We honestly never really knew what each day would bring in my beautiful New Zealand.
Yesterday, prior to our 1am flight from Auckland, you would have found us out in Mercury Bay with Peter, Christine and Michael Kirker. They put him in the driver's seat as we wandered all over the bay, pausing at the famous Cathedral Cave before bouncing off across a most stunning sea.
Hei Matau is a jade carving in the shape of a highly stylised fish hook typical of the Māori people of New Zealand. They represent strength, good luck and safe travel across water..
It took a long time to find the jade pendant I loved enough to take home with me this time but I have it now ... a small piece of New Zealand to take away with me.
Jayme Anderson's work can be purchased online at the Hokitika Craft Gallery. Although it's better if you can just pop in and just get a feel for the piece that is yours.
Gert gifted me this exquisite piece of Marsden jade.
I spent an hour or more writing a blog post about where we are now, way up in the north of New Zealand ...
We caught the ferry over to Whitianga only to learn that the internet cafe had closed and here I am, at the Information Centre, with no USB port.
On the USB stick in my pocket, I have the blog post and photograph, the one that where I attempted to capture the ongoing deliciousness and intensity of all we're experiencing here in New Zealand.
We're back with the friends who welcomed us into New Zealand, relaxing at their beach house in the Coromandel, almost exhausted by the incredible kindess we've experienced during our time in this beautiful Antipodean world of mine.
It's been bliss here, so much more than I could have dreamed it might have been. So. Much. More.
We fly soon. I believe I will simply spend the rest of the northern hemisphere winter blogging stories and photographs from New Zealand.
See you once we're back online.
Christmas Day has already arrived here in New Zealand, 12 hours ahead of our Belgian world ... and day has dawned the deepest blue, down here in Dunedin.
Some exquisite gifts have been exchanged and as I sit here writing, the delightful chaos of Christmas Day preparations is going on around me.
A Granita dessert has been made by Katie, Sandra has peeled the new potatoes, Gert is putting together the Salade Paysanne too. The Pasta salad was whipped up last night by Sandra, and she's throwing the Turkey roast into the oven just now. Tim has cut up plates of cold ham and a chicken will be roasted later.
I was the pavlova girl but an evening out on one of the many hills around Dunedin, with two of my oldest friends in Fiona's beautiful house, means I'm moving a little more slowly than usual this morning. It was an evening that requires an entire blog post really ... so special it was.
I need to peel carrots but wanted to wish you the loveliest of Christmas days
Till later.
My little sister, Sandra, suffers being photographed while I mostly avoid it by being photographer however ... today, in the midst of photographing my sister's family, Katie-niece decided that there had to be photographs taken of the sisters who hadn't seen each other in so long.
We survived it together.
I woke early ... as always while back in New Zealand it seems ... and slipped out into the day before anyone else was awake. It's one of those things I used to do before leaving behind driving and beloved roads to known places.
There is no other road for me on a Dunedin blue-sky-summer-morning, it has to be the Otago Peninsula road and so I turned right and disappeared for a while.
It was bliss out there. The harbour was calm but the tide was out and so there was only one rowboat reflection. I'll have to go back before we leave ... I need one for the Belgian walls.
The weather folk tell me it was 17 celsius out there and I had taken a jersey but it didn't last and by the time I reached the Albatross Colony, I was all summer clothes and barefeet.
It's good to be back ... so good.
