It seems that the most ultimate high or sense of happiness created by traveling comes from one thing; being completely free. Having the ability to change directions or plans at you own discretion without the hindrances of schedules, employment, or the expectations of others. But I found out that this can be a double-edged sword... The very things that give you freedom, - the flexibility, the high speed of plans changing at your very whim - means that your plans can just as quickly be completely altered by external events that we have little or no control over. The cause could be anything: Government policy, weather conditions, or the influence or actions of complete strangers. Specifically in our particular instance, theft.
On Saturday, March 12th, our 95 Subaru Legacy was stolen. I understand that car theft is a common problem that plagues almost any major city in the world, Wellington being one of them. We were spending one day in town to explore the downtown core. The architecture and natural surroundings of the bay are a wonderful environment in which to spend a day while taking in the sights of a bustling metropolis, and the perfect distraction during which our vehicle was taken. We were only gone a few hours, but when we returned everything we owned was gone, save for one backpack and the clothes on our back. I had no food, no shelter, no electronics, and no passport.
The few hours before, we were thinking of visiting the Wellington zoo, trying to plan our journey through the North Island, and making preparations for our hike of Mt. Doom. Then suddenly, we begin the arduous tasks of filling out police reports, filing stolen passports, and finding short-term accommodation while we problem-solved. Our trip had officially been turned on its head.
It's interesting how hard your mind tries to keep it's hold on a previous, more appealing situation. More than once I found my thoughts drifting towards what campsites, funds, and supplies we would need for our hike before I would snap back to reality and remember that all of our equipment and previous plans were gone. My only guess as to why this might be, is to think that through our lives we learn (or are conditioned) to strive for structure and consistency, we live bearing a high level of uncertainty avoidance. My only hope is that my experiences here make me more accustomed to finding my way through darker circumstances, and faster to accept those things that I have no control over. Time will tell.
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