Once upon a time I did a volunteer trip in Fiji. When I bought my outrageously priced ticket from a travel agent, she mentioned that going to Australia and New Zealand would only be 200 more.
I make a quick call to my adventure partner/BFF Mandie. The conversation went something like this.
Sandy: "Hey Mand, wanna go to Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand with me? The ticket is cheaper if we buy them all together."
Mandie: "Duh I'll go. Yes, Yes, Yes!"
Well it didn't go quite like that, but pretty close. Needless to say, Mandie is pretty rad and it didn't take much convincing for her to tag along on the tail end of my summer. The plan was for me to do volunteer in Fiji for 2 months beforehand, then Mandie would meet up and we'd take a long time getting home, stopping in Australia and NZ along the way.
So back to hippy vans.
In New Zealand, we decided it would be easiest to rent a van and sleep and eat out of it the whole time. When we did our researching on the internet, we found Escape Rentals. Let me just tell you, everything is better when you're in a mobilized piece of art. We slept in it. We ate in it. And we explored all of New Zealand in it. All on the left side of the road, which made it all the more dangerous and adventurous.
I make a quick call to my adventure partner/BFF Mandie. The conversation went something like this.
Sandy: "Hey Mand, wanna go to Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand with me? The ticket is cheaper if we buy them all together."
Mandie: "Duh I'll go. Yes, Yes, Yes!"
Well it didn't go quite like that, but pretty close. Needless to say, Mandie is pretty rad and it didn't take much convincing for her to tag along on the tail end of my summer. The plan was for me to do volunteer in Fiji for 2 months beforehand, then Mandie would meet up and we'd take a long time getting home, stopping in Australia and NZ along the way.
So back to hippy vans.
In New Zealand, we decided it would be easiest to rent a van and sleep and eat out of it the whole time. When we did our researching on the internet, we found Escape Rentals. Let me just tell you, everything is better when you're in a mobilized piece of art. We slept in it. We ate in it. And we explored all of New Zealand in it. All on the left side of the road, which made it all the more dangerous and adventurous.
I sold my car to afford that summer. When I arrived home, I had to buy a vehicle that could take me to work. It only seemed natural to get another van and paint it on my own. I did some serious investigating, but the responsible/sensible side of me won. But how cool would that have been? Ms. Bradshaw and her painted hippy van in the parking lot. I can only imagine the stir that would cause among the junior high kids.
