I had a few misgivings about returning to a city again: would I forget where I was and walk in the middle of the road, and would I remember how to ride my pushbike? I was relieved to find that I automatically slotted in, just as though I'd taken one outfit off and replaced it with another. A wee bit shaky on the bike for the first 10 seconds, then it was all go - just as well as I clocked up many kms over the next few weeks.
It was lovely seeing friends, family and workmates again and reassuring to find that nothing much had changed; I loved walking the west coast beaches again and cycling along the walkway was a great way to bike without having to worry about the traffic. Work took up most of the first two weeks but it was satisfying to end my contract with most loose ends tied up. It was a privilege to work with such lovely people - I'll have to rent a car next time I'm up so that I can visit the lovely ladies at Stratford and Hawera - I'll bring morning tea!
The Weather Gods blessed me up north as well and I walked and biked for hours without getting wet. A huge surprise was having 40 minutes of snow in town on the morning that I was scheduled to leave. Needless to say, air travel was disrupted due to heavy snow in both Wellington and Invercargill - no doubt it was snowing on the island but it had all gone by the time I finally arrived home.
It's nice to know that my 'city' side is just in hibernation and that I still fit in - although maybe my clothing could do with a bit of a spruce up! I had made a long shopping list and it was fun unpacking my large box stuffed full of goodies such as tools, kitchen stuff, paint charts and waterproof overtrousers. The cost to post a box 520W x 420D x 300H and weighing 23kg was around $30 so a reasonable way to get those items I can't source on the island.
There's so many highlights of my trip away - especial thanks to those who accommodated me and my growing pile of possessions; I loved 'Soap' - amazing performance; neat to take part in WIA activities again; lots of yummy food and drinks and lovely to spend time with family and friends. I'll be more organised next time, I promise!!
So... it's back to walking in the middle of the road again and looking out on to native bush rather than buildings and traffic. I've been doing some work on Ulva Island since I got back and it's so lovely to listen to the birds as I walk round - the strident calls of tieke (saddleback), the high-pitched 'zit' of titipounamu (rifleman) and the exuberant song of the toutouwai (bush robin).
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| Ulva Island - Post Office Bay |
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| Ulva Island jetty |
There seems to be a problem with adding comments on this blog so I'll have to investigate the settings. I thought I'd taken off all restrictions but it looks as though users still have to log in to their blogger or google account. If anyone has any solutions, then I'd love to hear from you.
Have a wonderful week...
