... And back again

Written at Auckland airport, and posted a couple of days later because I forgot ...

I leave New Zealand baking in a heatwave and head off to a Korean winter. I'm sorry to go, but not because of the weather; in all honesty it's been a bit too hot these last few days.

Instead I'm sorry to leave NZ's stunning landscapes, good food and wonderful people. I did wonder on several occasions as I travelled this time what possessed me to leave back in 2009 - my head knows that from a career perspective it was totally the right decision, but my heart wonders what if ... NZ feels like a second home. It's comfortable despite the ridiculous scenery, volcanoes and earthquakes and it has a chilled-outness about it. Back in 2007 when I first got to Wellington I was a stressed-out mess of underpaid London workaholic - two years of better work-life balance made a big difference and these last couple of weeks have reminded me of that. Thanks to all those who took the time to catch up, it was wonderful to see so many friends again.

After the Northern Circuit I drove across the country the scenic route to Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, stopping in Rotorua for a wander in the redwood forest there. They don't match the kauri for majesty but they were very tall and it was a nice stroll. 

In Tauranga my London rowing friend Hannah joined me - she is currently living here but took the time to catch up, nicely coinciding with my birthday. We went to the beach at Mount Maunganui, as I can't do that at home in January, and simply chilled for the morning with a bit of splashing in the waves too. In the afternoon we headed north, pausing at Waihi Beach for a bit although high tide meant a general lack of actual beach! 

Hannah's host family in the Hauraki Plains kindly put me up for the night. As night fell we went out to look at the Kiwi stars, bright even despite a nearly-full moon glowing overhead.

I had to get back to Auckland the next day, but drove backwards first to explore Karangahake Gorge. A century ago this was a major gold mining area, with miners extracting quartz and then processing it for gold and silver. Some remains of buildings and tramways are still there and you can walk through mine tunnels, as well as a 1km long former railway tunnel. There were glow-worms in the mine tunnels and it was all very cool.

Auckland was Auckland, but I finished off with a spectacularly good ice cream from a fancy gelateria called Giapo. Instead of picking your flavours you pick an already-designed dessert, with toppings complementing the ice cream flavour. It was expensive but good.

And now as I write it's almost time to board for the long flight to Seoul, where I'll post this and start exploring an entirely new country. Thank you NZ, I'll be back.

Ka mihi koe ki Aotearoa.