Our final stop is an area North of Auckland, Torbay/Brown’s Bay, a beautiful beach laden suburb. The house we are staying is our favorite of the trip. It has a pool so the kids can swim, though Eliot seems to have a mild curse. Every time he touches water this whole trip, beach or pool, the sun disappears and it starts to rain. Yesterday morning he woke up early, as we promised him pool time first thing. The sun was out as we put on our suits and found towels. The minute he jumped in the water it started to rain. He did his best, but quickly announced the water was frigid and ran upstairs to take a shower. Not 2 minutes after he went inside the sun came out again. Alex and I did yoga in the sunshine next to the pool. Poor kid, same story at the beach later in the day. The life guards were shivering as he boogie boarded in the ocean.

 

Please forgive my talk of sunshine and beaches, as I know it’s quite cold at home. The weather here overall has been about 20 degrees colder than the norm (think the inconsistency of June in the PNW). As most of you know I am the only one in my family who does not relish snow, so having a warm Christmas has been incredible for me. Imagine 4th of July style celebrations and merriment except everyone is wearing Santa hats and reindeer headbands on the beach. It feels like a joke when everyone is wishing you a Merry Christmas. We went to get pizza the other night and there was a group of 5 surfer dudes in full Santa costumes loitering in the parking lot.

 

This house is the quintessential beach house, I am writing this from a deck chair with a view of the ocean. But as usual, we have struggled with the appliances. It took four of us to get the oven to work. My friend, Lisa, turned on the switch for the oven, but nothing came on. We turned knobs, pressed buttons. Nothing. Aresa came over turned it off and on again at the same switch and it lit up. Then it took a while to hold down the right combination of buttons to set a timer, which is what convinces the oven to start heating up. This sounds ridiculous and if it were just me I would tell you I was simply having a clueless moment, but when everyone gets into the act and can’t make it work…. We have flicked every single switch in this entire house to try to turn on the garbage disposal without success.

 

Each of the places we have stayed have had a different assortment of supplies. We never quite knew what we would find on hand. What one place had plenty of, the next had none. This makes sense for kitchen equipment and utensils. But it extended to paper towels and toilet paper, basics like salt, pepper, and oil, and the one that I never seemed to remember to buy at the store and beg of all hosts to supply was laundry detergent out of kindness. I needed a checklist of basics to look for before the first store run of each house.

 

On our way to this last house we drove to the West side of the island for the first time to check out the black sand beaches. We drove to the tiny town of Piha and spent a few hours playing in the sand, it really is black and black sand is REALLY hot. And huge waves, Alex loves waves. Alas, Aresa lost her orthodontic retainer and spent a long time searching in the ocean for the small green plastic apparatus, even though we told her over and over that it was ok. A retainer can be replaced, but she cried and searched a while longer. Talk about a needle in a haystack.

 

Our final road trip was up North to the Bay of Islands. We visited the grounds where the original treaty between the Māori and British was signed, a treaty that been the center of a legal battle ever since. And though the translation of what the treaty says is still being fought in the court system, our Māori guide explained that for her people it isn’t a battle against, but for a future of equality with all the people of these islands. It was a very mature and balanced attitude that we have found to be very common in this country. Passion and strong values but loving and welcoming even in the face of conflict and disagreement.

 

This trip has been such an interesting ride. New Zealand is incredible. We had been told prior to arrival that it was stunning, but you can’t grasp the caliber of it until you are here. It is special. I love that almost everything closes at 5pm on the dot every day, even though it was often inconvenient. Family time and living of one’s life is a cultural value woven through everything. Everywhere we went the people seemed happy. While nice and pleasant I don’t often get the vibe from my cashier at the Issaquah Safeway that she is happy in life. I got that feeling from every person I met here, most of whom were working in a store but took the time to stop and talk with all of us.

 

We added ribs to the too short list of things Eliot likes to eat. That was a huge, if not messy, win. And Aresa has discovered the amazing world of Indian cuisine. She loves it so much she convinced us to get take out Indian for Christmas dinner.

 

We worked very hard throughout this trip to be respectful visitors and do our best to adapt to New Zealand’s norms. Alex did a great job of adhering to the speed limit as speeding is rare here. Cashiers still check the signature on your credit card against the receipt. It took me a bit to realize this wasn’t just a few cautious storekeepers, it’s the norm. I did confuse the heck out of the guy at the pizza place when I ordered Canadian bacon and pineapple, as they do not call ham on pizza Canadian bacon.

 

We fly home tomorrow. While many of you are sitting down to a holiday meal we will be flying into our yesterday. When I thought of the trip home, before we left I was very nervous about our return. I thought I would be devastated to leave. And while I will miss this country, the pace and general attitude fit me, I am looking forward to being home. It turns out that perpetual vacation doesn’t feed my soul, I need something to do. I also need time to take root in a place, to feel like I have the basics in hand so I can then relax and look around. And I thrive with a routine and structure, something that is hard to create with constant new variables.

 

I’m very happy to have had this experience and would highly recommend it for all of you. Traveling with your family for longer than 2 weeks if you can swing it allows for a deeper experience. Spending over a month smooshed into small cars and lodgings with your family forces you to take note of the strengths and challenges each person brings to the table. I learned a lot about myself as well, the ticks and values that are far more pronounced or important to me than I realized.

 

I would love to do something like this again, but better, as I have learned so much. And it was a pleasure watching Alex have the time to spend with the kids and bond with them in a way we don't always manage at home. Alex regards this trip as the tryout for a year-long adventure.

 

Thanks for reading about our adventures. I'm working on more blogs about the trip for fellow travelers. If you would like to read more ramblings from TheSassyRedhead sign up and once or twice a month if I'm feeling sassy, i will send an email your way. It will leave you a. inspired, b. laughing, c. rolling your eyes, or d. shaking your head.

 

Love,

Heather and her band of Merry Berry’s