Unexpected emotional depth in New Zealand

I thought I was going to New Zealand for beaches, food, and Franz Josef Glacier. I got all of those things. What I didn't expect was how emotionally affecting the trip would be. The history — particularly around Christchurch — hit in ways that good travel sometimes does.

warm Kiwi hospitality was the moment that crystallised it. Standing there, eating lamb roast I'd bought from a street vendor, something clicked about why travel matters. 19 days and I came home genuinely changed. Some places do that to you.