The final chapter of our fantastic trip. After an uneventful flight from the Gold Coast we arrived in Auckland where our Limo service (Sam, Ula and Nats) were patiently waiting. Clearance had taken a little longer than expected as our tramping boots needed to be checked for soil and any nasty Aussie seeds that may have hitched a ride. Apparently seeds are a real issue and even though we had scrubbed our boots prior to packing the inspector did manage to find one which was great as we have enough imported and introduced pests in NZ already.
We spent the next couple of days at Sam and Ula’s place catching up and sorting out some things for Mangawhai such as a phone connection and food etc and then on Saturday we drove north to our new home. Not new in terms of how long we have owned it but new in terms of where we will now live. The weather was a continuation of what we had when we left Oz – rain, rain and more rain. Water supply from our tanks would not be an issue for a while at least.
Our little piece of paradise (Te Puna Ngahere) was pretty much as we left it. All credit to the various people who have been keeping an eye on it and of course special thanks to Mike and Sue who adopted it as “The Manor” and stayed there often. The flowers were very much appreciated along with the many welcome home notes via email that we received.
We spent the next week getting the phone on and installing a letter box and generally just sorting out the house so we can live in it. The phone connection turned into a bit of a drama as the line we had when we left the country had been given to someone else and the lines from our property to the exchange in the village were in a real bad way due to road works and the like. There was some doubt that we would even be able to be connected but in the end Telecom came through and patched some broken bits together to get us up and running. You can relax now Carol – the internet is back…
The past year has been an excellent “reset” of our lives. We have so many things we want do with Te Puna Ngahere that we will be busy for quite some time. A campervan is also on the list to enable us to see more of NZ. As for the big island. We have seen and experienced Australia in a way that gets you in touch with the place and the people and we will treasure that always.
