I arrived back in Manchester on January 15th after travelling for what seemed like five million days from Brisbane. I’ve been recovering and becoming extremely unmotivated again since.
I had so much fun in New Zealand. Sadly, the weather sucked most of the time (at least it was warmer than 15C, none of this crazy European weatherness) and somehow everything had become much more expensive than I remember when I left in 2001. Highlights include:
- Standing on the balcony of the hotel in Dubai and seeing two Arabs
riding camels down the beach
- Seeing my family and friends again, of course!
- Hearing my 3½-year-old neice whom I haven’t seen since
September 2001 tell me she hasn’t seen much of me and how she missed me
- Chasing sheep and taking photos of them on Te Mata Peak in Hawkes Bay
- Abseiling down a 150ft glowworm-filled chasm at night
- Shopping on Cuba St
- Going to great Wellington cafes
- Going to bars and no one smoking inside
- Playing Counter-Strike with some friends in Auckland at an internet cafe with nothing but Asians and hearing them all swearing in another language, in central Auckland!
- Eating loads of St Pierre’s sushi
- Sleeping in my old bed
We spent 3 night in Dubai on our way over there. The weather wasn’t very good for December, but it was still better than Manchester. We didn’t really do much because we were tired and being lazy. We spent hours at the beach building a big sandcastle with a giant moat going out to the sea. We went into town one day and had a look around. It was just like being in America, except with Arabs and Indians. Every chain store you can imagine was in the mall we went to. I didn’t see too many women in burkas, and it was quite weird. I expected more differences.
We left Dubai and arrived in Wellington about 20 hours later. It was pretty overwhelming seeing all my family again, but it was nice. We stayed at my parents’ house, where I received a constant supply of tea from my mother and cuddles from my first cat, Gidget, whom I received as my 16th birthday present from my first boyfriend. I had a great Christmas with my family, and got to see loads of my old friends. We went into Wellington-town as often as we could, going to lots of cafes, the movies, shopping at the store I’ve missed, spending way too much money! Eating out was more expensive than I remember, as were housing prices, God lord, but most things hadn’t changed too much. It was great being back home.
After Boxing Day, we set off with my parents in a van to travel to a few cities in the North Island. Our first stop was Napier for two nights camping. Luckily the weather was pretty good in Hawkes Bay, as per usual. We went to Havelock North one day and went up Te Mata Peak, which I love going up. We went to the Napier museum and read all about the massive earthquake in the 1931 that leveled the city. Again, we went to some nice cafes. God, I have missed the whole cafe thing.
Our next stop was Rotorua for two nights. On our way from Napier it started raining really bad. It didn’t clear up by the time we got to Rotorua so we ended up staying in an overly expensive hotel in the city centre. Rotorua stinks! It also turned all my silver jewelry absolutely black. It continued to rain the entire time we were there. We didn’t manage to really do anything much. We went to the Greenstone Factory and both bought really beautiful New Zealand pounamu pendants carved by guys in Rotorua. I’ve worn mine almost every single day since I bought it. Luckily for us, when we got up on the morning we were leaving Rotorua, it decided to clear up. We quickly drove to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland and walked around steaming mineral pools, blurping mud pits, and bright lime green lakes.
Our last stop was Waitomo. We stayed there for another two nights, and stayed at a bed & breakfast called Big Bird B&B. We had our own cottage in the middle of farmland. The cottage was all pioneer stylee, but comfie. It was New Year’s Eve the day we arrived, but after driving for hours I was exhausted. I went to bed at 10:30pm because I was tired. What. A. Nana. No matter, it was raining anyway. The next day, it rained again! We did our abseiling through a company called Cave World the next evening. We did two runs down the 150ft drop – one during the day and one when it got dark to see the glowworms. It was raining but the trees gave quite a bit of protection from the wet. The hardest bit of the whole thing was the 150ft climb up slippery wet ladders in the dark. Damn, it was the one of the most awesome thing I have ever done. There were thousands and thousands of glowworms – everywhere you looked. It was beautiful.
On our way back to Wellington, we stopped off in Palmerston North for a little family reunion. It was so weird seeing all my extended family again, especially seeing how my two cousins on that side are married or engaged now. Everyone is getting old. I was going to catch up with some of my aunts and uncles in Auckland but I was busy and didn’t get a chance to. I should email them. It was a total family overload, especially seeing how I hadn’t seen my parents in about four years, let along random uncles and aunts I hadn’t seen in about 10. My brain!
It didn’t seem like we were in Wellington for very long before we had to leave. I went out for dinner and drinks on the 7th of January to say hi-bye to my friends. I saw so many people, and loads I wasn’t expecting to as well. People just kept popping up. Before I knew it, we were on a plane to Auckland. It never gets any easier to leave. I bawled like a baby on the plane.
We stayed in Auckland for three nights. It was a friend’s birthday and she was hosting some death metal gig at some weird old man’s pub. I went and crashed it to say happy birthday and to get my drink spilled on me by crazy dudes in some invisible yet obvious mosh pit. All I really did in Auckland was catch with old friends, walk around and look at shops, drink coffee, and eat sushi. The weather was nice which was a change from the shitty weather we endured the majority of the trip. I really didn’t want to leave. P decided he really loved Auckland and wants to move there. I still liked Wellington, but it really did feel small after living in cities the size of the entire country for the past few years.
After we left Auckland, we stopped over in Brisbane for three nights. The weather was incredibly hot and humid, almost unbearable. I thought Brisbane was a weird city – it didn’t feel like it had any soul, just a city. It was quite nice though, very clean, great city centre free bus, some good food places, just not really for me. The man-made beach by the river was very, very odd. It smelt like chlorine. With sand. After three very relaxing nights, we got on a plane for a series of godawful flights back to Manchester. I don’t know why I thought three 7-hour flights in a row was a good idea, because I’m telling you right now, it’s not. By the time I got off the plane in Manchester, my tailbone was so unbearably sore it was halfway numb and I was deliriously tired. I can never do that again!
It’s was nice to be back, but sad to leave New Zealand. I managed to catch my first ever snowfall the first week I arrived back in Manchester. The weather hasn’t been too bad. And I’ve been getting used to using my beloved duty-free Nikon D70. I need some practice with all these buttons and knobs.
P.S. Merry Christmas and happy New Year!
