Michael

Every day at work our inboxes flood with emails about the Milford Track - what's the track like, how much does it cost, are there any places available, etc. - so the day I looked at Michael's email, I figured it would another one of those.  He was asking about availability on the Milford Track, he was coming to New Zealand in February with his girlfriend, he really wanted to walk the track because...his mom just died?  And it was her dream to walk it, which she finally did last year and died a few months later?  This was no longer one of those emails.  I sent him our standard letter about what to do if the Milford Track is full, because it always is, and added a little bit of sympathy for the loss of his mom.  He wrote back, entreating us again to help out in any way that we could, and even included a picture of his mom on the track and how happy she was to be there - he wanted to spread some of her ashes along the track because he felt it was a place her soul could truly rest in peace.

Well, my hands were tied.  The track was full and that was that.  I advised him again to keep checking the website, keep his plans flexible to take advantage of any spots that might come open, keep checking the website, and did I mention keep checking the website?  I felt badly not being able to do anything, and I wasn't honestly sure how good of a chance he had of finding two empty spots on the days he wanted.

Turns out he took my advice to heart and was able to jump on the opportunity when two spots did in fact open up right in the time frame he'd asked about.  He wrote me (us) an email letting me know that he'd actually been able to book the track for himself and his girlfriend - and this happened the day after his birthday..."must've been a birthday gift from my mom," he said.  He was very grateful for the chance to walk the track and the help I'd given him in getting there, and "just wanted to remind me of his story."  Well if that wasn't enough to half make me tear up at the counter, and even more so explaining my jump for joy to my coworkers.  I ended up sharing his story with all the visitor center girls, because it's nice to have positive feedback and have such an example of how people appreciate what we do and where we live.  It's so nice, in fact, that I wanted to share it with you all too, if nothing else so that you can walk away from reading this with a little smile on your face and in your heart.  With all the pain and negative in this world, it's nice to have little reminders that joy and positive happens too.

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On that note, I'm off for a couple days for an overnight kayak trip in Doubtful Sound.  I'm really looking forward to a weekend away, paddling in another new, beautiful place and spending a night sleeping on the ground outside.  I expect to come back in two days' time refreshed, and probably a bit soggy, given the rain in the forecast.  Until then...toodle-oo!