I took a 2 week break from blogging to visit my relatives in New Zealand while enjoying the warm weather and sea breezes…it’s summer there. I also took time to go swimming in the warm sea every day and hiked lots of trails through the sub tropical forests.

Even though I took my laptop I didn’t open it once the whole time because I could check email from my brothers and sisters dial up connections or visit the local internet cafe. When I did finally need to use my laptop it didn’t work because NZ uses a 240 volt plug and the transformer I bought didn’t convert the current correctly.

Take a break from your business

I’ve run my web design business almost non-stop for the last 8 years (except for a week off in the summer). Taking a 2 week break to enjoy nature and not have the pressure of work, I slept more, ate more, relaxed more, exercised more, conversed more than any normal day of work.

My only regret

It was great to experience all the beauty individually or sometimes with a relative (when I could persuade them to come hiking with me) however it would be more rewarding to experience it with the whole family or even one of my kids.

Plan your break

Nothing gets done without making a plan. I planned when to go, what to bring, the most cost efficient way to get there, and how much to spend. My purpose was not only to visit relatives and attend a nieces wedding but to take a much needed vacation by charging my batteries for another year. Since New Zealand is a sportsman’s paradise I made sure I swam in the ocean each day and hiked the lush green forests.

Take a look at the vacation photos below to see one of God’s most beautiful countries.