New Zealand

Wednesday 27th July 2016 – Having found out the previous evening that we needed onward flights out of New Zealand I awoke to find Aaron busily searching online for the best available flights. He was the master mind booking wizard while I went and got freshly baked pastries and drinks to revitalise him. It was like solving a huge jigsaw puzzle as we proceeded to book no less than 5 flights…the final one being our journey back to the UK just before Christmas! Wow…what a mammoth day of booking flights it had been…my head was thumping. Aaron had done a fab job so we celebrated with fish and chips and beer in a local restaurant…yum.

Thursday 28th July 2016 – Today was the big day…finally our flight to New Zealand was upon us. We showered and packed our bags. While I was finishing tidying up Aaron popped out and returned with donuts and fresh coffee for breakfast. Trying to book an Airbnb for Auckland and a small sleeper camper van for our road trip turned out to be more complicated than we thought. The elements were against us…so much red tape and verification was needed…you wouldn’t believe it…so we decided to wait until we arrived in New Zealand to continue our quest. That way we could get a SIM card and hopefully that avenue would make it simpler for us to book things…we hoped! I went out and fed my beloved ‘Ging’ for the last time. He ate his chicken happily and even let me stroke his back today…the only part of him that wasn’t wounded or sore from injuries and infestations…I had become so attached to him and hoped others would be kind and show him some love and affection when I left. I looked at him one last time and turned and left…tears welling up in my eyes. I so wished I didn’t get so attached to the stray animals I met on our adventures…it always breaks my heart to leave them…but leave them I must. My one consolation was that he had a tummy full of chicken as my departing gift. Off we set…the train and bus took us straight to the airport. Once there we ate and waited. Our first flight was to Kuala Lumpur where we would pick up our connecting flight to Auckland, New Zealand! It was a smooth transition and once on our flight destined for Auckland we sat back and dreamt of the adventures we might encounter in the land of the ‘All Blacks’!

Friday 29th July 2016 – Woken abruptly by an air steward we were informed that we would soon be landing in the Gold Coast…Australia!!! We looked at one another…had we accidentally got on or booked the wrong flight? We were supposed to be going to New Zealand…not Australia! Could we possibly be on the wrong flight?!? Still half asleep we asked around. It transpired that there was a stop over for an hour on the Gold Coast and then our flight would continue on to New Zealand…phew…thank goodness…that was a bit unexpected! Landing in Australia it was beautiful, sunny and hot. The beach looked at us invitingly but we were destined for winter time in New Zealand…a totally different prospect to this. After an hour we boarded our plane again. The views coming in to land in Auckland were spectacular. The stunning, rugged coast looked up at us as we soared above ready to land on New Zealand soil for the first time ever. The land my dad loved with all his heart…and here we were…my heart beat faster as we stood on that beloved soil for the first time. Emotion swept through me and my legs felt shaky. I had waited so many years to visit this land…and now I was here…ready to see with my own eyes that which my dad had once seen so many years ago. We made our way through customs and bio security. New Zealand is very strict about protecting its ecosystem…rightly so…so you have to declare any items that might be a risk to indigenous flora and fauna. Once through we got money and a SIM card and jumped on a bus to the city. Talk about chilly…we were shivering after being so used to the warmth of Asia. It was rainy and dark and spookily like being back in the UK…very bizarre. As it was late we checked into the first hostel we saw for the night…X Base Backpackers. I am not exaggerating…it was the worst hostel I have ever had the misfortune of encountering. To me it was a hell hole. Our room was a dorm for 4 people. No windows…just 4 walls. One chap had been living in the room for 3 years! The room was dirty and disgusting with all his stuff everywhere…it looked like it hadn’t been hoovered in years! Gross! We took the two top clean bunks and headed out into town where we ate Dominoes Pizza on a cold bench with cadburys chocolate for dessert…how glamorous. It was freezing. So after looking around town for a short while we returned to the ‘hell hole’, showered and slept…or tried to sleep anyway!

Saturday 30th July 2016 – 8.00am…rise and shine. After a deliciously smooth Starbucks coffee we were picked up by a grumpy taxi driver and taken to our camper van hire company…Spaceships. They were fantastic. Our camper van was called ‘Cluster’ and they gave us so many freebies…our SATNAV…picnic chairs and table…and tons of literature on New Zealand. It was love at first sight for Cluster our camper van. She was fab! After a huge brunch at FuelBurger we headed off northwards to Shakespeare Park and our first camping site. En route we stopped at Pak n Save supermarket and stocked up with food, drinks and petrol. On arrival at our camp you could see the view of Auckland’s cityscape in the distance. Alone, I walked across to the beach to take in the view. I looked around. Every day I think about and miss my dad…but here in New Zealand I could feel his presence so strongly…in every grain of sand…in every blade of grass…and in every drop of water. I could feel him in New Zealand’s heartbeat. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I sank to my knees and touched the earth where my dad might have once stood. Did he stand where I stood right now? I’ll never know…Did he see the Auckland cityscape from where I stood? I’ll never know…Did he look up at the New Zealand stars blinking in the night…again…I’ll never know. My one wish…that my dad was here to show me around his beloved New Zealand…a land he lived for 5 years…a wish that would never come true. I would never know New Zealand through the eyes of my dad. Speechless I turned and melted into Aaron’s arms and I cried…I cried for my dad…for all the years I missed him on this earthly plane…and for all the stories of New Zealand I would never know…