Before leaving, I made sure I reserved time to visit people and take in as much of Aotearoa as possible. It started off with a walk up the bush out the back of my parents’ property. After living there five years, I still hadn’t tramped to the top of the ridge and seen the views of Auckland and Rangitoto. One Sunday morning, when I was up north visiting Mum and Dad, I requested a walk up the ridge! It took us two hours to get up there, and just 45 minutes to get back down! It was lovely to appreciate another thing on the backdoor step!
The week after, a party had been organised by the likes of my mum, dad and myself. With an oil drum converted to a fire, a gazebo borrowed from a wonderful contact at work, two barbeques creating vegetarian and meaty meals and party games to get people talking and keep them entertained, we had a pretty awesome night. The first half seemed to be the families with children, who we kept busy with a treasure hunt and a drink in hand (fizzy for the kids!). At around 8 o’clock, there seemed to be a swap over and some friends, who had been working or play sports, came to relax in front of the fire with a beer and burger in hand. It was a glorious night, wrapped up in blankets with whiskey in our glasses, fire at our feet and a sky splattered with stars overhead.
With trips to Leigh, Goat Island, Omaha and other local hotspots, I felt satisfied that it was exactly where I liked to be. It’s strange; my attraction to New Zealand is the total opposite to England. England I love for its land that has been worn by history and rich with culture, New Zealand for its diverse beauty and tranquillity. After living in Italy for a year, I predict I will love it there for completely different reasons!
After the party, I had set time aside to meet whoever I could arrange to see in the time I had left. It turned into shopping trips, coffees, lunches, dinners and drinks at the local. It was wonderful to catch up on a one to one basis with people I hadn’t seen in days, months and even years. I met the lovely ladies from Montessori and had a lovely day shopping and spending money, they encouraged me to get something kiwi to take back with me. So we agreed on an All Blacks shirt, which I might have to selective about wearing (Yes I did zip up my jumper a little so that the Welsh rugby boys at the park wouldn’t give me the glare!).
As the weekend went on, Dad and I entertained ourselves by doing the rounds to people around Auckland. We drove to Waipu on Good Friday and saw the countless Minis driving the ‘Goodbye Pork Pie’ route through New Zealand (a classic kiwi movie about a guy driving a mini from the tip of the north island to Bluff in the South Island, which seems quite irrelevant in this here story…but thought it would be a good detail to add!). What was so lovely about the week before I left is that I realised just how many people in New Zealand had affected my life, warmed my heart with their care and friendship. My greatest fear leaving New Zealand is that I would lose all connections that I have built over the years. A few friends laughed at the thought, however having left a country before, I know how hard it can be to keep in contact with people over the years. I think I have come to the agreement in my mind, that if the friendship crumbles away, it was for a reason. It had its time and if it was meant to be, then the friendship would have continued. If for some reason things fall apart with friends, I can be glad that I have some fantastic memories. Yet, I am not wishing any friendships away! With fingers and toes crossed, I am hoping that these special people will be in my life for more than just a season.
Over the weekend, I sent out a text to a couple of people I met a few years ago on a course of ‘transformation’! As the westie crew, we met up regularly after the course and guided each other through some huge hurdles in our lives. Having only seen these guys once over the last year and a half, you may think it quite odd to have requested to have a drink with them before leaving! Yet, they both had a huge impact on my life in totally different ways, and strangely for the lack of time that we spend together, they know me as well as my mother does! They know my flaws and how I handle life. I thank them, one for making the commitment to catch me for one last drink and the other for driving up to visit at the house and pick feijoas!
I also saw my good friend Roshni the week before I left. It has to be said that Roshni and I are like chalk and cheese, I’m a country girl, she’s a true city chick, however when we get gossiping or talking about life, we understand one another. Over the last year, I’ve turned into a Nanna, denying many opportunities to let loose on the town with Roshni, due to the recovery time during the week! In many ways our lives started to branch apart, and it was very hard to accept it after being so close knit during university years. That Monday we met up, it was so fantastic to share and talk again. I had missed it, and I am so glad we found the time and created the opportunity to sit down for hours in the café and then do what we do best! Threading…ouch! It was our tradition which had to be lived one more time before leaving. It was our time to chat with our surrogate foreign Mum in the hairdressers, who has looked after our hairiness and listened to our boyfriend trouble for at least two years now! It started to hit home what I was doing when I saw my friend in tears as I gave her one last hug. We knew it wouldn’t be goodbye forever as I think she’ll need someone to stay with and help her shop for shoes and handbags in Milan when she visits Italy!
Easter Monday rocked around, and we had arranged to have a drink at the local pub. There I was going to meet a couple of the girls from the ice cream café that I worked in for…oh dear…4 years on and off? Plus my old flatmate and fiancé met us there. Having so many separate memories with each of them it was funny bringing them together over a drink!
Elyse from the café, started out being one of the younger girls who worked after school and weekends. We spent many working days together and a few slaving summers in the heat of the kitchen. Working in that café could drive you crazy. With some of the summer days came queues of people out the door from 9.30am to 9.30pm when we had to force the doors shut. It was an amazing experience, however working so closely with the crew for a good 10 hour day came with the price of hostility, madness and sudden outbursts of anger (either at customers, food or the team). Elyse and I have remained friends ever since. Those days we spent in close proximity allowed us to communicate and understand each other in a way that is very unique. That wasn’t the last time I saw Elyse though, on the afternoon before I left, we took a drive out to Omaha as the clouds had cleared the sun had started to peep through. Once we got there, we admired such a glorious day. It felt like summer again! The sun was beaming, the waves rolling onto the beach with a handful of surfers gazing into the distant ocean. As we walked up the beach we splashed our feet and took in the sheer beauty. I said to Elyse that after a week of rain, it decided to brighten up for my last afternoon in the country as if to say ‘Here look, this is what you’ll be missing out on!’
My old flatmate from last year must have been crazy to live with me. Although after a few questionable evenings I came to the conclusion we’re both as odd as each other! If it wasn’t for Jordan last year, I have no idea how I could have handled such a turbulent year. Like a brother, when I arrived home from a hard day, he made me a cup of tea and nodded carefully when I poured all my ‘problems’ out. It was lovely to witness, after a few wrong turns, him falling head over heels with such a fantastic girl. With a fair few memories of the two of them, there is no way I can forget such a house and flatmate!
Love and miss you NZ x
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