Leaving Reefton

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Our travel blog is back! It is amazing how fast our year in Reefton has gone. The last few months have simply flown by for us all. February was jammed packed with work, farewells and packing. I will try to go back and fill in some of the blanks on the blog, but for now we are back on the road again.

On the way out of Reefton, we stopped at the town sign to take a picture of the family (see accompanying picture). This time we took a picture of the back of the sign to bookend our visit. The car is fully packed - every square inch inside and a couple of boxes on the roof too. We look like the Beverly Hillbillies. The kids are jammed in amongst the luggage and are tolerating the cramped quarters reasonable well at the moment. We hope to off load some of the boxes when we reach Auckland later in the week - to be shipped back home.

After leaving Reefton we headed to Nelson for dinner with Monika, a former patient of Astrid's (now locum doc in New Zealand). She brought along two other Canadian doctors. It was great fun trading Kiwi experience stories. After stopping at Nelson's Starbucks, (for the last time), we headed to the ferry to cross to the North Island. I somehow misjudged the time, so it was a bit of a sprint to the docks. We took a particulary twisted road following along the coast. The weight of the vehicle (and the high centre of gravity) caused it to pitch on every turn. There was a metal clip on the dash which screamed from side to side as we lurched along the coast - much to the apparent delight of Astrid. We made it to the Ferry with only a few minutes to spare. The crossing was not bad - the sea was rough for only about an hour of the journey. However, the motion to the earlier car sickness was not a welcome addition. We stayed at the CityLife hotel in Wellington. We had a huge 3 bedroom suite - which we picked up very cheap at the last minute from their website. There was a complete lack of energy - so we ordered in and watched TV before crashing for the night.

I have very mixed feelings leaving our home base in New Zealand.

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Photos

One Year Later
A family photo on the way out of Reefton

Comments

[junior]

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore
Wow, 3 clicks of the heels, and bang, the blog is back! Nice and shiney red shoes. It seems like yesterday we came for a visit, and saw your plans to conquor Oceania! Mission Accomplished! I can't help but have a sense of sadness, as I somehow also identified with you guys and Reefton. Looking forward to the westward trek reports. Did you hear, Starbucks has dollar coffees. Until next entry. jr

[junior]

Backwards
You guys are on the wrong side of the sign, which I understand, but complimentary to that, the car is also on the wrong side of the road! Are you guys all left handed now?

[junior]

Under the radar
I hope you guys are have such a great time, that there just isn't enough time for blogging. That's ok, I'm making up my own, continuing blog about your travels. I guess it's a little cooler as you move northwards. Welcome to our continuing winter. jr