New Zealand 2015: the start of it all

In August of 2015, I decided to buy a plane a one way plane ticket to New Zealand, with absolutely no plan in place. It was my first time traveling alone and it was also one of the biggest growing experiences of my life. I was feeling very lost and unsure of what I wanted to do with my life but after traveling to New Zealand, I realized my love for photography and how easy would be to continue traveling like this for years to come. I spent 3 months backpacking this beautiful country. I stayed at hostels or camped the entire time. At the start of my trip I did a work for accommodation at a hostel, to get the feel or things and meet new people, as well as save money. Food and my accommodation were all for free, with only 3 hours of help with housekeeping every morning. The 3 weeks I spent here, helped me plan the rest of my trip, as well as be able to afford to stay for the whole 3 months my travel visa allowed for. My following 3 weeks consisted on me driving a rental car around the south island by myself. I completed two 3 day hikes during this time, the Able Tasman Coastal Track and the Queen Charolette Track. I went on a day hike once a day and always in a new location. I also explored Milford South on a boat cruise around the Fjords. Most of this time was spent meeting other travellers and getting out into the wilderness of NZ. After my 3 weeks were up with the rental car, I took the ferry across to the North Island. I stayed in Wellington for almost a week, explored the city and met up with a few friends I knew from when I was on the South Island. From Wellington, I bussed/hitch hiked my way north. I did a loop, my most northernest point being Matamata, where I visited Hobbition. During these 2 weeks, I also completed an 8 hour day trek on the Tongariro Crossing, Camped in Taupo, found myself in a land of geothermal activity in Rotorua and explored the art deco stylings of Napier. So this was the start of it all, the people I met on this trip, the places I saw, the mountains I hiked, the long windy roads I drove alone on the left side of the road, all helped me fall in love with this life, as well as myself. This trip taught me that I can live out my dreams and that traveling can be my lifestyle. The photos below are a collection of my favourite shots taken from this trip, in places such as Mount Cook, Glenorchy, Milford Sound, Able Tasman Track, Routeburn Track and Picton.