PART 1 – Finding the ultimate awakening place with Kokako and Sitka

◾️Travel can be lighter

Life on the road is surprisingly simple.

Put aside everyday "comfort" for a moment.
Reduce your burden, relax your shoulders,
Entering nature

That's also a form of adventure that we love.

◾️ Load up on nice clothes and good coffee

Living on a rooftop means
Sleeping bags and pillows are all piled on top.
So you always have freedom in the car.
Just pack the travel essentials and a few toys and you'll be fine.

For Beth, the most special item among those "essentials" is,
Nice clothes and good coffee.

Our local friends, Kokako (organic coffee roaster) and Sitka (clothing brand),
"Let's go on a journey together," someone said to me.

There was no need to ask for the answer.

◾️A special piece for coffee lovers

Over the past few months, I've been working with the team at Kokako to create something a little special.

A custom tent made just for coffee lovers.
It's the perfect outfit for enjoying a freshly brewed cup of coffee on the perfect morning.

The purpose of this trip is to spread that tent,
Kokako coffee is brewed in the best place to wake up.
That was all.

Hoping for a miraculous timing, head south

First trip of summer.
The sky was clear, but the air was still a little chilly.

There's a campsite that Beth and I have always dreamed of.
To get there, several conditions had to come together miraculously.

But it was the right time to try it.
There's also clothing for the cold weather.
We've brought a generous load of some of New Zealand's best beans.

◾️Searching for windless water, off the map

The waves that week were anything but promising.
So this time, we're heading inland instead of to the sea.
I switched to a completely different type of adventure.

Look at the map repeatedly and drop pins on places that interest you.
But I soon realized that, after all, this trip was
We'll just have to decide as we go.

I was looking for a windless, clear body of water.
However, no matter how many places I tried, none of them came close to my ideal.

Still, my spirits remained high.
Under the sky at the beginning of summer, I feel like I'm moving forward without knowing where I'll end up.
That alone was enough.

◾️It's a bit of a challenge to get there

Only one candidate site remained.
However, since the location was surrounded by virgin forest, we decided to save it as a last resort.

Continue along the small gravel road until you reach
From there, we would go out on foot to scout. This was a familiar scenario for us.

What emerged was a deeply eroded, narrow, muddy road.
It was a good idea to come on foot.
To allow cars to pass, you must carefully plan your route.

At first glance, it looked quite formidable,
If there is a "correct answer" ahead, there is no way I can turn back without trying.

While resting the body on the slope,
Beth helps us find our way with a shovel.

Before I knew it, a five-minute walk had turned into a 30-minute struggle.

◾️If it's according to the map, this is the place

Somehow, I got there.
The car was fine, just a few scratches from the clay.
I can worry about climbing back up later.

The only thing left to do is to check if this is really the place that looks like it does on the map.

◾️A quiet lake and a mouthful of space

Once you leave the forest, what you will see is
There was a deserted white pumice beach and a lake that was a clearer blue than I could have imagined.
There is hardly any wind.

For a moment, I couldn't believe my eyes.
I stared out towards the lake, speechless.

I sat down in a corner of the beach and started preparing lunch.
I put the kettle on and took out the coffee equipment I had stored in the pocket of my new tent.
Without taking my eyes off the lake, I waited quietly for steam to rise.