In life, it is not where you go, but who you travel with.
-Charles Shultz
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One year. 365 days. A year can be considered a long time if you are going away, and a short time if you are 100. A new year can be filled with so much possibility, and a year past with so much reflection.
Here in New Zealand we are straddling the line. Reflecting on our first year that has passed before our eyes, and looking forward to a shiny new year full of potential.
It is hard to believe that it has been a year since we first made our first footprints on the New Zealand soil. But when I reflect back on what we were doing and feeling last January, it isn't hard to see just how far we have come. Last January, we were waiting in trepidation for my physiotherapy licence to be approved so we could finalise our visas; Huff waited out her time in quarantine; and we all were crossing our fingers that our kiwi dream would become a reality. Today, we stand with two feet firmly on the New Zealand landscape, instead of one nervously in and the other one out. We have real jobs, real friends, and a real life here. The last year has passed us by, at times quickly and other times slow, each part developing the pieces of our new life as honorary kiwis.
The last few months has been filled with travel, celebration, and sun. Finally making it through the rain and wind of the winter, we have found ourselves reaping the rewards of the beach, sun and sea. We started our summer journey by taking a road trip north to Auckland for a long weekend. We joined our friends Kim, Andy, and their son Harry and headed out on the 8 hour drive from Paraparaumu to Auckland. Most people in New Zealand consider driving eight hours to be a very long trip, being that you are literally travelling from one end of the North Island to the other. For us Canadians, eight hours hardly phased us, and allowed us to be privy to some amazing scenery that would otherwise be missed by air plane. Rolling hills, active volcanoes, the Desert Road and Lake Taupo were all part of our landscape as we drove north along the winding highway to New Zealand's largest city.
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| View of Mount Ruapehu, (an active volcano) from the Desert Road |
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| Rocking out to Coldplay |
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| Casa Miro Vineyard on Waiheke Island |
November seemed to be a month full of change, both on the seasonal and professional front. In November, I accepted a promotion to the role of Clinical Manager of TBI Health in Mana, a community about 20 minutes south of Paraparaumu. Not only did this mean a change of location and responsibility, but also committed us to staying in New Zealand until February 2014. On the same day, Trent made the move from a contracted position to a full time employee with Kiwi Bank.
Huff has also found herself continuing to change and grow. After starting agility school six months ago, she has come a long way from being scared to run through the tunnel, to instead running too fast over the steep A frame (and falling off). After shedding some excess weight she had put on in her first months in New Zealand, she has become more energetic and excited about her new found dog sport. She practises outside almost every night, and was lucky enough to receive her very own agility tunnel for Christmas. While we are at work she goes for afternoon walks with her mates Bailey and Elvis and our human neighbour Kim. Whether it is all the time she spends hanging out with Elvis, an English pointer, or whether her prey drive is becoming more dominant, Huff has found a nose for hunting more and more creatures during her off leash walks. Rabbits and birds seem to be her most likely prey, and only once has she come back successfully with anything in her mouth. Unfortunately her" catch" was a helpless baby Pukeko (native bird), so I'm not sure it took much skill. Luckily, Trent was able to rescue the bird and return it to safety before she actually caused any damage. She seems to love her life here as a coastal dog, rolling in the sand and grass, and puttering around the back garden. She really has become a Kiwi Catahoula.
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| Huff in action at Agility School |
Before we knew it, November grew into December and the Christmas season moved in. The heat seemed to set in a few days before Christmas, averaging somewhere between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. Cravings of warmth and coziness that a cold North American Christmas would stir up were quickly buried by the desire for a cold drink and food on the barbecue. We spent a wonderful, warm Christmas Eve volunteering our time to walk dogs at HUHA, a local animal rescue organisation, before enjoying drinks and an amazing sunset view on the balcony of our friend's beach front home.
Christmas Day was hot, sunny and beautiful. While I truly love the chaos and laughter of family at Christmas, this year I found new joy in the quiet Christmas morning with Trent and Huff. Though we have had Huff for almost two years, this was our first Christmas as a family, being that we were in Australia last Christmas while she was still in Canada. Our intuition was to wrap up lots of little gifts for her so she could join in the fun on Christmas morning. We were soon put in our place after she opened her first gift, a beef bone, and quickly headed out on the front lawn to chew on it for the next hour, completely ignoring the rest of the festivities. The rest of the day was just as fun as the beginning. We went for an afternoon swim in the ocean, where I got a friendly reminder from a local crab not to step on his head (ouch!), before entertaining our close friends for a delicious Christmas dinner out on our patio.
It turns out Christmas was just the beginning of an amazing holiday season. The great thing about living in the southern hemisphere is that Christmas is a holiday (that is a little inside joke for you Lee Vivian). In reality, few people here actually make a point of working between the 22nd of December and the 7th of January, and alot of major business ad government organisations shut down. After surviving the chaos of Christmas, we too were ready for a real holiday. On the 29th of December, we flew to the South Island, destination Nelson, en route to the Abel Tasman National Park.
The Abel Tasman National Park is located on the central north tip of the New Zealand's South Island. It is ranked as one of New Zealand's nine great walks by the Department of Conservation (www.greatwalks.co.nz), and is the only one with a kayaking option. The track in total is 54.4 km and winds through the green native forests banking the beautiful blue Abel Tasman Sea. On a sunny day in New Zealand, the bright vibrant contrast of the rolling green land against the stunning blue ocean is like nothing I have seen anywhere else in my travels. This was never more apparent than during our three day trip through the Abel Tasman National Park.
We started our trip by meeting our guides, Shannon and AJ, at the Wilson's Abel Tasman headquarters in Motueka, a small town outside of the park. We were lucky enough to spend the next three days with the welcoming, warm staff of the Wilson's team, which made our time in the park even more extraordinary. We set out by catching a water taxi from the town of Kaiteriteri, a popular beach getaway spot at the south end of the park. We took the water taxi north west and headed to Totaranui where we would begin our trek. From Totaranui we walked the track through mature rata and beech forests to the tidal inlet of Awaroa. Awaroa was the location of our first overnight stay, a lodge called the Meadowbank Homestead, restored to look like the family home that had resided on this location for almost a century.
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| Walking through the track from Totaranui to Awaroa |
The second day of our three day journey was the most physical, starting with a two hour walk from Awaroa to Onetahuti Beach where we met our kayaks. We put in from this beach for a four hour journey of paddling the azure blue waters of the Abel Tasman Sea. On our way from Onetahuti to our destination of Torrent Bay, we stopped at several secluded beaches (only accessible by boat), and three island seal colonies, where we spotted several seals sunbathing and playing in the water.
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| A seal resting on the rocks after a swim |
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| Walking through an estuary at low tide, at high tide this is the bottom of the ocean floor. |
We reached Torrent Bay Lodge in the late afternoon, with plenty of time to enjoy the final hours of New Year's Eve 2012. We found ourselves blessed with a beach front lodge looking out on the bay, a gorgeous sunset, and an evening's firework display. It was the perfect way to close out an unforgettable year of travel and new memories.
Waking up to the first morning of a brand new year, we started our kayak back towards Kaiteriteri, where we would end our trip. On the way, we had the unique opportunity to "sail" in a kayak. Our guide, Shannon had us raft up side by side so we were three kayaks wide. She pulled a sail out of her pack and anchored it to the upright paddles of the two back kayakers, and the hands of the two front kayakers. The next minute the wind caught our sails and we were off! Literally sailing as a group of six through the sea, laughing and soaking ourselves with sea water at the same time. When the wind died down, we went back to paddling our way home. The rest of the journey included a paddle through a small cave carved in the coastal rocks, and a trip past Split Apple Rock, a giant rock split in half by natural forces.
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| Split Apple Rock |
In total, we kayaked 22km and walked 12 km of the track. Like all great trips, the three days seemed to pass in a heartbeat of stunning scenery, sun, and sea. It was a trip that was physical, relaxing and 100% New Zealand.
Back in Paraparaumu, we finished our holidays and went back to our work routine, but were soon met with a long weekend. We spent the weekend at home, enjoying the beauty of our local surroundings. On Sunday, we took a helicopter ride over the nearby Kapiti Island, a Christmas gift from myself to Trent. We look out towards Kapiti Island everyday walking Huff on the beach. The island is 8 km long and 2 km wide, and is a protected nature reserve for native birds and vegetation. A small Maori population of 12 people live here year round, but is otherwise unsettled. We flew out in a small helicopter over town and across the ocean, where we were able to see the island from above, as well as seeing the western side of the island which is impossible to see from land. It was a clear day, making the kaleidoscope of greens and blues even more distinct. On the way back to the landing pad, we had the opportunity to fly through some of the green rolling hills of the mainland. In a short 20 minutes, we developed a whole new perspective of the land that has surrounded us for the last year.
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| Trent's view from the front seat of the chopper |
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| Kapiti Island from above |
It is impossible to know what journeys this year will take us on, and in what direction they will choose to point us.
But, as we tuck another year into the suitcase of memories in our minds, it is exciting to realise how many untouched experiences lay ahead, and just how many new memories are waiting to be discovered.
