Traveling alone having made no reservations other than picking up a rental car at the airport can be tricky and in some countries very lonely. Sharing the beauty of the countryside means a lot.   I was lucky. I met a gentleman, also traveling on his own,  while exiting the Aukland Airport Customs Area.  We immediately “hit-it-off.” We began to follow each other’s travels via email. We shared dinner in Aukland.  We took an island hopping tour where we were dropped off on a desolate island to explore...no stores, shops or tour guides.  I never would have ventured this on my own...and it was so beautiful.  Taking a winery tour would have been a disaster alone, but having that temporary partner while sampling New Zealand’s finest crushed grapes proved valuable to get my light-headed happy grin back to the tour bus! And when I discovered what I believed was “the end of the world” in Pahia, he actually took the 4 hour bus ride North from Aukland to witness the beauty and serenity I had found.  Yes, I got lucky on this trip!