Kiwis and Fairy Bread

3 and 4 January 2024

It was time to return Miranda. She’d been our home for over three weeks, traveling over 3000 kilometers (that’s the equivalent of driving from Somerville NJ to Orlando Florida and back!). In her we’d talked, cooked, eaten, slept, written, developed photos, recorded poetry, read, relaxed, and of course, seen the most beautiful of sights along the way. We’d loved van life. But this life was now at an end.

At the THL van rental just outside the Queenstown airport, we emptied our things out. I finally took down the paper snowflakes, leaving just one, hidden in a cabinet. For Miranda to remember us by, perhaps, for just a little while, before another couple makes her their own. Calls her by another name.

During check out we spoke to tourists just picking up their vans. All were heading right to Milford Sound. We warned them about the sandflies and gave most of our Share Table items directly to them. We had lots of advice and experience to share as well, but our ride was ready to take us to the airport.

Inside the Jetstar Terminal were signs stating that our carry on bags could weigh no more than 7 kilograms total. We took this very seriously and frantically repacked, reweighed, tossed food, soap and even socks into a rubbish bin. Got it! To the gate and then no one ever even checked! Oh well….

A delayed flight finally got us to Auckland where terminal signage was terrible and it took us over an hour to find the way to our Novotel that we could see was just on the other side of the airport. Checked in, our 8th floor room was luxurious, 3 times the size of Miranda, the bed twice as big. We walked across the street to the airport food court for dinner. Had some decent udon and ramen noodle soup. It was a strange experience to be walking around an airport without any luggage in tow.

Went to sleep in a bed far too soft and large: I could barely find Mike and I missed Miranda’s surrounding walls. Breakfast in the room with our remaining Vogel’s Toasted Almond and Vanilla Muesli (really wish I could find that in the US!), checked out, placed our bags behind the hotel reception and took a SkyCity bus into downtown Auckland.

It was strange being in a city. We didn’t enjoy it. Big cities are much like each other. Same name brand stores. Traffic, crowds, pavement. There was no green. Walked into a little park heady with the scent of marigolds. Took a ferry across the harbor. Ferries are a good way to get a look at a city. From the boat Auckland looked much like Halifax.

This was not the New Zealand we had come to see. Not the New Zealand we had experienced. Our adventure had ended. It was time to go home.

Picked up the bags, checked them in to the airline, not really caring about the weight this time. Onto our Air New Zealand flight. No sky couch for us this time. We had economy seats in the back of the plane. Up, up and away. The land was all green again. The sky bright blue, the clouds impossibly fluffy. Of course, I cried.

Kia Ora, Aotearoa. Good bye, New Zealand.