Has it really been twenty five years since I first discovered New Zealand? Yup... I guess it is. Twenty five years ago (you do the math) I took a deferred salary leave for a year and spent five months backpacking from Hawaii to New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. It was a wonderful time with my friend Sheila and it was filled with wonder and awe at the joy of traveling. I never imagined that I would be back here with my family discovering more about this beautiful country and finally working on my tan!!
To be truthful, this is now my third visit to NZ and while much has changed, much has stayed the same. It has been a lot of fun to finally explore this country by car. It gets you to so many more out of the way places. Twenty five years ago Sheila and I took the Greyline bus to various communities and capped off our visit with a great rail ride on the Silver Fern. Ten years ago Bernie and I were the oldies on the Kiwi Experience bus tour. I think I was the only one who did not bungy jump, skydive, or zorb... did I mention that I was in my second trimester of pregnancy?
And this visit... well, this one is special because we are revisiting favourite spots and making new friends in the process. Kerikeri, 90 Mile Beach, Paihia (north of Auckland), Pauanui, Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Beach (Coromandel), and Rotorua (I got to finally milk a cow at the Agrodome) are all places that we have come to love and will want to return to. As well, thanks to Jenn Perez, a co-worker of Bernie's at Parkland School, we have been introduced to some wonderful Kiwis: the Tuhaka family who took us in upon our arrival and made sure that our needs were met, the Shennens (Paul and Sheryl) who fed and watered us and introduced us to L&P and the finer points of living the good life (read retired) in a gorgeous coastal town, and to Karen Barclay, Mike Anderson, and their two daughters Mya and Keisha who had us stay with them on their dairy farm near Te Awamutu as well as their Bach (pronounced Batch) in Raglan, another beautiful beach community. WOW... we have been both enormously blessed and amazed!!
