A solo off-the-grid escape to the Banks Peninsula

It’s crazy for me to think that it’s been over six months since I said goodbye to my established solo life in Wanaka, New Zealand. Exchanging the mountains for the sea, I’m totally in love with Lyttelton and the Banks Peninsula, where I’m now based.

Just outside of Christchurch, my loving partner, Giulio, his two young daughters, and a puppy share my big home. Considering how introverted I am, this has been a big adjustment for me. Throw in a global pandemic, a sudden, devastating loss in my family, and all of my work evaporating overnight, and you’ve got a recipe for rough times.

Luckily, we are weathering the storm, and cautious optimism has slowly replaced dread in my heart. As New Zealand has virtually eliminated COVID19 after a rigorous series of lockdown over a couple of months, life is somewhat back to normal on our little island. Our borders are closed to all but residents and citizens. A government-mandated quarantine in hotels for two weeks awaits any arrivals. But it means that our community transmission of COVID is zero. So no masks, no social distancing, nothing because the virus is no longer present outside of quarantine.

Currently, I’ve been working on a few somewhat secret projects, and I’m always on the lookout for cute places I can escape to get away and be alone with my thoughts. A true introvert, I do my best thinking alone and in the quiet.

And while I’m not ready to return to a life of hectic travel, I have to admit that my itchy feet have been wanting to carry me towards some new local adventures. Now that I’m living by the sea in Lyttelton, the nearby beautiful Banks Peninsula has been calling to me.