Kiwis and Fairy Bread

2 January 2024

From this point on we would be on the trip home. We packed up Miranda for the second to last time. Good bye to Juan: “Dinner in Queenstown?” “Definitely! See you soon.”

No need to stop and see the viewing points this time. But we were glad to watch a kea bird as we waited our turn in Homer Tunnel. It was trying to get into a caravan through a top vent. Going up the tunnel wasn’t nearly as scary as going down it in the other direction. A stop in Te Anau for a nap and a breath of minty air. Lunch with flat whites at The Coffee Bomb. And then we were back at The Queenstown Holiday Park.

Time to sort everything and repack. I set up the outdoor table and chairs for all my stuff. Mike stayed inside and used the bed. Garbage was thrown away. Extra bottled water given to the camper van couple next door. A bag was filled with items for the “Share Table” at the Maui rental. I’d taken advantage of that when we’d arrived, it now time to return the favor. I wondered, how many trips had that packet of sea salt taken? And will it take again?

The bags packed, I emptied and cleaned Miranda’s cabinets. The bottle of hundreds & thousands had come open, spreading tiny colored sprinkles everywhere. Oh well, no more Fairy Bread for me! Took all of the chocolate out we’d been keeping in the microwave: dark chocolate Kit Kats. Chit Chat chocolate biscuits and big bars of thick Whittakers with toasted almonds. New Zealand really know how to make chocolate!

Now, should I take down the paper snow flakes I’d put on Miranda’s windows on that very first day? It seemed a lifetime ago that I’d marked her as ours with that little touch of Christmas. No. I couldn’t bare that task quite yet.

And besides, there were blog posts to finish and post cards to write, At 6pm Marianna and Juan contacted us about dinner. Super! Chelsea and Rhys would be coming too. So we all met at the wharf in exactly the same spot where little Mawaba and I had played “Shark Shark, what is the time” a few days before. Queenstown was still packed with visitors, but Juan found a little English Pub that served pizza. We’d have to sit at the bar and wait for a table. But this place had personality to spare, so we didn’t mind one bit.

The Cow, as the pub was called, was situated in a hidden alley. Inside, the thick beams and dark wood reminded us of “The Three Broomsticks” in Harry Potter. A photograph of King George V hung above the fireplace. It looked just like Mike! The six of us toasted with lager and sparkling water and ate slabs of pizza served on round wooden boards. We took our time eating and then walked back to the wharf to a bar to continue the excellent conversation.

We six were all born in different countries: Marianna in Chile, Juan in Columbia, Chelsea in Hong Kong, Reese in Australia, and of course Mike in England and me in Eastern US. We talked of political climates in all these countries and around the world, the different wages and vacation lengths, the social service systems, our dreams of where we wanted to be years from now, how messed up The United States is, being a happy couple, how to care for aging families living far away from us, and how we actually get snow in New Jersey. (The term “snow day” was a foreign concept to all of them). It was stimulating.

There was yet another spectacular sunset at the far edge of the lake. It grew dark. And suddenly I noticed that we were the last customers sitting outside the bar. The staff was looking weary but was too polite to ask us to leave. It was past 11:00. Mike and I had only intended to be out until 9. I am very glad we’d lost track of time. But it was indeed, at last, time to say a final good bye to these truly amazing people.

The others all live in Sydney, so they parted with plans of getting together upon their return home. For Mike and I of course, that would not be possible. But now a trip to Australia and perhaps back to New Zealand seems like a very good idea.

Marianna, Juan, Chelsea and Rhys, thank you for three evenings of enlightening conversation and friendship. May you enjoy the rest of your travels and have a safe journey home. Please, please do keep in touch. If you ever find yourself in the United States we will meet you anywhere, any time. And we do have two guest rooms available in Somerville. Much love to you all!

A walk up the hill to our last night in Miranda. Above her shown The Milky Way. But I have already written about that…

Our last true night of New Zealand adventure could not have been better. Cheers!