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Kia Ora everyone from New Zealand!!!!
Well, what a flash the last 2 weeks have been!!!! I cannot believe that I am 3 days away from the end of my New Zealand trip already :-(
But what I have to say is what a beautiful, friendly and exciting country. As soon as my plane touched down in Auckland 2 weeks ago I knew I would like this place!! The airport had such a nice feel and everyone I asked for directions (there were a few!!!) were so kind and helpful! I headed straight over to the domestic terminal and checked in for my 50 minute flight down to Wanganui where my family live. And what an interesting flight it was!!! I was waiting in a tiny lounge, and I must admit when it got to 15 minutes before departure time and we were still sat there I was getting a little restless!! However, 5 minutes later we were called for the flight and walked staright out onto the tarmac (no scanners, passports, liquid checks or anything!!) and shown to a tiny plane. I had never been in anything like it before- just 15 seats!!! and they weren't even all full!!!!!! Walking past as I boarded I caught a glimpse of my backpack in the tiny luggage hold- always reassuring after my journey over to Fiji!!! It was quite an amazing little flight, there were no screens between the passnegers and flight cockpit and we were flying at an altitude low enough to have some great views of the North Island. 50 minutes later we landed (barely even time to open my book!!!) and I saw out of the window my family waiting for me on the run way!! We got off the plane and I just walked straight to them, no checks, arrivals lounge or luggage carousel in sight!!! The bags were taken off and put on a trolley (all 8 of them!!) and we just went straight to pick them off- a total of about 10 minutes and we were off in the car, the shortest time I have ever spent clearing arrivals that's for sure!!!!
So I was excited about staying with my family, Mike, my dad's cousin and my nan's nephew and his wife Virginia. I must admit during my 50 minute flight I started to feel a little apprehensive as I realised I hadn't seen them since I was 10 years old, and bridesmaid at their daughter's wedding!! But as soon as I saw them waiting on the run way I felt fine and back to being excited about seeing them and catching up after such a long time. Luckily they also recognised me- although hopefully I have changed slightly!!!! And soon we headed off back to their home in Wanganui.
I settled in very quickly to my new home for the next 2 weeks and had a lovely evening meal with them while we caught up on the last 12 years!!! And the next morning I started to feel as though I had returned to civilisation again!!! It was amazing......... hot water, a warm wahing machine, fresh milk (yes I had spent the last 9 weeks drinking UHT!!) and internet which I could use anytime of day for free!! I was living in luxury!!!! That morning we went into town and I had a bar of Dairy Milk and when walking past a hairdressers window I actually caught sight of a pair of ghds!!!!!!! Then to top it off I went clothes shopping, and my iphone worked again!!!!!! It was amazing how much I was appreciating these things which to be honest I barely even thought twice about before.
So we have had a fun packed and very enjoyable 2 weeks. I have loved seeing the beautiful countryside, rolling hills and picturesque landscapes. And I find it amazing that just on the North Island alone you can go from rainforest bush, to snow capped mountains, to gorgrous beaches, bustling cities and rurual countryside all in a few hours of driving. And we have managed to tick off all of the above and more!!!
We went for wonderful walks around Virginia Lake and the New Zealand Bush as well as the local town. We also had a wonderful trip to Lake Taupo (the biggest lake in NZ) and a lovely picnic lunch on the bank, on the drive up we saw some of the mountains and also stopped at a thermal reserve where we soaked in natural mineral pools and saw bubbling natural springs and mud pools which were quite amazing. We also visited some fascinating museums and I have learnt an awful lot about the Maori culture which I have found fascinating.
On the middle weekend we headed up to Wellington, New Zealand's capital, and had a wonderful time. We met Mike and Virginia's son who lives there and had a lovely day driving around some of the beautiful bays and seeing great views of the city. In the evening we went to a lovely restaurant on the water and I had my first try of New Zealand Lamb- absolutely beautiful!!!! We then went to the theatre and saw a pantomime!!!!! Robin Hood!! It happened to be opening night, and it was a fantastic evening, very funny and topped off with a lovely walk back through the city at night time. We spent the night in a nice hotel in the city and then spent the next day looking around the New Zealand National Museum- Te Papa which was fascinating before driving back in the early evening.
I also took part on a little adventure tour of my own!!! With a 7:00am start, I headed up the Wanagnui River road with the mail man!!! It is an isolated road with about 100 houses going up it, and the mail man travels up in his 4x4 daily to deliver mail and any number of goods (tobacco and butter that morning) to the isolated inhabitants. As a side line he also takes any willing tourists with him!! So we set off up the winding road (just myself and one other passenger) delivering the mail as we went, along all sorts of dirt tracks and farming areas, following the river as we went. We stopped off (as I had expressed interest) at the only school on the road which had just 18 children from 5 to 12 and 1 teacher!! Talk about a challenge!!! It was a great little place and I was lucky enough to have a look around. The driver gave a great commentry throughout the journey, explaining the community living along the river were mainly Maori's and giving a detailed history of the place. We stopped for a cup of tea at a place called Jerusalem!!! Then headed up to Pipiriki. Here I was boarded onto a jet boat and went for an hours journey up the river!! We then had a 40 minute hike through the bush and arrived at a place called 'The Bridge to Nowhere'! It was a fascinating place, basically a bridge just in the middle of the bush with no roads or any sign of civilisation either side. The guide gave us a detailed history, and then we headed back through the bush, back down the river via jet boat and then back down the river road with the mail man!!! A wonderful, and very different sort of adventure for the day!!!
Now as well as the traditional tourist trips, I have also been put to good use while here!! Virginia works mornings as a Reading Recovery Teacher, and I spent 4 mornings going into school with her- just couldn't resist!!!!! She spends her mornings in 2 schools, both quite small in rural locations, and I was lucky enough to be welcomed in and helped out in both schools!I must admit it was a nice feeling to be back in a more familiar classroom environment than my last couple of months and I jumped at the chance to listen to some readers, work with small groups and generally be useful wherever I could be!!! It was great to learn about their education system and I certainly have a number of ideas to bring back with me!! The teachers were all very friendly and loved to compare notes on schooling systems!! I had a few photos on my camera of school back home and one of the teachers asked to look through- one of the first ones she came to was of my famous Great Fire of London reconstruction!! She was a little shocked and wanted to know all about it!! This was then followed by a picture of the children dressed up in Grease outfits!!! I think she must think we are slightly mad to say the least (or at least I am)!!!!! But at least she saw some creativity!!! On my last morning in school I saw some of the children in the school being taught the Haka which I must say was a nice treat, and quite an experience!!! I loved my time in the schools, and I was very impressed with the work i saw, although I again thought how lucky we are as none of the teachers in the schools have TA's!! They were amazed when I explained what we have!! It made me miss my little class actually, but I certainly have some ideas to bring back and if I didn't already I certainly feel even more appreciative of my wonderful TA!!!
I have to say how nice it has been to spend time with my family over here, I have loved having another connection to my nan's side of the family and hearing all theold stories and scandals!!! We have spent some great evenings playing cards, looking through old photos and watching War and Peace (which i have quite enjoyed actually)!!! I have met a number of their friends, all of which have been lovely and so welcoming. Although I have realised even more what a small world it is, when chatting to one of their friends, originally from Deal, it turned out he had spent 6 months in the early 80's working behind the bar in The Royal Oak, Nonington!!!!!
I feel quite sad to be leaving here tomorrow actually, I have loved my 2 weeks, getting to know my family again after years and exploring the wonderful country, meeting all kinds of interesting people along the way (did I mention the lady who showed me her collection of over 200 cheese dishes???!!!!). However, the next stage of the adventure must go on, so tomorrow I head up to Auckland for 3 days before back to Fiji.
What a wonderful trip to Wanganui, and I am so grateful to my family for having me and making the 2 weeks really special.
Love and miss you all
Sarah xxxxxx
- comments
Tom Langley Looks like you're having an amazing time Sarah! Have to say I'm a tad jealous :)! Sounds so interesting seeing so many places and meeting so many different people!