2 Women. 1 dog. 5 Weeks. 12 destinations. One summer. (Part 1)
Motueka – Wellington – Otaki – Tokaanu – Te Kuiti – Auckland – Kerikeri – Cape Reinga – Auckland – Tokaanu – Otaki – Wellington – Motueka
Thelma & Louise would be proud of us. In a world that is still dominated by patriarchal capitalist empire, 2 Women went on an adventure, to wake up to their own culture outside of patriarchy – an Archan culture. Staying with friends, village weaving along the way. They succeeded, they failed. They honoured their own and encountered their incompetencies. They did not kill and they did not get killed. They live to tell the tale of their journey:
Part 1: Julia
The Dignity Women’s Bridgehouse was over. What next?
I needed to go up North to clean up my mess – move out of the place I had lived in before, now that it had become clear that staying there was a fantasy. Waking up is not pretty. It causes me to face consequences that are uncomfortable. Maybe this is why many people rather stay asleep?
Without waking up, life is but an illusion, however. The consequences may be uncomfortable, yet they are an absolute necessity to be in Integrity with life, in Integrity with reality.
Annika said: “I come too. It is my job to be by your side as you clean up your mess. And I need to meet one or two Maori Women on the North Island.”
We set sail on the 4th December – on the Interislander ferry from Picton to Wellington. Annika, Julia and Kawa the Kelpie. On the ferry, the waves were high. A cold Southerly blew from the Antarctic.
Our plan to camp somewhere North of Wellington seemed not so pretty all of a sudden. As we drove off the ferry, we sent some messages to friends in Wellington: “Would you like to host two radically alive Women for one night?” That was at 6pm.
We drove off the ferry and got to the junction – turn right to drive out of the city, or turn left to drive into the city? I wanted to head out of the city. Annika said her Box wanted to head into the city so she could have coffee in Wellington in the morning.
I asked her: “What if it wasn’t your Box that wanted to turn left?” She paused. “Yes, actually I am hungry now, and there is this place that I didn’t allow myself in the past to eat in because my Box thought it was too expensive.” So we turned left and drove into Wellington.
We found the restaurant. It wasn’t what Annika had memorised, but it still served a good Vietnamese soup. Mid-way through our meal, a friend invited us to stay at her place in Wellington. And so we did. It was wonderful to connect with her after a long time. We chatted over tea, got to know her housemates and the apple tree, and had a coffee in town the next morning – with inspiring conversations and Being appreciation.
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