Somewhere around my 40th birthday, my body and I stopped being on the same team.
Between deadlines, errands, and trying to remember why I walked into a room, activities that used to be fun started sounding like a commitment I didn’t have time for.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t do things. I just couldn’t afford to get hurt doing them.
I started approaching physical activity the way people approach financial investments. Is this really worth the risk?
Sure, rock climbing sounds fun. But have we considered sitting? Sitting has a proven track record.
AND THAT, I THINK, IS HOW IT HAPPENS
You don’t wake up one day and decide to stop being active. Life just gets in the way.
The calendar fills up – and speeds up – and suddenly, things you used to look forward to become things you’ll “get back into one of these days.” Lies.
It’s not intentional. It’s just what happens.
And after enough years of that, it’s easy to forget that there’s still a part of you that likes being out of breath every once in a while.
It’s the part that enjoys being sore for a good reason – not because you dared to sleep on a hotel pillow for one night.
THE SWEET SPOT
That’s what I really appreciate about these Roam by Tauck journeys. They don’t ask you to summit Everest or run an ultramarathon.
They simply give you the time and the opportunity to do things that rarely make it onto the calendar anymore.
To move.
To break a sweat.
To feel alive again.
To spend a few hours doing something other than staring at a screen (speaking of… you should definitely check out Ann’s digital detox story).
And the beauty is, you get to choose what that looks like.
On the New Zealand: North & South itinerary, it could mean trekking a stretch of the Queen Charlotte Track, one of the country’s most celebrated coastal trails.
It could mean kayaking through Marlborough Sounds, exploring secluded coves and forested shorelines inaccessible by road.
Or it could mean casting a line into trout-rich waters near Taupō with an expert guide beside you – before returning to Huka Lodge for dinner.
None of these things are about setting world records. But they’re not passive either. They ask something of you.
The climb to a ridgeline view. Paddling farther than you expected. Covering more ground than you would back home.
The kind of active experiences that remind you a vacation doesn’t always have to mean slowing down. Sometimes it means finally having the freedom to speed up a little.
And the rewards tend to be pretty great.
After a morning trek, lunch tastes better. After an afternoon in a kayak, the view from your veranda feels even more view-y. And after a day on the river, the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc feels a little more deserved.
Not because you suffered for it. Because you earned it.
FINALLY GETTING BACK INTO IT
Life has a habit of crowding out the things that make us feel most alive.
The hike. The paddle. The long walk with no destination.
But these journeys are designed to make room for those things again.
And somewhere between the trail, the kayak, and the glass of wine waiting for you back at the lodge, you remember something.
You never really stopped enjoying these things.
You just stopped having time for them.
And honestly, that’s a damn good reason to stop putting them off.
Even if you need to stretch first these days.
