When we travelled the North Island of New Zealand last March we were so fortunate to have a chance to add a side trip to Great Barrier Island to our itinerary. Great Barrier Island is a 4.5 hour ferry ride away from Auckland and is gorgeous and pretty much off the grid. It's a large island but is really remote and quite out of the way.
The island is home to around 1,000 people and runs completely off solar, rainwater and propane for cooking. When you come from the city as I do it's hard to fathom how that would work but the reality is that it does and incredibly well at that. We had a chance to get out and do some fishing and did the ocean ever provide.
We caught tons of fish one day and what wasn't eaten was smoked and stored for a later meal. It's amazing how much smarter people are with resources and how incredibly wasteful life in the city feels after spending time there.
It's a total shared economy on the island and everybody helps each other out. Our host had lent some gear to a buddy and when we came home one day this guy was waiting in the sink for us.
You really make an effort to conserve water and power so it's there when you really need it. The awareness that comes when you put on your headlamp when it's dark outside is huge. You really respect the resources when you get a chance to live with them firsthand in this fashion instead of being in the city and flipping a switch to turn on the lights. What's really cool is the contrast of having all the amenities there as you do in a city, just in a more controlled aware fashion.
It's an incredible opportunity to get a chance to really experience life this way and it forever changes the way you look at things. You walk away from the experience knowing that it really is possible and workable to live off the grid and make it work. When you're just in the city it's hard to see how that could actually work. Couple that with a stunningly beautiful island backdrop and you've got a winning combination. If you have the chance to visit Great Barrier Island definitely go!
You'll be able to see stars for miles at night, obviously ambient city light isn't an issue and it's absolutely breathtaking!
Looking back at these photos makes me want to leave the city right now! Has anyone here been able to create an off the grid lifestyle? What an incredible way to live, so beautiful!