Calm within the storm

17th of January 2015
Ok, so today marks the end of my time in my beloved country for a little while and a week since I wrote a blog entry. Due to the latter I decided to write another entry about my last week in New Zealand...

This week started with a monstrous amount of traveling; a 9 hour trip to Auckland and from there a 9 hour bus trip to Wellington. Although it was a great experience I don't think I'll do it again... I got quite over being in a bus. However, my friends, who I hadn't seen in about a year, decided they would brave up and come to Wellington if I made a 'trip' out of it. Needless to say, I agreed and the planning (ugh) begun... luckily I have a friend who loves planing much like a dog does a bone, bad reference I know -.-, and I don't actually remember planing much.

To take advantage of the services available and make the most of our time in Wellington we decided to take the Night Rider service offered by Nakedbus, that offers beds and blankets in the bus, and arrive conveniently outside Maccas in Wellington at 7am or some breakfasty time like that. Although not my intention I really wanted to show my friends how differently people behave outside of the sprawling metropolis of Auckland they call home. This, to my surprise, didn't take long... in fact all it took was a bus ride to our hostel and the 4 of them seemed delighted with how people behave, in Wellington at least.

My main reason for going to Wellington was to get my student visa for Mexico and I realised, because we were 6 and not just me, that other activities are gonna need to be done to satisfy the typical tourist within my friends, as most of them hadn't been to Wellington before.It actually wasn't hard to find things to do as Wellington, being the capital has a lot going for it. Some of the activities included sea kayaking in the harbour, visiting Te Papa museum, riding the cable car and generally looking at how much better the supermarkets are in Wellington... they have a hot food deli!

I really enjoyed this trip, it made me really appreciate the time in Wellington and with my friends, as I knew I probably wouldn't be able to see them before I leave due to... that's right, more traveling! on return from the weekend of pure excitement I spent a couple of days in Auckland seeing some members of my family, who I also hadn't sen in a while. And my nana drove up from Thames(about an hour and a half away) to spend the day with me as she didn't want to come to the airport for her own reasons. However, this was to come to an end, too. After about 4 days in Wellington I took a bus (ugh) to Rotorua to see my great aunty, some cousins and to meet my mum there. The whole bus ride I was just feeling so meh because it felt like I've spent more time in the bus than outside the bus. But the rewarding memories I made with all my beloved family in Rotorua were well worth the torture of another 4 hour bus ride.

All in all the last week I spent in New Zealand involved a lot of traveling and catching up with long lost family members, which truly was the calming factor to this busy week. Although the time wasn't big that I spent with them I will cherish it while I am away. It also helped me to realise how geographically different New Zealand is over short distances... One second you're in the middle of enviously great mountain then the next all you can see is flat land and lakes. Finally ending in a large amount of swamp land and farmland.

All my photos are from my Wellington trip, and are stolen from my friend Alice, as I didn't have a camera in the other places;

We arrived in Wellington outside the train station (and Maccas)

Selfie outside the hostel we stayed in

We didn't get a digital copy but this is of us before we went kayaking

The view from Te Papa museum

4/6 decided to go into the paid exhibit which was of dinosaurs... it was really amazing and oddly nice to see all the skeletons

one of the many skeletons in the exhibit

AirNZ was also celebrating 50 years of service so there was an exhibit for them. This is of Alice and Moeka, two friends, trying out the business class seats... the closest any of us will get to them seats

Moeka and I decided to try on the hats that form part of the AirNZ uniform

What's a trip to a museum without entering a Marae? such a beautiful one at that, too

Our governing building, the Beehive

The view from the top of the Wellington Botanical Gardens of the Wellington harbour

The Cable car we rode down the hill... probably one of my favourite things in Wellington, aside from the peanut butter milkshakes that is

A goal without a plan is just a wish

Well, it's about a week before my departure from Auckland and everything is starting to hit. Last night I had my last shift at work which, to say the least, was tough as the intensely strong love-hate relationship I share with that god forsaken place. I, in my usual style, didn't really tell many people that it was my last shift for the whole year in a desperate attempt to avoid one of my biggest hates; goodbyes and farewells. Aside from hating farewells they also change the feeling of everything and you begin to cherish things more; the last grumpy customer, the last time filling the forever emptying banana display, the wind that pushes me back on the bike, the last sight of the crowded bottle store and, finally, the last car that tries to run me over as I attempt to pull into the driveway.

As the day of my departure from Gisborne is also my aunty's birthday my mum, sister and I all decided it'd be a good idea to go and see her and wish her a happy birthday which just added to the anxiousness inside. At this time I realised that I don't feel sad or regretful when saying goodbye... instead I feel anxious to get everything over and done with. Why that is I don't know....

However, this feeling began to ease away after the first little bit. Thank god for that because that feeling just isn't a good time....

No matter how hard I try I can never seem to escape the clutches of the horrible farewell.... It just isn't something I like to experience; seeing my dog cringe in fear from the sight of the bus that will be my home for the next 9 hours, a large crowd of people standing next to the bus all teary-eyed as if this is the last time they will ever see their loved ones, my mum hiding the fact that she feels exactly the same underneath her sunglasses. All this emotion just to continue living as if this never happened... it just brings to life so accurately the saying 'out of sight, out of mind'.

Anyway, I am now on the bus that will drop me off in Auckland and all the surrounding of my lovely city just makes me wish I had spent less time working and more time enjoying this place while I can... but then again, it's only a year. What's gonna change pure paradise in one year? not much I reckon but time will tell...

Speaking of time, man how I wish the time on this bus trip would fly by like it does at work or the same way a month can just vanish and you are left lost without any sense of direction... well, I am, at least.