Koru

Koru (pronounced "kor-roo") is a Māori word meaning "loop" or "coil," representing a spiral shape from a newly unfurling silver fern frond, symbolizing new life, growth, strength, peace, and continuous change, and is central to Maori art and culture. It also signifies new beginnings, harmony, and the cycle of life.

Ever since we moved back to US in 2016 after our life in New Zealand, we have been thinking about the time we spent traveling around NZ in our campervan. Hannah has since then been researching on what campervan and options we can get, and after a long going to-and-fro between having a campervan and a tow-behind camper trailer, we were going to make a decision between two teardrop RV -NuCamp and Vistabule. The reason for the teardrop is because we didn't really want nor need a huge trailer, and having a small teardrop to replace our tent camping seems like a very good idea! We rented a NuCamp a few years ago, and although we liked it, I think both of us decided that the Vistabule is for us.

Fast forward 9 years later, an opportunity presented itself! There was a "sale" at Vistabule, and they also launched a financing option, and furthermore, they are very close to making the 1000th unit! So, after a quick deliberation, we went ahead and placed our order for a Vistabule.

The rationale is that 1)we have been spending too much cost doing AirBnB every time we traveled to FL for cave diving; 2)the Vistabule will make use get out more often (camping, enjoying nature, relax); 3) getting up from a Vistabule is definitely easier on us after a long run (we are using this as a motivation to start our ultra-race again).

The company is super responsive, and we were kept updated at every stage of assembling our Vistabule. An on September 24, 2025, we drove to Minnesota (Vistabule factory) to pick up Koru (Vistabule #969). We were super excited, with me having a tint of nervousness because I don't really have tons of experience with driving a trailer. Trust me - I have learnt all I can from YouTube videos on how to reverse a trailer :) 

Our first night was spent near the factory to ensure that we can get help from them if needed. All's well, and the next day, we were en-route back to Kansas. Driving was relatively easy, without really too much differences in terms of gas consumption, but reverse is DEFINITELY something I need to get some experience in. I was really glad that there wasn't really too many people watching me when I was trying to reverse out of the tight space after filling the butane cylinder - well, it ended well with the butane-filling guy reversing it out for me!

Meanwhile, Hannah and I are excited about new beginnings with Koru. Keep an eye out for our new adventures.