A: America - the blog?

Okay, so I don't think I'm going to carry on writing the blog for America. But! Don't be disappointed just yet! I am going to upload all my photos to Facebook with CAPTIONS! So read the captions (preferably in the order they are in the album, it makes more sense) and you can get to know what I am doing. Starting now. You don't even need to look for the album- here's the link to the photos!

G: Final words from me

Nadi, Fiji, Hostel, 21st May,10.30am. This will be my last blog post of the trip. After tomorrow, Aiden and I will separate and I will be on the last leg of my trip, destination: home. But before I get philosophical about the last three months, let me catch up on what we’ve been up to since my last post.

The day that started with pancakes. So my feet were still about three times their usual size, the skin stretched uncomfortably, with hives working at a psychotic break-inducing level of itchiness. Walking was painful and will power didn’t seem enough to stop myself scratching.

But anyway. The pancakes were good; afterwards, we went back to the room to relax until the activity we had booked the day before – basket weaving. Half an hour after the start time we were told (eh, we work on Fiji time!) the six of us Poms sat on seats on the veranda, and we were each given a palm branch by our instructor, a young Fijian man. He showed us how to start the weave, and then the basic steps of plaiting it all. We did one side, then the other, and then plaited the two together. Our instructor then expertly chopped them up and tied parts to other parts, and what we got handed back was a cute little green basket. He even put a flower in it. They put flowers everywhere.

The rest of the morning I spent in a hammock, happily reading, whilst the breeze rustled through the palmtrees above me, and the waves washed gently onto the beach ten feet away. After lunch, I sat on the veranda, and caught up on the blog.

Fiji hostel, sitting between the pool and the beach, 4pm. Aiden challenged me to cards, so we busied ourselves with a few rounds, until we both ended up in hammocks again. It was so relaxing. Nothing to think about, or plan, or worry about. When the lights came on, indicating the generator was up for another four hours, we went the room, then used the internet. Dinner didn’t have any meat, which fazed Aiden a little

We immediately retreated to our bug-free room after dinner. My feet were uncomfortable and painful; putting them up was the only respite I had. It was kinda scary really. They were so grotesque, as if they were going to pop and leak at any moment, with the diseased look of the spotted skin not helping matters.

Whilst we relaxed, Ben came to have a look at our room. He remarked that it was quite a bit nicer than the dorm, so I offered him and – oh crap, I’ve forgotten her name – the double for the night. He came on his own and slept in it, which was weird, but okay. Aiden and I watched a bit of TV on the netbook, then retired. I had a better night than the one before.

Tuesday 17^th started when Ben left us, and I was delighted to find that my feet were only double their normal size. It was easier to walk but they still itched like the devil. After breakfast, we packed, sad to leave Long Beach but looking forward to a new island. We read in the morning away in hammocks, and Aiden was joined by a dog. Lunch was large, a huge pile of vegetables and rice. Soon after, the long boat was loaded with bags and people, and we made slow progress out over the reef, essentially by tropical punting.

Once out in deep water, we dropped anchor and waited until the big yellow boat came into sight. At the travel desk, we found out that the next resort we had hoped to go to was full, so we had to change plans and choose another that was two hours away. So I had a nap. When we were called to identify our bags, we did as told and stayed. But then the last boat was being loaded, so we went forward and asked when our boat was.

We got big grins as we were told it had already left. Luckily we were able to get on another resort’s boat and get dropped off specially. On arrival at Naqalia we got tea. Afternoon tea was popular on the islands. When the receptionist came round to us, we were told they were full. They conferred, and discarded the idea to send us to other resort on the island, so told us they had a bed, so they’d find room. It was over an hour later that we were brought to the place we were supposed to sleep, to find it was a cubicle at the back of the dorm, with a single for both of us.

We sat back down in the main dining space and must have been complaining loudly, for a Danish guy called Peter heard our problem and offered a solution; he had a double room to himself, so he was happy to swap. We were so grateful. We sat talking to Peter until dinner, then we retired to our new room. We watched the netbook then had an early night. I had a hard time stopping myself scratching my feet.

My feet had shrunk a little over night, so they were a step away from normal size (pardon the pun). The beignets at this resort weren’t as good as those we had previously had for breakfast. I washed my hair in the cold shower, then we moved our bags to the dorm, where we had another double bed. We spent the whole day in the main dining area – there were only two hammocks, both in the sun, and nothing to sit on on the beach.

I used the kindle – which had internet signal – and chatted to Emma, which was fun. We played cards, had lunch, then Aiden played games on the computer and I read on my ereader. We moved at dusk to the bed, to hide under the net, and watched the netbook before and after dinner. And it was another early night. It was hot and noisy, with storms coming and going, though apart from the thunder and lightning, the rain was helpful in bringing down the temperature with a breeze. It still took a long time to get to sleep.

We did a similar thing the morning of Thurs 19 – breakfast, cards, book, computer. This time when we went out to the yellow boat, we bypassed it because the next island was so close, its long boat was on the same pickup place. We just hopped from long boat to long boat. Kuata was a much bigger resort than the first three. We were used to about 8-14 people – this place held about 60. 45 of them that day were Canadians in a big group. On arrival, we were given a lemon drink and a welcome brief. We met the other two arrivals, Kat from Hampshire and Eloise, a Tahitian who had grown up with an adoptive family in France.

We were put into the dorm, and then I found a shaded hammock to read in. I answered the call of the conch shell to lunch, then the pair of us sat on a shaded bench, Aiden still gaming on the computer. He went back at one point, and after half an hour I went to see what had become of him. I went into the dorm, didn’t see him, then noticed our bags had been replaced with someone else’s.

I left, then stood, confused and very worried, as I tried to work out if I had gone into the wrong dorm. But no, I definitely hadn’t. At the point at which I was starting to contemplate an episode of amnesia, or something similarly dramatic, Aiden came jogging into view.

“Come on,” he said, “I’ve got something to show you.”  I asked him if I had got the right dorm, and he said yeah, but to hurry along. We reached the end of the path, and he entered a small hut. Inside were two doubles, and our bags. Aiden explained that the Canadians had requested to have everyone in the same dorms, so we were moved. I was so relieved. We were sharing the room with Kat and Eloise, which was nice.

We relaxed until we heard the conch, and opened the door to find torrential rain. We ran, squealing, to the other end of the resort to the canteen, and got under its shelter, dripping. After dinner, the staff organised some fun. They divided the room into countries, and asked each to sing their national anthem. Canada went first, which was of course a rounding success, with 45 of them. Then two Norwegians, three Swedish, Eloise on her own, and they all did pretty well.

Then it was the turn of the eight Britons. Oh, we were so bad. Eight separate keys, with most knowing only the first five words, and no one knowing a whole line – which we still sang with ‘ na na na na’s – until we fell into giggles on the last line. Just awful.

Then we were herded into a circle, and paired up. The music started, and each pair had a few seconds in the middle to show off their dance skills. It was pretty embarrassing, but kinda fun. The next dance was a lot of fun – the Fijian macarana. Not for the Fijians was it a simple shout of ‘Ai!’ and a jump to face the left. No, it was ‘Bula!’ thrust hips forward, jump, ‘Bula!’ thrust hips forward. Quite energetic.

Suddenly it was conga time! We put our left hands between our legs and grabbed the hand of the person in front with our right, and danced round the room, with many giggles, and the warning ‘If you don’t own it, don’t touch it!’ I think we should tattoo that to Declan’s forehead.

Finally, we played musical statues. I collapsed onto my chair when I was out, puffing, and so sweaty, I was dripping like when I had arrived for dinner. It was a lot of fun. I talked to Kat for a bit, then went straight to bed. We had our best night’s sleep of the islands that night. We had a fan for the heat, reassurance against mossies in the net and gapless ceiling.

Yesterday, as we packed after breakfast, we said goodbye to the girls when they went snorkelling. We ended up on the same bench, and read/gamed. After lunch, we took our stuff out of the rooms, put it in the reception area, and sat with it until the boat. It was half an hour late, but hey, Fiji time baby.

We joined a convention of long boats waiting for the ferry, and we were surprised to see this one, our last, was a white one. When we boarded, I made sure to pick up a bag tag for Kuata, as we hadn’t been given one for our unconventional swap. I napped on the way back to port. We got into Nadi after dark, and collected our bags to get on the courtesy bus. We were waiting around in the bus for a while, but eventually it took us here, to the hostel Smuggler’s Cove.

We were the first to check in, and we were shown to our lovely four bed dorm, ensuite. Luxury, after the bare facilities of the islands. When we went to the poolside restaurants (over looking the beach), we bumped into our Liverpudlian friends. We watched the entertainment (Fijian men and women wearing very little, dancing; man, those coconut-clad girls could run Shakira out of the club with their hip undulations, and the men were oiled up nicely) and chatted over dinner with our friends. We went back to the dorm early, strangely exhausted. We met our room mates, two cousins from Dundee – Hannah and Louise. We enjoyed talking to them so much, we only went to sleep when we realised it was 11 o’clock.

The girls left early this morning, to get their own boat out to the islands. We met the Scousers at breakfast, then spent time in the room – I used the internet, and Aiden packed and did laundry. On his way back from the laundry, he took part in a uni student’s project, which involved getting his picture taken.

We decided to go out and explore the town a bit. Though Nadi is the capital city, it is no bigger than a town. We got a taxi with two English guys also going in, and established that they were going to New Zealand soon, and they asked our opinion on the place and the Kiwi Experience, which we shared gladly.

Once in town, we went into the nearest café, and got some lunch. Over the food, we reminisced a little about our time that was coming to an end. But I’ll get to those ruminations at the end. We wandered down the street, and Aiden picked up some motion sickness meds for his flight tomorrow. We were accosted by a salesman who invited us into the tourist shop, and we went along with it. He then invited us to sit down and join in a free Kava ceremony, which we agreed to because it isn’t really a Fiji holiday without Kava, though we had been warned about the awful taste.

He asked us a little about ourselves and our trip, then made and blessed the drink (straining water through kava roots, which produces a concoction that looks like it’s been collected from the Thames) then we all clapped and chugged a small cup of the disgusting stuff. Tastes like the muddy, soapy water that it looks like. We then explored the shop, and I bought a necklace and bracelet. We said goodbye to Moses and headed on down the street.

We got to the end of it, where there was a big temple, crossed, turned, and went back down the other side. We then got a taxi home, because that was about all to do.

Since we got back, we went in the pool, then sat with cocktails and I’ve written this. The sun is setting behind me, Aiden has just got back from having a shower – which I’m very glad he had because the cocktail was rather strong – and it’s almost the end of my last day on my trip.

And so to my final thoughts. It’s hard to sum up three months of non-stop drama, activity and adventure. I’ve of course that a great time, I’ll start with that. I haven’t enjoyed every minute, but then I wasn’t expecting to. Journeying with Aiden has definitely been the most up and down element, but I don’t regret for a  second coming with him. He has been a fun companion, sensible when needed, a comfort in the worst times, and I couldn’t have done it without him.

I can’t believe all the things I’ve done. There’s so many, when people ask me when I get back, I’ll only be able to remember half of them off the top of my head. It’s amazing to think I’ve done once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list things. And it’s also staggering to think about all the things I’ve still to do, even in Australia and New Zealand still. We spent a lot of money on activities, but it was well spent.

It’s been a learning experience; being self-sufficient, restricted contact with friends and family, dealing and coping with when things go wrong. I know that I’m a stronger, more confident, and changed young woman coming out of it. I’ve learnt about people and how they behave, I’ve seen how different cultures are influenced by elements like the weather and immigrants. I’ve learnt about myself, and tried to improve on my flaws a little.

And I’ve met so many people along the way. Hopefully my memory of them won’t fade, with this account of my acquaintance with them. I have so many stories of great people, strange people, bad people, and people who were my best friends for sometimes only an evening. Meeting someone, learning about their life and being a brief part of it is a unique experience, and it’s been so different out here compared to my tour in the autumn.

I will always remember my gap year travels. And having touched briefly on the life of a traveller, I am determined to do it again, however far in the future. Either with friends, family, or someone dear, or maybe on my own; whenever and with whoever, it won’t beat my first three months away from home, thrown in the deep end, and finding I having sunk. I’ve been able to cope, I’ve learnt where I didn’t know how, and I’ve enjoyed it the whole way. My adventure has been through geographical terrain, over oceans and mountains, but also through emotional terrain, and philosophical even. I have explored high and low through four countries, and through my own sense of self.

Enough with the sentimental drivel, I’ve had a blast, and now I’ve coming home!

Thanks for reading my ramblings and being part of my trip. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, but I know you haven’t enjoyed it as much as I have!

Word count: 47,807

A: Picture Updates! From Milford Sounds to Fiji

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150168702530069.303118.649070068&l=9c239fb594
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150172545910069.304359.649070068&l=2cc7e89357
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150172549300069.304362.649070068&l=36566759fa
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150172541375069.304358.649070068&l=1aa7f0ba40
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150172532840069.304355.649070068&l=adb4eae7b1
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150172551545069.304365.649070068&l=bc4567f202
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150186439270069.308050.649070068&l=d212b0971c
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150186437420069.308048.649070068&l=f0beca17f4
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150186441805069.308051.649070068&l=fd4c70e456
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150186443090069.308052.649070068&l=3093f55430
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150186446605069.308053.649070068&l=879a0d392d

G: Bula!

Long Beach Resort, Yasawa Islands, Fiji, 16^th, 1.30pm. Last country of my trip! And soon, Aiden will be in America.

So, back in Auckland, we had just woken up after our first night in the house of Hilary and Gordon. I woke up to the after-effects of my late night in Paihia, so I was grateful to find coffee and a ‘plunger’ in the kitchen. Hilary was nice enough to serve us breakfast, which was NZ cornflakes and toast. I chatted to Hilary as I ate, and once Aiden was awake, I jumped on the computer.

They gave us a lift into town. On the way, we all piled out to look at cameras at Harvey Norman, but Aiden found that they were more expensive than the internet. So we got back in the car, and carried on to the museum. We had Gordon’s phone, and we were told to get the bus back, and let them know when we did, so they could get us from the bus stop. We waved goodbye to them, then went round the museum in double time. We’ve seen a lot of museums, so we were only giving it lipservice as a tourist attraction.

We must have not followed the directions of the guide, because we walked out of the museum, and walked five minutes in the rain until we didn’t find the bus stop and turned around. We asked a passerby and he told us to go to end of the road in the opposite direction. He told us it was a ten minute walk to Queen St, where we were heading, but I didn’t want to walk in the rain. It did take about five minutes to walk to the bus stop, but once we were on it, it was a further ten minute bus journey, so I doubt we would have slogging in the rain for a mere ten minutes as the guy said, so I think it was worth it. Plus we would have probably gotten lost.

On Queen St, we got lunch at McDonalds, looked through more shops for this camera of Aiden’s, then I took us to browse Whitcoull’s, a shop very like WHSmith. We then wandered back down to the Queen St bus station and got the bus back to Albany. Hlary picked us up, and we accepted her offer to put our wet clothes in the dryer.

I got a cup of tea, and went on the internet. Gordon decided to try out a blu-ray disc in his new player with his new TV, so all four of us ended up watching ‘Knight & Day’ in the living room. We paused it to have dinner, then we went out to Greg’s house for pudding. We met his wife Rebecca and their children Isaac (7) and Imogen (9). Aiden got to chatting with Greg, like the night before, and I later found out that they talked about Greg’s SmartHouse, which he had built himself.

I talked to Rebecca, and Imogen, who showed me the houses she had made in an arts and crafts fashion. They were very imaginative. Rebecca offered me tea, and I said was it normal tea, and she said they only had Earl Grey. So I said that was fine, and she made me a cup, until, after my second sip, she found a normal tea bag. She insisted on pouring out the Earl Grey and making a fresh cup.

When we returned, we finished the film, and I stayed up after everyone, enjoyed Sky TV.

I had to get up for Skype, which Aiden wasn’t pleased about because the computer was in the study, where his makeshift bed had been erected. The first time my parents and I connected, they started laughing once I spoke, and eventually, after establishing that they weren’t drunk, they had enough breath to tell me that I was coming through very high-pitched, so I sounded like a mouse. We were more successful on the second try, and had a good conversation, our last before my return home.

We had breakfast, then I had a shower, and Hilary took us to the bus stop. She recommended that we take the ferry to Devonport, but we really didn’t feel like it. It was probably a lovely place, but we’ve been to lots of lovely places. We bought cinema tickets for Thor 3D, ate lunch at McDonalds, wandered around Borders, then waited in the foyer, admiring the posters for films. The film was pretty good; visually stunning, with some good actors, and a drool-worthy lead actor, but a bit of a simple plot, and not enough balance between action sequences and more relaxed scenes.

After we emerged from the dark theatre, we walked to the bus stop, got the bus, got picked up, then had some downtime. We went out to Hilary’s other child Karen’s house for dinner. We met her husband Paul and 13yrold son Shaun. Oh, and their bird, in its cage. We had drinks, and chat, then sat down to a nice BBQ, with friendly talk over the table. Afterwards, Shaun got his dad and step-grandfather to join forces against the two Poms in a game of Cranium, which was quite enjoyable. In the middle, we had a pause whilst Greg’s family arrived, and we all took pictures with me, their distant cousin.

Shaun went to bed, and as we sat chatting in the living room, the other child of the household, Jonathan, 16, came home from his job at KFC. We all marvelled at the new burger he brought home, which was bacon and cheese sandwiched by two pieces of breaded chicken. He talked to Aiden about cameras. We eventually went back and went to bed.

In the morning, we packed before breakfast, then put our stuff in the car, and drove to the top of Mt Eden. Aiden and I left Hilary and Gordon at the car, and took ten minutes to walk the rim of the crater and take pictures of the view of the city. Back in the car, we were dropped at the airport and said our farewells. It had been nice to meet family, but three days living with OAPs was kind of a strain for both parties.

We were really early at the airport, so we had to wait before we could check in. The woman who checked us in saw that we didn’t have tickets sitting next to each other, and was kind enough to tell us, so we could ask to change it.  On the other side of security, we waited for hours to board. We got lunch at Burger King (Aiden was sorely disappointed that there was no McDonalds), and we bought some extras to use up the NZ coins we still had, like I got a really nice ice cream.

The plane left late. We had a light meal, and watched Dr Who on the netbook. It was only three hours, which these days is not a long journey for us. We got another stamp on our passports as we entered Fiji, and we walked to arrivals to the tune of a live string band, welcoming us. When we got to baggage reclaim, one conveyor had our flight on its screen but it wasn’t moving. We wandered over the other belt, and luckily caught sight of my bag.

We went to the office of Awesome Adventures, where we exchanged our vouchers for the hostel that night and our Bula Combo Passes on the islands the next day. We were surprised to be asked for a surcharge, but it was our own fault, because we didn’t read the fine print on the voucher that said we had to book the pass a week in advance. At least we didn’t have as bad a time as two girls also in the office were – their travel agent had messed up and they were being asked for hundreds of dollars.

We got a taxi through Nadi, paid for by the hostel, dumped our stuff in the private room, then went to get dinner at the restaurant. It was 9pm by then, so we were kinda peckish. As we ate, I remarked that I was sad to leave NZ without seeing Andi again. Aiden suggested I cancel my journey home and go back for a month in Paihia. I just laughed.

The seed of the idea did make a mark, and I was lucky that I talked to Will on the internet after dinner, because he voiced all the sensible reasons why it was not a good idea that I myself had been having trouble listening too from my own mind. After showers, Aiden and I were surprised to find that it was already 11pm, so bed time, listening to the creaking of the air conditioning in our private twin room.

We were up early for breakfast, which was toast, coffee, and fruit. We checked out then waited in reception. Our bus rocked up and we boarded, to be taken to Port Denarau. As I got money out the cash machine, I started getting chest pains. We queued up to check in our bags, then queued again to check in ourselves. We were startled to hear final calls for the boat as we still stood in the queue, but we were reassured that they knew we were there.

Our boat is the Awesome Adventures catamaran, which is bright yellow, the main ferry to the Yasawa Islands, of the commonwealth nation of Fiji. I settled into the 5 hour journey on the sun deck, and Aiden went to sort out our passes and that night’s accommodation at the travel desk down below. It was a beautiful sunny day, probably 29 degrees but with a nice breeze as the catamaran swished through the bright blue water. But my chest pain got really bad, and only let up after a couple of hours.

It stopped at each island, which sent out a dinghy full of people and luggage, and swapped it for another load off the ferry. Each island is essentially the same, apart from size. Beach, palm trees, huts – classic ‘paradise’. Our call came at 1.30. By then, we had retreated to the lower deck. We came out to the back of the boat, identified our luggage, and got in the dinghy. We skimmed over the water (which is exactly that shade of turquoise that you don’t believe is real when you look at the pictures), and were welcomed to Gold Coast Resort by a woman who identified herself as Lo. We showed us to our ‘bure’, a hut, that was just that. Thatched roof, mosquito net, shower/loo.

It was five feet from the beach. We had lunch in the main building up some steps, which was nice. We then just had to get into the water. It was shallow, but really clear, and room temperature. Once I started to go wrinkled, I grabbed a sunbed (a person-length piece of foam in blue plastic) and lay on the beach with a book. At 4 o’clock, we did as Lo suggested and went down the beach to the teahouse, where we got chocolate cake, and met the other people in the resort.

We made friends with the two English couples – one from Liverpool in their thirties who were on a year-long honeymoon, and one from Hertfordshire in their mid-twenties. After cake, we went back to the beach, and then as the light began to fade, read in the hammock. On the verge of not being able to see the page, we were given an electric desk light, so we retreated under the net on our beds until dinner.

Dinner wasn’t that nice. I just about coped with the fried fish, though Aiden was freaked out that it was still fish shaped with a tail and eyes, but the fried bananas tasted of crap potatoes and I don’t know what the green veg was (it looked like spinach) but it was in a disgusting sauce. Aiden retreated from the bugs early, and in hindsight I should have too. But I stayed up talking to the other English people, until I also went to bed.

I woke this morning to find my legs and feet covered in bites. About 200 of them, and I’m not exaggerating. The shower was rubbish – just a cold trickle. Breakfast was good though – endless doughnut-like things with jam and butter, and pineapple, and juice and coffee. We put our bags under a tree and laid out on the beach. I managed a few hours before I retreated to the shade.

We were in the dinghy with both the other couples, and it was only a ten minute ride on the big yellow boat to our next stop, for all six of us, at Long Beach Resort. We were greeted by singing Fijians on the sand. We were swapped from our original dorm to a double room, though with two singles as well, so that’s where we slept. We had omelette for lunch, then I parked myself on a hammock in the shade and Aiden went for a swim.

I was joined by a dog, who lay down under my hammock, and I occasionally talked to the two couples as they wandered by or sat in the hammock near me. When Aiden emerged from the sea, he joined me in the hammock. We knew when the generator was turned on because the lights of the main building came on, so we went to the computers and spent some time on the internet. Aiden booked our last nights together in Nadi, and I emailed Mo, because I’m hoping to stay the night with her son in Auckland between flights on the way back.

We stayed in our room until dinner, which we had on the veranda. By this time, my bites were really plaguing me; it was so hard not to scratch, and there were so many of them, it was starting to hurt. I realised after dinner that I was having a major allergic reaction; what it normally means is my bites swell to red lumps the size of a fifty pence coin. This time, with so many (seriously, 200, I counted) my feet swelled, my ears swelled, and I got hives on my feet, neck, and under my arms.

It was so uncomfortable, and quite painful, plus still unbearably itchy. When we retreated to the room after dinner, I couldn’t help but cry a little. Luckily, though there are no nets in our room, it’s concrete, so there aren’t gaps under the thatch. After a few episodes on the netbook, I went to bed, and it was torture. My chest pains started again, and my head ached. After what felt like hours, I did eventually get to sleep.

I woke this morning with my feet still swollen and covered in hives, but everything else had calmed down, apart from the other bites on my legs. We went to breakfast when we heard the gong, and had pancakes and tea.

To be continued...

G: Last day before Fiji

KE Wellington to Taupo, 3^rd, 12.30pm. So Saturday night was a quiet one. We just watched TV on the netbook, whilst Fiona and Ellie went out on the town.

Sunday morning I woke up early and ended up arriving at church early. It was an hour long service, held by Bishop Richard. I sang my first hymn in Maori, and I hope my pronunciation was okay. They invited me to stay for a buffet lunch in honour of a woman called Lindsey, who had been giving sermons for the last six week, having come over from a church in Picadilly, London, and was going back the next day.

There were some toasts, quiche, cucumber sandwiches, and pineapple chunks. I talked to various people, then I made my apologies and left. On my way back, I got distracted by a shopping thoroughfare – Cuba Street. I wandered down it, and got into conversation with a Hare Krishna devotee. I do this whenever the monks are out in the streets of Cambridge too, because of my studies of Hinduism. Plus they’re always nice people, though oddly blind to the big silver cross hanging round my neck.

Anyway, I popped into a WHSmith equivalent store, where I was surprised to find actual WHSmith branded merchandise. They didn’t have the type of mechanical pencil I was looking for, but they directed me back in the direction I had come from to a large warehouse-like stationary shop. They didn’t have what I was looking for either, and the helpful young man I asked said he didn’t recognise the example I showed him. I decided that they hadn’t made it this hemisphere yet, so gave in and bought a different type.

I realised at this point that I had been gone a long time, and I was hurrying along when I passed another church. Now, at the Baptist church in 1770 I picked up a devotional that has a little Bible-orientated pep-talk paragraph for each day, and a set of Bible readings for each day (with the goal of reading the whole Bible in a year) that I had been enjoying using daily. But it is quarterly and that edition finished at the end of April. I had hoped to pick the next edition at church that morning, but they didn’t have it.

So when I passed this other church, I decided to see if they had it. I was met on the steps by a man of Maori descent in a tradition grass skirt. I asked him if the church was open, and he said there was service going on. I told my dilemma, but he didn’t recognise the devotional. He called over another guy, but he didn’t know it either. He did run into the church to check the leaflet table, but no luck. I asked what other churches were around, and they sent to a Presbyterian church.

This one surprised me. At noon on the Sunday, the whole thing was locked up like a fortress; not even the church office was open. My search was a bust. So I headed back. I arrived at 1pm, where an impatient Aiden turned me straight around again to go out and explore Wellington, the capital city. First on the list was Mt. Victoria Lookout. Bit of a slog for me; I was still suffering a full-blown cold. At the top I sat on a big rock and got my breath back. It was quite a nice view. The city spread out behind us, and ahead was the curving harbour out to the Cook Straight, that we had arrived into the day before.

We made our way down a different route to end up on Oriental Parade. We followed that around the waterfront onto Cable Street. On our way along, Aiden had a go on a kids playground climbing wall; he did better than my attempts. And we bumped into Lindsey, who was making the most of her last day on the Island of the Long White Cloud. Further along, we bumped into Fiona and Ellie, who were wandering the streets taking in the city. Our eventual destination was the cable car terminal. We bought tickets, hopped on, then at the top got out into the botanical gardens. We saw a good portion of them, including the rose garden, then got the cable car back down.

My knee was hurting again by this point. I have no idea what is wrong with it, whether I pulled something or wrenched it or something. It hurt in Nelson, but then didn’t again until a week later. I mean, I was in fine on the glacier of all things, so I can’t find a trigger for it. Anyway, we got back to Base, and swiftly decided to go the cinema. Here’s the thing about Wellington; it is obsessed with film. The industry seeps out of the walls. There are so many cinemas, including the one across the road from us where the LOTR had their premieres, and a big statue of a camera on a tripod down the street.

We got McDonald’s in the complex foodcourt, followed by dessert at an ice cream sundae bar, where I had a nice conversation with the vendor. We went to see Just Go With It, which was enjoyable. Enough of the Adam Sandler stupidity to make it funny, but not too much to make it daft, and some nice serious stuff between him and Jennifer Aniston; plus a sidekick with a German persona that reminder me strongly of my friend Will (though I don’t think he would be flattered by that comparison).

When we came out my knee was killing me. I took the lift down from the room to the kitchen, and I was sharing it with a group of guys. The lift stopped at every level between, and one of the guys, Red Hoody, laughed and blamed a friend of theirs, who had run down the stairs and pressed the butons. I was a bit pissed, so when he pointed him out the kitchen, I gave him an earful (not the slap his friend suggested). The only thing we did that evening was the laundry.

Yesterday, I slept in until 11am. I’m only just today getting better through this cold, so the lie in was necessary. We went out to Te Papa, the national museum, which is free. It was pretty good, lots of interesting exhibits, and interactive things to play with. We got out of their about lunchtime and got McDonalds. We then asked at Base reception for directions to the WETA Cave, and had to take two buses to get to it. This is another example of the film industry presence in New Zealand, one of the biggest in fact.

WETA is an industry leader in cinema special effects, and it has lots of claims to fame, including LOTR and Avatar. It makes props and armour and costume and prosthetics, does digital effects including CGI and animation – it does pretty much anything. The Cave is the only public part; the workshop is full of secret stuff for upcoming movie, plus dangerous movies. The Cave has lots of collectible figures, plus examples of the famous props. There is also a 20minute video about the company (which is why I now know so much about it). It was pretty cool to visit, and very impressive.

Two buses back into town and we headed to our last stop. One of the three parliament buildings is famous for its design, which looks like it was sketched out on the back of a cigarette packet. It’s called the Beehive – guess what it looks like. We got there just in time for the last tour, with a nice young guy with a beard called Ben, who had the strangest accent, which I learnt when I asked him came from his being born in Norfolk to an English mother and Scottish father then living most of his life in Wellington. So the BritKiwiScot showed us around and told us some very interesting things in an engaging and entertaining way. The best part was being in the main debate chamber (green chairs). The Kiwi government is so small – only about 150 members.

When we left, it was raining a little. I got sucked into Saving Private Ryan on my way past from the kitchen. I had to miss some when I went to get Dominoes, but after giving Aiden his, I took mine back to the TV. After eating,

Aiden came to tell me he was going to the cinema with Ellie. I happily watched the rest of the film, then headed back to the room to enjoy full reign of the netbook for a good few hours. I managed to watch a good portion of the wedding on Youtube. Once the two movie-goers got back, I packed, then went to bed.

So it’s half one now, and we just dropped Aiden off at the sky diving place. This morning hasn’t been that interesting; we got picked up by Bods (woo!) had a McDonald’s breakfast, and passed a few interesting places including the venue of the World Gumboot Throwing competition, and the peak that was Mt. Doom in LOTR. We’re just arriving in Taupo. Aiden was very excited disembarking.

Rotorua hostel, 5^th, 4.30pm. I stayed on the bus and got dropped at Urban Retreat, where I checked us both in. I dumped our bags in our room, then looked at the map to do what there was to do for the next few hours to myself. I saw that there were two churches in town, so I went on another hunt for this devotional. The first one wasn’t open, but the second one had a nice old lady, and an old man practising on the organ. I looked at the leaflets, and found a copy of the old edition of the devotional. Success! I now know that NZ has it, which is good news, even though I still haven’t found the latest one.

I then went the post office. I didn’t give a thought to the fact that as I walked the quiet streets of Taupo, my friend was probably throwing himself out of a plane. Back at the hostel, I sat down with my ereader and a cup of hot chocolate (one of our best buys), and so sat in the communal dining/bar area until Aiden came in, eyes gleaming. He was wearing a brown hoody with Taupo Skydiving designs on it, which suited him.

He was still very excited about his skydive. I was astonished to find he had spent a stupid amount of money on extras, but I suppose it is his to spend. He showed me the pictures (which are far from fetching)  and then we shared a jug of PIMS until he went on the computer and I went back to reading. He then went out for a snack and came back with a brownie. We needed more food, so we headed to PAK’n SAVE, a big yellow supermarket that buys in bulk, which feels very American. We then had dinner, and spent the evening relaxing in the room. After a shower, I went to bed.

Yesterday dawned, and I got dressed, had breakfast and made lunch. I got back to the room to find Aiden still asleep! I shook him awake, warning him our pickup time was in two minutes. Apparently he had said “Wake me up at 7” whereas I heard “I’ll be up at 7” so I thought he had set his own alarm.

Mo’s house (Glen Eden, Auckland), 6th, 7.30pm. He wasn’t best pleased. He rushed around, and we ended up fine for when the bus arrived. For some reason I was down as ‘Kylie’ on the list, but it didn’t seem to matter. We were in a small minibus, then halfway to our destination, Waitomo, we swapped to a bigger minibus, which had ‘East As’ on the side. (East As is an add-on that KE do, so the Waitomo Wanderer borrow that one instead of having their own). As we set off, there was a little confusion over which caving tour we were booked for, but it got sorted quickly. It had been a fast decision the day before – such a lapse in knowledge and forward planning is uncommon for me otherwise.

Once we had paid for the caving tour at the office, we got in another bus for a 5 minute drive. Our guide was a lovely woman, who had been with the company for the 22 years they had been doing the caves. I got the impression that she was an expert, experienced geologist and caver, which was impressive. Our group was small; two women from San Francisco, a Canadian woman, and a British couple, all at least thirty (the Yanks were probably in their fifties).

The caves were amazing. We spent about two hours going through them. There were stalactites and stalagmites, some amazing rock formations, a big spiral staircase, and orange and blue lights along the floor. We saw glowworms! Little spots of light on the walls and ceiling, then our guide shone her big torch on them, and we could see the dangling lines below them.

Hostel Paihia, 7^th, 6.30pm. She told us about their habits, like the fact that the fishing lines are coated in poison. We doubled back on ourselves and returned to sunlight. We got dropped off in the little town and tried to fill three and a half hours until the bus back to Taupo. We got a map from the ‘i site’ and were told of the three hour walk. We decided against it, even the weather was shaping up to be almost spring-like. At ‘the General Store’ Aiden bought lunch, we both bought scones and Cokes, and I got out my sandwiches. Once we had finished lunch, we went over the road to the park area. We sat a while on a bench, enjoying the sunshine, though having quite a heated discussion, then gave into temptation and swung on the swings. Aiden persuaded me to compete for the title of ‘Best Shoe Chucker’ which was a juvenile yet quaint pastime. It soon got tiring, so we decided on a more adult venture, and went to the pub. The remaining time was spent playing pool.

Back on the ‘East As’ bus, then the shuttle, then onto the computer for the sweet joy of free internet. Dinner for me was a cup of soup. Aiden joined Fiona and Ellie for frozen cocktails, and I excused myself to go watch trash American comedy in the TV room. Apparently the group went to the pub for a while, but I was oblivious until Aiden came to find me.

The morning of the fifth, we breakfasted and made sandwiches, and found that Driver Guide Toddy did not have us on his list. No worries though apparently, we got on the bus all the same. We were in Rotorua within the hour, including a stop to admire the stinking mud pools. And stinking just about covers Rotorua itself; the aroma of sulphur infused the whole town. We booked our Tamaki Tour for that evening, then checked into Hot Rocks Base. We got wireless internet, then jumped in the geo-heated pool. It was like a bath! It was lovely. But an odd experience.

Dried, we headed for the Governent Gardens, which were small and unimpressive, containing a group of Chinese tourists who were very interested in a game of boules some old men were playing. We ate our sarnies on a bench, eyed hopefully by a couple of seagulls. We then went down to the lakeside, and back the a small park across the road from the hostel, where we looked at more bubbling mud. Then we had downtime in the room.

I managed to get hold of reception’s phone to call Kiwi Experience, and the woman we hoped to stay with in Auckland, Mo, mother of my father’s work colleague. Getting hungry, we made some hot chocolate, and conversed with some girls in the kitchen until it was time to be picked up for our cultural evening.

Our driver of the ‘waka’ (originally a canoe, now meaning any transport) was Dennis ‘the Menace’, and he was lovely. He gave us a rundown of the evening, with special attention to the protocol of the welcoming ceremony. He called on the men of the tribe (ie the people in the waka) for a chief to step forth, and Leeds-born Italian immigrant second generation Jon-Luca took on the role. When we arrived at the reconstruction of a Maori village from the 1600s, the 5 tribes (ie waka loads, ie bus loads) gathered in a semi-circle around the courtyard in front of the gates. We were warned not to laugh, or move, or smile. Singing and chanting men in tradition dress and tattoos stood on the top of the walls as warriors came into the courtyard and danced around, making intimidating advances, facial expressions and noises at the line of 5 chiefs, many of which rugby fans would recognise from the haka, like a protruding tongue, and bulging eyes.

Finally, one warrior placed a twig on the ground and pointed with his spear at one of the chiefs. He looked the youngest (Jon-Luca was 25, and the other three were middle-aged men). The chosen one stepped forward, bent and picked up the twig, then stepped back. He looked terrified. Having shown that our tribes came in peace not war, we were invited across the threshold by the wailing women. It was an astonishing experience, and thrilling to witness. We then spent 15mins wandering around village, stopping outside some of the huts, where a tribesman or woman would explain an element of the culture, and activities of the village.

There was carving, dance and warrior exercises (one of which I had a go at), hunting, and food storage. Then we all gathered round the cooking pit, where we watched the hangi (‘feast’) being brought out of the ground, where it had been cooked by white hot rocks. Ushered into the meeting house, we then enjoyed a wonderful concert of traditional songs, dances and the haka, including a lovely love duet. It was incredible, hearing musical signatures alien to my ear, listening to the strange foreign words of the Maori tongue, and watching the performers, all in traditional dress, made from furs and grass weavings, with tattoos on arms, legs, and faces.

After dinner, 7.30pm. Then we feasted in the dining house. It was a buffet, with chicken, lamb, stuffing (of all things), as well as fish, mussels, sweet potatoes, and other delights, followed by trifle and hot custard. As people started finishing, they got the guitar out again, and sang some more songs, this time Western ones that many people joined in with.

On the drive back, Dennis tried to keep the party mood going, but no one wanted to sing. Aiden, embarrassingly, took the microphone and attempted a singsong as well, but only thought to try kids nursery rhymes. He didn’t succeed. And he forbid me from singing a song on the mic – “No one likes the music you sing.” We had some quiet chat in the dorm once we were back, then it was bedtime.

Yesterday was an up and down day. It started up – we got a lie in. Aiden went swimming, but I stayed under that duvet as long as I could. Got some breakfast, then finally got some emails from Mo, a big up. I had been having trouble getting hold of her; neither of my emails had provoked a response, and when I had rung her the day before, I had been forced to leave a message. But the three emails I read that morning explained that her computed had been being fixed.

Our bus was late, so we had to stand in the rain, and it was white, rather than green. This was a down moment. The driver was possibly called Kane. Another moment opposite to up came when we organised our buses, to discover there was no bus on one of the days we had hoped to travel. So a little rearranging was in order – God bless pencil. Aiden was also complaining of a crick in his neck.

It was still raining when we stopped in Matamata, a place known as Hobbiton, as it was where Peter Jackson did a lot of Shire filming. Aiden bought a cookie (an up moment for him, I suppose). We argued about the way up to eat it – icing underneath, or on top? Okay, so it wasn’t much of an argument, more of a discussion to see off boredom until the bus driver came back to let us out of the rain. Between Matamata and Auckland, we watched a film. It was the children’s animated story of a villain, ‘Despicable Me’ with a great voice performance by the guy from Evan Almighty doing a Russian accent. It was funny, and heart-rending in equal measure, and I enjoyed it (from the chuckles next to me, I think Aiden did too). Definitely an up moment.

But it was not to last. Unbeknownst to us, as we giggled at the antics of the small, yellow minions, and Russel Brand’s deaf mad professor, ahead lay a very big down. We had a ten minute stop at the Kiwi Experience headquarters, and then we got off at the Base hostel. We went to reception (on the 3^rd floor, what the hell) and then through to the phones, because we weren’t checking in. I needed to get hold of Mo. We spent about $10 doing so. She left work a minute before I rang there (as Aiden ate a bacon sandwich). Then I left a message on her mobile. A very dispirited and grumpy Aiden went to get lunch, a McDonalds that didn’t cheer us.

I then phoned again, and got hold of her. She told us to get a train; it was 4 o’clock, and she said if we couldn’t phone once we got to the other end, she’d just come down at 5.15. Once I put the phone down, Aiden said to call her back and check if she’d bring us into the bus in the morning. Luckily, she said she would. Aiden was still not convinced, wanting to stay at Base. But I wanted to meet this woman who had offered us her home, plus it would save us a whole night’s accommodation in the long run.

We walked the ten minutes down the road to the station, bought tickets, and got on a train within minutes. It was a half hour journey, and we were only waiting five minutes when a woman waved at us from the car park at Glen Eden station, and confirmed that she was Mo. She was a colourful character. She chatted non-stop the whole evening. We stopped to buy veges (as they spell it in NZ) then piled out of her small car to be greeted at the gate by Flynn the very affectionate and enthusiastic black Labrador.

We were very happy to have rooms to ourselves, for the first time since waking the fly to Singapore, especially as they contained queen-sized beds, and though dinner took a long time to cook, we chatted to Mo and used her computer, and I rang our contact for Auckland when we return, making the arrangements as sound as I could. We ate fried chicken, piles of sweetcorn, peas and broad beans, with mashed potato. It was wonderful grub. I had a shower, and as I emerged from the bathroom, Aiden went to bed, sort of early. Mo and I stayed up chatting. I had a great evening; we got through the downs to finish on a great up, and it felt like I was back on tour again!

It was a grisly 5.30 start this morning though. We all had Ready Brek and fruit for breakfast. Then Mo drove us to the Base, and we said our goodbyes. We waited about half an hour on the pavement, then onto the bus we got, with Driver Guide Jared (bald). The breakfast stop was the Honey Café, where you could see the inside of the hive, and have a free honey tasting. I took a good spoon of Manuka, to stave off another cold like the one I’m just over. Aiden and I shared a Millionaire’s Shortbread.

Along the way, Jared gave us a bit of commentary. Then when we got to Paihia, the Bay of Islands, he gave us a quick tour, as it’s only small. We checked into the Pipi Patch Base (I don’t know why some of the Base’s have names and some don’t), and found our room to be a bit strange. We thought it was 4 bed when we first got in the door, but round the corner was a door leading to another room with 2 more bunkbeds. We’re in the second room, and though there are some blokes in the front room, we have essentially a private room for the night. And it’s ensuite, which is so nice to have.

We went to Countdown, and bought groceries, having a serious talk about money on the way. Lunch was a success; Aiden was very pleased with his cheap frankfurters. Yes Dad, I know I’m talking about food. We used the computers briefly, then watched TV. Aiden then attempted to fix his bag, the handle’s mechanism being broken. He actually did as well, using paper and sallotape.

We went out for a walk, which took about an hour, to a lookout over the harbour. On the way up, we were surprised to pass the two ladies from San Francisco whom we had met on the cave tour. At the top, I didn’t look at the view until I had my breath back, but it was pretty. I enjoyed an apple and some chocolate. Once back at the hostel, Aiden put a hole in his belt, because his jeans will not stay up (the boy has no hips), and I started scrapbooking. Dinner was an attempt at soft boiled eggs that turned into hard boiled eggs, but it was alright. Aiden had a shower, I sent some emails, and now the boys in the front room have returned and are playing music. Aiden wants the netbook now.

9.30pm. I ran out of sallotape for my scrapbooking, which is not good. Must remember to get some more. We’re just watching a TV show on the netbook, and Aiden has gone to have a snack. I know it’s not very late, but we couldn’t be bothered to go to the bar, or talk to the guys in the next room, so it’s a quiet night in, plus I’ll probably go to bed early. I did get up at 5.30 for pity’s sake. The church isn’t far in the morning, so I won’t have to get up too early to get to the service.

Hostel Paihia, 9^th, 11.30am. Yesterday was very good, until the early hours of this morning. But I’ll get to that. I was up for church, and quickly dressed and got breakfast. When I glanced at my watch over my coco puffs (so much worse than the UK coco puffs by the way) I was astonished to find that it read ten minutes before my alarm. It had slowed. I put it forward to the correct time, and it seems to have kept up. I don’t know what happened.

Church was nice; it was just a little one but there was a relatively large congregation. The sermon was about Red Cross Day. I chatted to a few women on the way out, but decided against going to tea at the local café. Back at Base, I made a small picnic, and then we went on a walk to a waterfall. It took us half an hour to get to the entrance to the track, and then we were off. It was perfect weather; about 23 degrees, with a blue sky, and enough shade on the track to keep us comfortable.

It was quite an easy track, because there wasn’t a lot of uphill struggle. I still got a little hot and sweaty, but I didn’t lose my breath. It took us about 75 minutes to get to the falls. Aiden attempted to work out our pace, using the kilometre markers, but the map’s lack of detail hindered him. About 10 minutes from the falls, we stopped a group of 3 girls coming in the opposite direction to ask how far it was to go. This turned into a small discussion, as travellers do; I was recognised from church that morning, and they asked us about bungy jumping and sky diving.

We ate our picnic on the edge of the falls, literally on the rocks over it. Occasionally there was a rainbow in the spray. It was a nice location to eat. On the way back, we were a lot more chatty; I suppose the fact that the subject was Aiden’s favourite (IT) was a major reason for this. My knee started aching, but once we got back (after stopping at Countdown for some sallotape and a muffin for me) we had some downtime, which helped the pain. I finished my scrapbooking, and Aiden watched Glee on the netbook.

Aiden ate an early dinner. With access to the netbook, I watched two Disney movies in succession. When the second was done, I went and made dinner. Sitting down in the lounge/dining area, I caught the end of the film Team America, and met Andi, as we were sitting next to each other and made amusing comments about the film we were watching. He offered me sorbet. Once the film was finished, and the entire room emptied, he suggested we finish the sorbet over another film. I was happy to agree, because he was a fun guy.

We decided on Ice Age 3, because I wanted to see it, and Andi agreed that it was a travesty that I hadn’t already seen it. As Andi went to get the film going, Aiden wandered in, talked to me for a moment, and then wandered out. I found out later that he ended up getting rather tipsy in the bar, which had interesting consequences. But again, I’ll get to that.

Andi and I had a good time watching IA3. We did as we had before, making little comments about the action and the characters, mostly that made us giggle. When it finished, we just stayed where we were on the sofas, and chatted. The conversation turned from films to lots of other topics, which flowed easily and naturally from one to the other. I had a ball; it was so nice to exchange ideas with someone new, and actually discuss topics intellectually, on equal level, with a great deal of respect, something I haven’t done on this trip apart from with David, who I never really had the opportunity to talk to properly. It was a little surprising to find that Andi was 29, and he had thought I was at least 21, but the 10 years was no barrier.

We had a cup of hot milk, and then we were booted out at half 12. I was shocked to find it so late; we had chatted for about two and a half hours! I had a wonderful time. I was annoyed to find that he was the local horse trek guide; if only I had decided to trek in Paihia! It would have been a blast. But, sadly, we went to bed.

2.45pm. Now I was surprised to find Aiden not in bed when I got back; I worked out that he must be in the bar. Just as I had got comfy, he got back, and he was not alone. He had a girl with him, a girl I later found out to be Bobbi, 25, an African American travel journalist. I heard the sounds of them get into bed together, try as I might not to hear, and then they were using the computer. I thought, maybe this isn’t the situation I assumed.

But minutes later I realised that I was wrong, and it was definitely going to happen. I grabbed my duvet, and thank God there were two separate rooms, because I could close the door on them, and still have somewhere to be. Also luckily, there was a blanket on the small armchair that came with the room. I laid that out on the floor between the two other sets of bunkbeds, and using the bathmat from the shower as a pillow, managed to get some uncomfortable sleep. I was very angry that what had been a blissful evening with Andi had turned into a nightmare night.

When the light of dawn penetrated the wafer-thin curtains, I woke, and got back into bed. I must have woken the other two, because I soon heard the little miss leave for the walk of shame. I went back to sleep until 10.30 this morning.

I dressed and had breakfast, then Aiden and I set out for the ferry. I tried not to be too pissed off about the night on the floor, but I couldn’t help a few comments slipping out over my cereal bowl. He found great pleasure in telling me the tale of how they had met the night before, and talked about computers and photography, and gone for a walk on the beach. I let me him babble and silently fumed.

The ferry was across the harbour to a town called Russel on a peninsula that curls round to face Paihia. After ten minutes on the front deck, in the glorious sunshine of a blue sky day, we arrived. We picked up a map of Russel, and within fifteen minutes had seen all there was the see in the town. We saw the first church in New Zealand but didn’t go in, passed over the Russel Museum, and took no interest in the traditional police house. We then headed for the walks in the area. It was a loop walk, both on road and tracks, with detours to a lookout, which had a spectacular view of the Bay of Islands, with the sea sparkling in the sun; and down to a tiny, miniscule bay.

I was sweating like a sinner in church by the time we got back to the wharf. Right now, I’m sitting on my bed, having walked back from the ferry about half an hour ago. I just hope last night is not repeated.

Hostel Paihia, 10^th, 11.15am. Well, the night before last was not repeated! At least, the worst bits weren’t. After I stopped blogging, I watched Beauty and the Beast. Yes, more Disney but I felt like it. After that, about quarter to five, I grabbed the pot of hot chocolate and headed for the kitchen. I was very pleased to meet Andi again when I got there, and I will admit I had been greatly hoping for that chance. Once greeting each other warmly, we both immediately offered each other food (he had pasta) and drink (I had hot chocolate).

And so, as if scripted, we smoothly fell into the easy conversation we had enjoyed the evening before, in the kitchen over the snack. He was very sympathetic when I told him about my awful night, and admonished me for not knocking on his door for help. There were free beds in his dorm, for pity’s sake. You can imagine my reaction, and my agreement that I had been a bit thick.

We wondered into the living room, and sat down to watch the film that was on (The A-Team), but quickly just carried on chatting. I had to stop at one point and go make pasta for Aiden and I. Later in the film, Andi decided to cook some potato wedges, and invited me to join him. I said yes. So we talked as he fried. We were talking about everything and anything, without any hesitations, not even interrupting, just drifting back and forth between us with complete ease, but still actually passing new ideas, and really getting our teeth into the subjects. It was beautiful! A blissful meeting of souls.

This didn’t stop after the wedges. (Sidenote: As I type, Aiden has put on the film that was on when I sat down next to Andi the first time, and we just got to the part that we started talking about. Ah, good times. I’m so happy it happened.) The A-Team had finished, and when we ended up back in the lounge, someone put on a Kiwi film called Boy. We started out meaning to watch it; Andi said it was good. But side comments to each other about the film, turned into more conversation about the film, and it just evolved back into an easy conversation about anything and everything.

Andi was a grazer, so we ended up back in the kitchen for a snack, and just stayed there, chatting away. The sun set, and it was a while before we realised we should put the light on, rather than talking to each other’s profiles. We were kicked out at midnight, and Andi suggested he show me Paihia at night. So we went for a walk under the stars. Okay, that sounds romantic. It wasn’t that kind of atmosphere; we had a connection based on a meeting of complimentary passions, and a way of thinking; most of our opinions matched, and even when they didn’t, we simply discussed the differences, and how they were often just two ways of looking at something, each legitimate and reasoned out.

We were on the same wavelength, and we embraced finding someone else who we could simply be ourselves with and say anything, knowing it would be considered with due respect and interest. It had an element of emotion I suppose, because we found pleasure in each other’s company, we liked each other, but it was mostly a pleasure based not on attraction, but intellect, understanding, similarity, matching passion and sympathies, respect, acceptance, and many other things in a similar vein.

We wandered round the town, through the deserted, shadowed streets, along the shore of the dark water, and then Andi took us to a lookout over the bay. We stayed up there for quite a while, our voices quieting but our conversation maintaining intensity, both of us sharing stories and details of our lives, as felt natural. In time, Andi suggested it was starting to get cold, and I looked at my watch. It was 2am! We decided to head back.

But we were so deep in dialogue we kept going round the block. We passed the hostel twice, before we realised what we had done. At 3, we really headed back, but it still took 15 minutes to say goodbye, because it just descended into more chat. But after exchanging contact details, and admitting how much we both wanted to carry on the next day (but we couldn’t because I was leaving and he was working), and also see each other again, because we recognised our connection, we finally went to bed. If we had met a day earlier, he confessed he would have asked me to delay my bus. And I confessed I would have done my best to convince Aiden to let me.

This morning, I was woken by Aiden, who reminded me that we had to check out, which I had completely forgotten when I fumbled my way into the room at silly o’clock. I had a quick shower and packed, because I obviously hadn’t the night before. As I had breakfast, Aiden went on the computer, then I followed. We went to get a snack at the bakery, then came back to this lounge, and Aiden put on a film.

Hilary’s house, 11^th, 10.30am. Today has gone a lot smoother than our last visit to Auckland. Aiden had plans to spend some time with Bobbi today, but it fell through. After he had finished his film, we went out for lunch, to a café round the corner called Alfresco’s. It was a nice lunch, but out of ignorance we ordered a portion of chips each, and they were huge; we only managed about quarter each. When we got back to the hostel, I don’t know what Aiden did to kill the time before the bus, but I enjoyed the sunshine on a bench outside, plugged into my ipod, book in hand.

We collected our bags, and Aiden was weirded out to find our Driver Guide was Fly (don’t know the spelling), a petite woman. Bus was loaded, we were seated, and off we went, leaving Paihia, when I really didn’t want to. It had been such a surprise to have one of the best experiences of the whole trip in the little town. When we arrived, we had thought it would be quite boring, and we were annoyed that the bus timetable meant we had to spend more time than we had planned. But my word, was that fate or what! I moped about leaving Andi behind, and then welcomed the distraction of the film The Holiday that Fly put on.

We came into Auckland over the harbour bridge, and got a magnificent view of the nighttime city with all its twinkling lights. We were dropped off opposite the Kiwi Experience head office, and as we made tracks to cross the road, I was hailed by name. Hilary was already there. It was really nice to finally meet her, being my distant cousin. She and her husband Gordon took us back over the bridge to their house, and she showed Aiden and I to our separate rooms – oh the luxury! I have a queensize bed and an ensuite bathroom.

Dinner last night was steak casserole, and Hilary and I discussed the family connection. We spent time putting together a family tree, and I had the pleasant surprise of being shown pictures of my grandmother age 2! Very weird. Hilary’s son Greg came over, so I got to meet him, and Aiden had a fun time talking to him about technical stuff, as they put up Hilary and Gordon’s new massive TV. By the time it was installed, and I had gone over all the pictures, it was 10pm, and I was exhausted, after my late night with Andi. So I was first to go to bed.

This morning we woke to disgusting weather. Tipping it down it is, as I type, and the wind is so strong. Hilary was kind enough to lay out breakfast, and we chatted over the table. Aiden was up about 2 hours after I was, and now we’re trying to work out what to do in Auckland. I’m going to be honest, with this weather, and our budget, I don’t quite fancy going out. But I don’t want to intrude on Hilary and Gordon. We’ll see.