So long New Zealand, and thanks for all the fish (and chips)

With heavy hearts we left New Zealand on April 27^th. Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, and the people we met there, treated us very well and we had a fantastic time throughout the four months.

It was funny how our last few weeks in NZ bookended our first few weeks there. Instead of unpacking and settling into our temporary home, we cleaned and packed up and returned a lot of things, including Lego, that Sharon and Chris had lent to us during our stay. Rather then buying our van, we sold it—two days before we left, much to our relief. Instead of meeting people for the first time, we had to say goodbye to friends.

Marshall and Will - Mercury Islands

Shortly before our departure we also got revisit some of our favourite places and activities. On the weekend of April 14, Sharon and Chris had us and Will and Diana out to their bach in Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsula for a last visit. On Saturday morning we all individually or in groups went for a morning beach walk where Marshall, Karen and I gathered a few more shells for our collection.

(Small aside: For our flight from NZ to Australia and our flights within Australia, we have been struggling to be under our baggage weight limits. Part of the problem is we are probably carrying close to 3 kilos in shells, lava rock, and other bits of NZ nature—and this is after paring down our collection before we left NZ.)

Boat Harbor near Hahei

Later on Saturday we went out in the boat for a picnic lunch and sight-see to Boat Harbor. On the way there we set a long-line for snapper and other fish, which we reeled in later on our return to the bach. This was very successful as we caught 12 fish, snapper and gunnard, in total. Marshall was right in there waiting to see what might be on the next hook. We obviously ate well that night and had a great dinner with lots of fun conversation. Later we put on a short slide show of some of our favourite NZ moments.

We made a bit of an earlier start of it on Sunday and boated out to the Mercury Islands. Once there we did some snorkeling off Stanley Island. Although the water was still nippy, we saw a lot of fish and sea urchins. At the beginning of our trip Marshall wasn’t really wild about snorkeling around the kelp beds—he found it a bit creepy. He clearly became more comfortable with it as the trip went on because on this day he was free-diving down as deep as he could go to see more fish and he didn’t really want to get out of the water despite being cold.

After snorkeling we had lunch in a quiet bay and then went out and did some fishing. The snapper were really biting—Marshall caught twenty himself. As you probably have guessed, snapper are great to eat and therefore are one of the main species targeted by fishermen. We didn’t catch a lot that were keeper size, but Marshall didn’t care, he was just happy to catch a lot of fish. My one regret was that I lost a smallish yellow-tailed kingfish. They are a prized catch because of the fight they put up and their taste. Oh well, next time.

With all our fishing, Sunday was a late day, so everyone spent the night and went back to Hamilton on Monday. Karen left early with Sharon and Chris, while Marshall and I went home with Diana and Will. Before we left, the four of us went for a final walk to, and swim at, Cathedral Cove.

Cookson Kauri

Throughout most of our trip Marshall was the only kid in the group. I am sure he was bored sometimes, but on the whole, he did really well having to spend time with groups of 2, 4, or 6 adults. Chris and Sharon and Will and Diana catered to him a lot, so he had it very good. At the same time, being a kid he often added a perspective on what was important and fun that was different than ours. As adults, none of us took ourselves too seriously, but I know having Marshall as part of the group broadened our range of activities. For example, I would not have swam as much if not for him (and his insistence).

Our last weekend in NZ (April 21) required that we go camping and hiking one more time. We went to the Kaueranga Valley in the Coromandel Forest Park with Will and Diana. It was reputed to have some excellent trails and we had tried to hike there one other weekend but got rained out. On Saturday we walked the Cookson Kauri Trail. While it was a scenic walk that brought us to a huge kauri tree, I can’t say it was everyone’s favourite track. Getting to the kauri tree required climbing, according to Marshall, 700 steps (I think it was less, but there were a lot).

Summit of Cookson Kauri Trail,
Coromandel Forest Park

That night we had a fun campfire but no s’mores. A little later in the evening we went searching for kiwi birds one last time. We heard some calling but didn’t see any on the trail. This and our other fruitless searches made me realize just how lucky Marshall and I were to see a wild kiwi near the beginning of our time in NZ. It also got pretty cold that night and we would not have been able to do much more camping unless Karen and I upgraded our sleeping bags. (Campground rating (Catley’s): scenery – 3.5 (good view of surrounding forested mountainsides), facilities – 2.25 (no showers, water, but it did have firepits), noisiness – 5 (we were the only ones in the campground)).

Along the Kauri Dam Trail,
Coromandel Forest Park

On Sunday morning we hiked the Billy Goat and Kauri Dam Tracks. After the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, these were the roughest tracks (least maintained), with a lot of ups and downs, we hiked in NZ (we saved the best for last). I really enjoyed them for their “naturalness” and the surrounding forest, although we all got tired of crossing over and through the same stream about 40 times. Speaking of stream crossings, at the very start of our walk we had to cross a small river. I was standing on a rock and grabbed Marshall’s arm as he tried to step across a wide gap. Whoops, it was a little too wide—Marshall went right in the drink, taking me with him. After a quick return to and change at our campsite, we were back on the trail again. However, this time we took the five-minute detour and used the bridge. Surprisingly for all the walking, climbing, swimming, boating, etc. we did, this was our only really serious slip (provided you don’t count the infamous leg grab in the pool incident).

If I was on the North Island of NZ again, I would do some more hiking in the Kaueranga Valley. The landscape was fantastic, the trails offer some opportunities for more rugged hiking, and it isn’t as touristy as other parks.

After our weekend of camping we spent the next few days working, packing, and visiting with friends. We drove to Auckland on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday (April 26^th, my birthday), we went to Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic World (a small but fun place with different aquaria—penguins, rays, cool fish, etc.) and then out for a late thai lunch to celebrate my birthday. On Friday we were up early for our 7 a.m. flight to Cairns, Australia.

***

I have delayed publishing this post because I have struggled to find the right words to use to elegantly conclude our time in New Zealand. I still haven’t found them, but I am afraid if I wait much longer I will never publish this update.

For all of us, our time in New Zealand was memorable. The four months we were there went by too quickly. We were all ready to come home, but at the same time the tears and feelings of things left undone or goodbyes not fully said attest to the fact that it wasn’t easy to leave.

We met so many fantastic people and saw and experienced so many awesome places—much more than I ever expected we would. After the friends we made, Karen’s highlight was hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, followed by our visits to podocarp forests. For Marshall, we did too much for him to pick a favourite—he loved the exploring we did, the camping, the searching for birds, the swimming and snorkeling and beaches, and, just for Will, all the waterfalls. I loved the ancientness of the podocarp forests. I will also really miss the freedom of being able to so easily access, explore, and use the stunning coastline and ocean.

Living vs. being tourists in New Zealand also pushed all of us out of our comfort zones a bit. This helped each of us to learn new things about ourselves and grow as people.

Most importantly, we had a great time as a family. We spent a lot of wonderful days together and our experiences in and memories of New Zealand will be a shared touchstone for all three of us. With our busy and over-structured lives, I think all families should take a sabbatical every once in awhile.

E noho ra New Zealand.