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[morayc]

Friday 31st May A holiday postscript

I left you at at Auckland airport, about to board the big plane for the 17-hour, 9000 mile first part of the return journey. Well, there was a hiccup with the boarding! Just as the first class passengers were rising from their seats, an awful racket approached rapidly from the heart of the airport. An in-airport, open-top taxi arrived with much tooting, carrying an overwrought driver, two policeman, an airport official and a woman venting her fury to all and sundry at the top of her raging voice. She was very speedily escorted right through the very gate we were supposed to be heading for. Well, I don’t know what they did with her - perhaps every Airbus 380 has a padded cell to contain miscreants - but we never saw or heard from her again. It unsettled the waiting passengers; there was little said but very many exchanged quizzical looks. However, everything settled and, by the time we boarded, I had forgotten all about it! I was much more concerned about being surrounded by children for 17 enclosed hours. I needn’t have worried, they were all angelic.

I was right about it remaining dark! The whole 17 hours were flown with no possibility of me catching a glimpse of any part of Australia, Indonesia or India but just as we neared Dubai, a flicker of a lightening sky appeared. By the time we flew out again, only an hour or so later. the sun was high in the sky. Did I see any of Europe? Not a thing! I was sitting right over the wing.

The last of eight flights in three weeks returned us to Newcastle - to family and friends we have missed over the last few weeks. It was great to be met by June and Bill who whisked us (well, as fast as the A1 roadworks allowed) home. Since then, it has been a battle to keep my eyes open. I’m hoping to make it to 9pm!

Two happy, weary travellers, glad to have had the chance to do this all again.

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Thursday 30th May

Amazingly, I have caught up with myself! We have had some time to kill in Auckland after the short hop from Napier, so this has been my chance to round off another wonderful New Zealand holiday.

We managed to fit in another cinnamon bun and coffee before we had to pack up and set off for the airport where we took our leave of the Chisholms. The reason for the sunglasses on me and Sheila was to hide the tears!

The sun has set in Auckland and we expect to be in darkness for at least the next 17 hours. But once we reach the Northern hemisphere the summer morning should lighten the skies. We left Napier at 2.15pm Thursday, we hope to arrive in Newcastle 12.05pm Friday, but we’re undertaking a 33 hour journey! Weird, isn’t it!

We’ve been reflecting on the holiday as I tucked into wine and chips prior to getting on a flight that will feed us sumptuously !!

Mistakes we made:

Leaving Raymond’s jeans and trousers somewhere! I’m hoping I left them at home; if not, I have absolutely no idea where they are. The poor lad has had one pair of walking trousers and one pair of jeans to do him for the last 24 days!

I should have filled my cases with winter jumpers. It has been so cold compared to 10 years ago. My two cashmere jumpers have been working overtime and are showing it!

Strangely I have brought far too many pairs of shoes!

Raymond brought far too many books.

Next time, it’s one big case.

Other than these trivial errors, we made one very right decision and that was to come back here after a 7 year gap. They’re calling us now for the Dubai flight. I have to go. See you soon.

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Thursday 30th May

Back to Wednesday….

David snuck away about 6am. Sheila and Rod took him to the airport - their car is on autopilot! When Sheila returned, she and I set off for our last 9 holes of golf with two of her friends - Rowan, I have met several times and have golfed with, and Mary, who is a great golfer but currently has an injury to her forearm which very much resembles Raymond’s. Her injury didn’t stop her showing what she can do. But I was better, not quite in their league, but showing some promise. A little fantail accompanied us.

The glorious weather of the morning gave way to something much grimmer at lunchtime but it was brightened by lunch with Zoë in Hastings. Sheila and I were much amused by our two ageing husbands overlooking a very fitting sign across the road!

Back home to start packing, a final visit from Zoë and Ben, a cauliflower cheese and bacon tea from me and an excellent game of cards. The last full day on New Zealand soil, for now, drew to a close.

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Wednesday 29th May

But back to Tuesday….

Raymond and I walked into the village to visit the lovely, independent bookshop, Waldini’s. It sounds more like an ice cream parlour, but it’s a very well stocked place, full of character and the friendliest staff. But even better, they will exchange books if you’re not happy with the choice, and will allow exchanges anywhere in NZ with an independent bookshop!

We met up with Sheila and Rod for our usual coffee then walked back home. David was preparing for his Wednesday departure by sorting through all the stuff in the attic that Rod had set aside as his - he enjoyed doing that as much any adult child enjoys being burdened with boxes of ancient books and pictures!

The weather was actually warm enough to sit on the verandah for lunch - the first time that’s happened this time round. Ten years ago we were out there every day!

Towards the end of the afternoon I suggested to Sheila that we might stretch our legs by walking up to the dell that we walked through many times on our first visit. So Sheila and I set off about 4.20 - quite late for a winter afternoon. When we got there we found it was closed due to damage in last year’s floods. But we found another way in and we walked the paths I remembered very well until we got to the end where the site is transformed. All the trees have disappeared and there are steep drops where there were once steps. Sheila wasn’t happy. Due to our dilly-dallying, we arrived home in the pitch black. I think David thought some mischief had befallen us!

A short while later, Zoë, Hali and Ben came round for tea - a Thai carry out which was our treat. We had a lovely time, with Hali charming everyone. David played some gorgeous stuff on the guitar to amuse her, but it entertained us all. Soon after they left, we said our goodbyes to David, who was leaving very early in the morning, and retired to bed to give Sheila and Rod some time with their elder son.

Another day was done.

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Tuesday 28th May

So close to our leaving, it’s an emotional time chez Chisholms.

But first, Monday 27th May…

An early alarm this morning, to say goodbye to Jo, Ben and the children and the two delightful au pairs. Sheila and Rod were taking them to the airport, except for Lotta who was heading back to her host family not far from here. Ben was only landing in Auckland briefly before flying on to a conference in Montreal. Flying is like driving for these young people - so different from our younger lives. I’m doing my best to catch up now!

No sooner had Sheila and Rod returned than Hali arrived for a morning of child-minding. Zoë was trying to catch up on the work she had missed out on last week. Coffee is a morning ritual which cannot be omitted, so Hali came with us, of course. That was followed by a quick trip to the playground and a dash back to her house in time for her 12.30 nap. She was a delight throughout and the sound of her very little girl voice chatting coherently all morning was just a treat.

Another nine holes of golf was lined up for the afternoon, this time with David joining us. He was brilliant, and everyone else did a bit better than before. Well, Sheila was doing better until she landed in the bunker at the 8th hole. Sheila has been in several bunkers in the last three weeks, taking five or more shots to get out. This was no exception!

Raymond walked round, rather than risk inflicting more damage on his poorly arm.

Back to the village pub, ‘The Rose and Shamrock‘, for drinks and fries and our day was nearly done. Sheila whipped up a delicious sausage pasta for tea in the blink of an eye, rounded off with my gingerbread and a game of cards.

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Monday 27th May

Back to Sunday…

Sunday morning market for nearly all of us. It meant a bit of a squash in the back seat of Rod’s car with me sandwiched between Lauchie’s enormous car seat and Raymond! I scarcely breathed during the, thankfully short, journeys there and back. But we enjoyed the wander round the market and the guitarist playing was terrific.

The afternoon saw the first departure. Colin was heading back to the UK via Dubai after a very quick five days in Havelock North. We were all sorry to see him go, but no-one more so than Sheila who went to the airport with him. He hopes to see everyone again sometime after Christmas. It is really hard for parents when their children live on the other side of the world no matter what age they are.

It seems young German people like playing cards. Carmen has card-playing evenings with friends back home in Germany. She gave Sheila a new card game for her birthday which some of us spent Sunday afternoon trying to master - in my case, completely unsuccessfully!

The house filled when the wee ones returned from the play park and we all tucked in to Raymond’s lentil soup for tea. Jo and Ben took Lauchie and Alex back to their AirBnB and we continued with the card-playing. Jo returned and we spent the happiest of evenings playing cards. David returned from Wellington and delighted us by by playing a piano accompaniment to our card games. Nothing special happened but it was one of the most relaxed and happy evenings of our whole trip. Everyone was sad when it came to an end.

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Sunday evening - still

Back to Saturday….

Another big day with Jo, Ben and family arriving to continue the birthday celebrations. Jo, the children and Carmen, their German au pair flew in from Auckland and Ben flew up from Christchurch where he had been working. They arrived in warm sunshine and were closely followed by Zoë and family. The initial gathering was to take a group photo of the family but David managed to sneak off to Wellington before that happened!

We gathered in the garden and Carmen took lots of photos, so hopefully Zoë will be able to use some of them to make a permanent record of the gathering of Sheila’s clan for her 70th birthday.

Lauchie and Alex, Jo and Ben’s children, are delightful. Lauchie at 6 is very knowledgeable on many topics and Alex, at 3 1/2 loves Unicorns and Frozen just like every little girl in the world! The cousins don’t meet up very often so Hali was happy to meet two other similarly sized people!

After all the meeting and greeting excitement, some of us headed off to walk the paths of the Peak. Beautiful afternoon.

At the end of the day, seven of us headed to Craggy Range Winery for a celebration meal. David was in Wellington and Zoë didn’t feel up to it, but the seven of us had a great time, and a wonderful meal.

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Sunday 26th May

Gosh, how quickly the days are slipping past. It’s midway through Sunday and we’re about to say goodbye to Colin who is starting the long journey back to London later this afternoon.

Back to Friday ….

We wakened to the news that Will had broken his arm at his trampoline birthday party after only five minutes!

Not a pretty sight first thing in the morning. He was treated promptly, no operation required, but a full-arm cast in place.

The weather here in Hawke’s Bay has dramatically improved. Today we had a lot of sunshine but there was still a chill in the air.

The main activity of the day was 9 holes of golf with Sheila, Rod and Colin. Raymond and I sort of shared a ball, with me playing the lion’s share. I actually hit some good strokes, but the stand-out star was Colin, who was very pleased with his form after a long layoff.

During the evening, Raymond mentioned a little soreness in his right arm following the golf. On closer inspection, it became apparent that there was some kind of muscle tear in his lower arm. Rod wryly observed that they seem determined to send him home from NZ with some injury or another! It doesn’t affect his mobility like the Achilles did, but it looks worse and certainly affects his golf swing!!

So I start and end this bog with unpleasant photos of lower right arms!!

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Thursday 23rd May

Birthdays abounding - Will, Nell, and of course, Sheila. We managed to FaceTime the UK contingent late in our day, early in theirs, and we caught up with Sheila after her early morning dance class.

The day passed by in a whirl of coffees, lunches, presents, eating and piano playing.

We met Sheila after her dance class and went for the obligatory coffee. Lot 2 has delicious pastries. Rod and Raymond opted for Rod’s favourite - a Portuguese tart - while Colin and I shared a cinnamon bun - a magnificent piece of deliciousness. Sheila, poor thing, ended up with a very disappointing gluten free cheese scone!

We were in the house five minutes before we headed out to Birdwood - a regular haunt of ours ten years ago, but unvisited last time. Raymond and I, Sheila, Rod, Colin, David and Zoë met up for a delicious birthday lunch which was our treat. Zoe had left Ben looking after Hali who still has a nasty cough but seems pretty well recovered.

Back home, both David and Sheila played the piano at different times - a total treat. Sheila reads music but David plays instinctively, just like mum did with the dog howling under the piano. So many old memories evoked.

Rod prepared a lovely meal for Sheila’s birthday. Sadly Zoë and family couldn’t be there because Zoë was beginning to feel under the weather, but the six of us tucked into a delicious side of salmon and had my lemon cake as birthday cake.

And so the first part of Sheila’s birthday was completed. More is planned for Saturday. When I walked from Sheila’s house to the sleep-out, I noticed the full moon, which I had photographed earlier, was directly overhead, not a position we ever see it in. This full moon, the Flower Moon, appeared specially on Sheila’s birthday.

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Wednesday 22nd May

The weather was still dodgy but not nearly as bad as forecast. Everyone was pre-birthday busy, but we still managed to squeeze in a morning coffee in one of Sheila’s favourite haunts. On our return, everyone dispersed leaving me to my own devices in the kitchen. It’s so much harder in someone else’s kitchen, but I managed to turn out two gingerbreads and a lemon cake before Sheila got back from the hairdressers. The lemon cake will serve as the birthday cake and the gingerbread has already been significantly diminished! No photos were taken.

Colin is a tall slender young man who obviously keeps himself in peak physical condition. But he is only in New Zealand for just over a week and it seems to be his mission to eat every unhealthy memory from his childhood! Sweets, biscuits, pies - all items rarely seen in this house. Raymond’s ears pricked up at the mention of pies so Colin headed out and returned with armfuls of them. I had hoped we might return leaner and fitter from here, but Raymond has no such ambition.

The boys went out at teatime to Braves Brewery to do a bit of beer tasting. Sheila and Rod visited Hali in hospital and David and I stayed at home by the cosy fire. I deserved a rest after my efforts in the kitchen!

Rod was in the kitchen on Wednesday evening and he prepared delicious fillet steak and chips. A happy way to complete Sheila’s 7th decade.

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Tuesday21st May

Firstly, to those worrying about Hali, the morning brought much better news. She remains in hospital because her oxygen levels haven’t yet fully recovered, but she is much better. (I’m writing this first thing on Wednesday morning and we’re hoping she’ll be out today.)

Back to Tuesday, Sheila and I walked into town and met the boys for coffee. When we were here 7 years ago, Havelock North had 4 cafés - now it has 30! Sheila has her favourites though. The boys headed home and we did a bit of shopping - some wee treats for Hali and a jigsaw for us for the wet weather!

We walked home in torrential rain which continued throughout the day. Rod had gone out again when we got back but he wasn’t gone for long. He returned with Sheila’s second big surprise.

Colin had arrived. I missed the moment of surprise but she squealed with pleasure when she saw him. He had flown in last Saturday and stayed with Jo and family in Auckland until yesterday. Jo even FaceTimed a couple of days ago with Colin hidden from view on the settee beside her!

The rest of the day passed happily. Raymond’s leek and potato soup went down very well at teatime. The news from Zoë was positive although Hali has spent a second night in hospital. Ben, Zoe’s partner, had been meant to be in Wellington yesterday to receive a bravery medal for the rescue work he did last year during the floods but he stayed at the hospital with Zoe rather than travel south.

And so another day down under drew to its close.

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Monday 20th May

A day of ups and downs.

Everyone was up and out early except for me. Raymond was driving a buggy on the golf course with Rod, and Sheila was dancing. I started slowly then walked into town to meet Sheila fo coffee and a bit of shopping. The boys were back by the time we returned. Zoë had phoned earlier to say that Hali wasn’t very well, so Rod popped round with some medication and was gone quite a long time, for a very good reason.

I was heading to the sleep-out when I saw Rod return with Sheila’s first surprise. I about-turned back to the house and Sheila was just coming down the stairs. She greeted Rod and said a polite hello to the man at his side. It took her several seconds to realise she was looking at David, her oldest child!

She really couldn’t take it in. David had completed a mammoth journey -Majorca, London, Qatar, Auckland and Napier - and hadn’t slept at all. But he joined us until he finally gave in at about 7pm.

When we were here ten years ago, David was teaching himself to play the piano. To Sheila’s delight he went off to play again not long after he arrived.

The down of the day was hearing that wee Hali was really unwell. She goes to daycare where there had been several cases of RSV. Despite being right as rain on Sunday with only a hint of a cough, she had a bad night of coughing and vomiting and then deteriorated during the day. She ended up in hospital overnight. So Sheila’s joy at having David home was tempered by the anxiety about her wee granddaughter’s illness.

But we played cards to pass the evening and Raymond and Rod finished the evening off with what Raymond said was a very fine whisky!

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Sunday 19th May

Where is the time going? Halfway now and the second half always seems to go faster than the first half.

We were up early for a trip to the weekly farmers’ market in Havelock North. It was unusually busy, taking the boys a good twenty minutes queuing for our coffees. While they were doing that, we were standing in the croissant queue, about to buy the biggest croissants you have ever seen! I have no idea why I didn’t take a photo - they were huge and they were going to be lunch, with bacon inside.

At the market we met up with Zoe et al again. They were heading off to Hali’s swimming lesson and we arranged to meet them at 11 at Keirunga Park.

Raymond and I haven’t been there before but it is a park which Sheila used to visit frequently when the children were small - and you can see why!

They have five or six little trains, steam or diesel, that run round a brilliant little track, over viaducts, through tunnels, uphill, downhill - great fun! Sadly I have no photos from the trip because they are banned for fear of getting your head knocked off in a tunnel! They are beautifully maintained by an army of unpaid workers. I doubt it would be allowed in the UK. Here they entrust your health and safety to the individual. I loved it!

Back home we had the giant croissants with bacon then headed out for a walk on the peak. I think we approached from a different point from last time, but I didn’t recognise it at all. Since our last visit, numerous new paths have been created for mountain bike access, and hundreds of trees have been felled. It looks much less attractive than it once looked, but it still provided us with the opportunity of a short walk on pretty steep tracks.

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Saturday 18th (with a wee bit of Friday)

To pick up where I left off, we headed home from Tobin’s Track for a very late bite of lunch. I made my first culinary contribution to our holiday! It certainly wasn’t in Sheila’s class of creations but it looked pretty.

On Friday evening, we went out for a lovely meal in Arrowtown, courtesy of Colin, who arranged it for Sheila’s birthday.

Very happy diners!

And so our stay in South Island wound to a close. From stepping off the plane in Christchurch to be greeted by Vicki and Mike to boarding the plane in a very wet and cold Queenstown to head north, it has been a joy. Fortunately, there’s more to come.

With the foresight of one who knows these islands very well, Rod had booked a flight to Auckland rather than Napier. The first was a big jet, the second a propeller job which wouldn’t have flown yesterday. The approach to Queenstown is between the mountains, which the wee planes don’t do in terrible weather. So while other flights were being cancelled we were lucky to get away.

By the time we got to Auckland, it was a beautiful day, quite a few degrees warmer than Arrowtown. By a very fortunate coincidence, Zoe’s Ben was catching the same flight as us in Auckland down to Napier (he had been away with his friends overnight to the boat show) and his ute was parked at the airport, so he managed to get all of us and all our bags in and we were in Havelock North in no time.

We hadn’t met Ben before, but I first heard about him 17 years ago when Zoë stayed with us and mentioned ‘this boy from school’. So after all the years of Zoë’s travelling they got together again about five years ago. And now they have Hali - almost two and just adorable. They arrived at Sheila’s just as we did and it was just great to see Zoë again and meet their lovely wee girl. We all had a pizza tea together before the youngsters headed home to put Hali to bed.

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Friday 17th May

It’s drawing close to our departure from South Island. What a place. Sheila and Rod love their house here and take full advantage of all that Arrowtown and its surrounding area have to offer. It’s grown since we were here last but in a very controlled way. Many of the new houses are stunningly beautiful and they are all different from each other.

We did some packing and cleaning this morning before heading out on the bikes for a coffee and scone. This fortified us for the walk up Tobin’s track, opposite Sheila’s house. Raymond didn’t do it last time but today he was determined. It’s not long, but a constant incline for a mile and a half. But it’s worth it, affording us views all the way to Lake Wakatip and beyond.

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Thursday 16th May

Another great day in paradise.

We headed out for breakfast while the sky was overcast and a little rain fell.

It was delicious and by the time we had eaten every scrap the rain was stopping and the sun was coming out. So the golf course beckoned, of course.

We headed to Millbrook in glorious sunshine, playing a different nine this time, ending up much further from the clubhouse at the end. So it was decided that we needed a golf buggy (or cart here) to avoid the long walk from the ninth. That turned out to be a good decision as well as a lot of fun!

The golf was very mixed. Raymond started badly and fell away! But I reached the heights of a par 3 at the 6th!! It only takes one good shot to make you want to play again. We have both really enjoyed being back on the golf course after a very prolonged gap, even if the quality of play left a great deal to be desired. Sheila and Rod’s patience knew no bounds.

At the end of the eighth, Rod realised he had left a club by the 7th green and it was agreed we would turn back and miss the 9th because it was absolutely freezing. The sun had gone down behind the mountains which caused at least a 5° drop in temperature. But a buggy with no sides is scarcely the warmest way of covering 3km. Back in the Jeep it was decided we should head straight to the pub for a ‘glass of something´ and a bowl of fries - we got two of the biggest bowls of fries I’ve ever seen, but they disappeared. The pub was cosy, full of happy, friendly chat - the perfect place to thaw out after our lovely day.

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Wednesday continued

After our explore, we headed to an idyllic spot on the edge of a little arm of Lake Dunston to enjoy our picnic. Tho photos will speak for themselves.

The sun was warm and the chill of recent days gone.

Soon we were packed up, but, leaving the Jeep where it was, we wandered off up the hill to Carrick (another Ayrshire reference) Winery for a delicious coffee.

Honestly, Raymond and I just spend all our time oohing and aahing!

Eventually it was time for home. Rod asked Sheila if she would like to drive. Loving a go in the Jeep, she readily accepted the offer - a decision she would come to regret…

We bowled along for half an hour, taking some little roads, steep roads, bendy roads and bumpy roads, finally returning to the main road not far from our destination. We drove past a parked police car which, surprisingly, pulled out, followed us and put on his flashing lights! She had to pull over. He then peeped his horn, in a deep New Zealand growl - three times. No-one knew why. It transpired he wanted her further off the road! So at a perilous angle, halfway into a ditch, Sheila awaited his interrogation.

In New Zealand, there is a three digit number which you can call if you see someone driving dangerously and, amazingly, the police respond! Someone had phoned in a grey Jeep doing many naughty things on the road we had travelled. But no number plate. We knew it wasn’t Sheila; she knew it wasn’t her, but he didn’t. In a state of righteous indignation, extreme anxiety and sheer terror, she wound down the window and up popped the cherubic face of the nicest policeman you could ever come across! But that didn’t really help. He had to do his job. Her license was checked, (she didn’t tell me she picked up some penalty points a couple of months of ago, until later!); he went away and made a call; he asked the details of our route; he went away and made a call; he breathalysed her (she passed) and, eventually, he let her go, wishing us a happy holiday! She certainly didn’t get over it straightaway and that wasn’t made any easier by us singing snippets of ‘I fought the law and the law won’, ‘I shot the sheriff’ and ‘Fulsome Prison Blues’!

After such an eventful day, we came back to a cosy house and played cards to help Sheila get over her trauma.