By Philip Duncan

15 American states in 15 days, spending the night in 11 different time zones and driving literally thousands of kilometres. I’ve had an amazing opportunity to see plenty of America and Canada over the past four weeks…

From the Nevada desert at sunset, to the Colorado mountains on a blue sky day. A 28 degree day on the world’s largest grass covered desert (Nebraska) to the spectacular fall foliage across Kentucky, New York and Boston. A near record breaking day of heat in Toronto to snow in Whistler, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

I’ve seen so much scenery my brain simply can’t recall it all. But you know what? Despite all of that wonderful scenery, New Zealand easily beats it all hands down.

The scenery in New Zealand is so rich. And I use the word rich for a reason. The colours are so much deeper and brilliant here…more vibrant. In Colorado and Nebraska the grass was almost a grey/brown colour…very similar to what we sometimes see in regions such as Marlborough or Canterbury during a severe drought. While the Autumn leaves were spectacular, like nothing I’ve seen before in New Zealand, the sky was a dull blue…pollution just kills the colour of the sky across much of North America.

It wasn’t until I arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, that I saw richness in everything around me and the sky was a truly rich blue – but that was when I saw it. The near non-stop rain added a dullness.

We often complain about the weather here in New Zealand – I think it’s something we’re born with as kiwis, to never truly be happy with the weather (trust me, I get your emails!). But for those who haven’t left our shores believe me when I say what we have here is simply paradise. It’s the perfect mix of not too hot and not too cold. The perfect mix of rain and sun. The perfect mix of mountains and flats, forests and farms. Not to mention we don’t have bears, snakes and skunks.

I appreciated every second I had overseas… it was wonderful to see the many lovely people and the different ways that nature creates itself over and over again. Experiencing weather extremes that we don’t get in New Zealand was fun too, but I appreciate that while snow is fun for a visitor it can be a drag when you live in it.

Soon I will create a photo gallery, compiling all my best weather/scenery photos. Hopefully I’ll have the link ready within the next week.

It’s great to be home…what a lovely time of year to return…spring in full swing and summer’s approaching footsteps can now be faintly heard.