I was fortunate to have nomadic parents, who despite having three young children, were not fazed by change nor a challenge. We lived on Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf for a chunk of my childhood with no electricity and no school nearby. 

It was up at dawn for Correspondence School studies on foldaway desks, and fishing in the afternoon for the evening’s tea.

We enjoyed the delights of battery powered National Radio (seriously) on Sunday mornings and gleefully quoted random passages of Bad Jelly the Witch and The Goon Show.  Not quite 'The Simpsons' but in the absence of television, it seemed to do the trick and at least keep us quiet for an hour or two. 

I had learnt how to play 500 by kerosene light by the age of 6, hand wrung the wet washing through a manual hand-fed roller, and befriended stray wallabies.  We grew our own veges, built huts, and clambered through thick bush just ‘for fun’. 

Life was pretty simple. Although it sounds like something our great-greats would have done, this was a lifestyle of choice. My folks were just 'modern day romantic hippies' I suppose.

As a grown-up (I guess I can call myself one now), every available weekend I still enjoy the outdoors and on an adventure.  It’s a time to join friends in thought-provoking chats side-by-side as we clamber up muddy banks, solve a few of the world’s problems as our feet dangle off a wharf, and laugh a lot.

But is the Explorer gene part of your DNA or can it just rub off on you through exposure?  Possibly both.  We may all be explorers in our own right, just some may look more inward and some more outward for inspiration.  (Thanks Simon, I'll steal that frame of thought).

Either way, exposing yourself to the beauty of the ‘simple things in life’ including all that New Zealand has to offer, goes a long way to ignite a spark.  It is good for the mind, great for the body and is available to us all for free. 

If you are stuck on the sofa and in need of some inspiration, be sure to filter a range of activities on the Home Page. Life is for living, so get out there and discover something new. You never know, you may just get hooked.