d planned, the likelihood of further cancellations due to unfavourable weather conditions was likely. the chances of the wind continuing to be an issue, was a hard pill to swallow.

my social batteries are drained from a very full on year and a large portion of the appeal of the journey was the peace and silence that comes from immersion in such a remote and special place.

instead, today, we return home; packs full of uneaten food and unworn clothing.

and the quiet and solitude i was craving feels as far away as the distance between our (busy) island home and the wilds of that tiny island at the bottom of the country.

my intention is still—as much as possible—to carve out and protect the solitude i need… by staying home to wander instead... offline until 2026 knocks at the door.

hoping you and yours have a peaceful and joyous festive time. i’ll see you again in the new year.