Skip to main content

haere ra homeland


Its hard to say good bye to all your family and friends when the next seven months are simply unknown and the next time I will see them again an uncertainty.

Today I have a flight booked to Singapore via Melbourne and no formal itinerary – I’ve been meaning to make a plan but the comforts of home and the entertainment of my nephew and nieces has been more than enough to distract me over the past couple of months.
I have neglected to blog much during this time as I wanted to spend time with my family and enjoying their company. And I have been fortunate to achieve this thanks to my sisters Stephanie and Fiona and their other halves sharing so kindly and Mum being generous with her time as well.

The highlights of my visit to the South have been
with the bride Megan at her wedding
  • Chris & Jodie's wedding catching up with several friends from school and abroad and finally travelling through  Southern Lakes district home to Gore with my old school chum.
  • My besty from school & London days Megan and Kyles wedding where I was fortunate to be a bridesmaid, and made my best attempts not to embarrass Moo with my speech. We had a fabulous relaxed day in a cold howling winds in the gardens at the Hideaway in Winton and enjoyed delicious food and bubbles with friends. The Parents table (being the parents of the bridal party) were the most raucous – knowing they didn’t have babies to wake up to the next morning. And a good time was had by all. Not to mention the Bride looked stunning! Thanks again to the Hewlett's for inviting me to share their  weekend of celebrations. It was very special to me.
  • Attempting to make sandcastles in Riverton right at the bottom of the South Island with my nephew Josh and sister Stephanie when Summer sprung. Including Lunch with my favourite Aunt and Uncle overlooking the seaside from their dinner table.
  • Visits to Invercargill to get my travel shots brightened by my nieces giving me cuddles and reading books.
  • A few days in Dunedin visiting old haunts and spending some QT with my Hana.
  • Sophie’s Date afternoon on her last day of school including a visit to the Tuataras the closest living thing to a dinosaur (and spotting Sophie’s mate for birth – Harold), ladies afternoon tea, a twirl around the Museum including learning about Anne Frank and baking Christmas shaped cookies.
  • A night on the tiles in Gore with Carmel – who knew we could keep going til 3am and not be kicked out of every pub!
  • Eating regularly with my girlfriends from school. Seeing their growing lovely families and enjoying friendships that don't fade with time and distance.  
  • Nellie natters of an evening. Over a cheeky vino and experimental cooking….or some of Nellie's finest vegie patch delights, whilst admiring her lush floral gardens. Mum your the best!
  • And now finally farewelling my girlfriends in Auckland. Thanks to Nikki and Shane for their hospitality. I hope to be home in December to celebrate your nuptials! May the employment gods be on our side!


Riverton Beach to themselves - Josh & Stephanie
Falling in love again with my 3 favourite people;
Sophie Sausage, Monkey Emily and Josh the Dino

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My My Myanmar

I have been touched, pinched, squeezed and had my back rubbed as I was sick. Myanmar is one phenomenal place which I have so much hope for. Hope for democracy, hope for development and hope for conservation, all in a gradual process without losing its authenticity. I have felt safe, with my large amounts of cash (remember no ATM’s so budgeting became a real past time of all travellers not just the “budget” ones) and in pilgrimaging crowds, in villages and on rickety hill top roads, travelling solo or in a crowd. Not once did I fear for my personal safety or that of my belongings. I had to stop myself on the first day from being so travel weary and closed. I had to trust. I had to open up and Myanmar may well have taught me one of my greatest lessons on my Big Adventure. captive in Myanmar There were moments of democratic desire, like an aged village monk carrying a bamboo log who stopped me to ask “Do you know Aung San?” to which I replied quietly knowing it was a very c...
6 comments
Read more

Hills of His Holiness

The state of Himachal Pradesh is one of mountains and rivers, winding roads and toy trains. Here are a few of the famous tourist highlights I enjoyed between 10 hour bus journeys! Shimla Famed as one of the great Raj Era Hill Stations where ladies of the Raj spent monsoon summers sheltering from the heat, I had to see this. In my experience this is anything but a shelter from the heat! On arrival you are deposited in a new bus station 8 km from the town forcing you to use either the public bus (R10) or a  taxi (R250) neither takes you to the top of town or even close to a hotel. So I opted for the R10 bus. They deposited me at the bottom of the hill. Porters were waiting at the bottom but how hard could it be? Hard. I walked for 3 hours in the hot sun with my 20+kg trying to find a nice clean hotel room, eventually ending up on the ground floor of Spars Lodge. You can’t open the windows due to monkeys so the task of finding a room in Indian summer season is hard. Really th...
2 comments
Read more

The day I saw the Polish countryside

After taking a night stop off in Warsaw to ensure I got a speed train for 3 hours to Krakow I was directed to platform 3. I got on and 6 hours later I am still not in Krakow. But I have had the privilege to see the beauty of the Polish countryside. It’s lush and green. The sun is shining and my mood has lifted along with it despite missing a day in a city I have been fascinated by since my early days in London.  The rail roads are simple and the trains and the children squealing out the windows remind me of Hollywood films depicting happy children departing for respite from the war.  Again I have been a cabin this time with the same space as yesterday but with 4 seats each side. No-one deared speak to me today! The farms are orderly and attempts at growing hay in the wettest summer the Poles have seen in years are well underway. It seems simple here and its definitely very appealing. I can see why my Polish friends speak so happily of life in Poland. Or maybe it’s the news ...
2 comments
Read more