When you see me next you will notice that I have aged. My old spots will have grown larger under this southern sun. My teeth will be stained from all the flat whites I have been drinking. And the wrinkles on my face, my laugh lines, will be quite apparent. I have smiled much here in New Zealand. My smiles have been wide and deep, long lasting and many!. I have laughed aloud in shear joy at what I have seen, the sounds I have heard, the scents I have smelled, the textures I have felt, and the incredible, kind, interesting people I have met. And the love that my husband and I have shared is the truly the most wonderful part of it all.
I admit to being behind in my posts. We are leaving today and I have not yet written about our full day in Milford Sound, our final evening with dear friends in Queenstown and the trip back to Auckland. I will do so at the earliest opportunity.
As I write this we’ll be soon be leaving for an afternoon in the city of Auckland and then will board the plane to return home. This is likely my last hour with internet for a day or two. So this, really, is the time to write my good byes: Good byes to all of you who we have met, to all the places we have seen, to all of you who are reading my words in this moment.
But instead of doing that, because my eyes are already full of tears at that thought, I will end with a blessing from The Tongiriro Mountain:
May the guardians of the mountains keep you safe, may the memory of this experience lie warm in your hearts forever.
Kiwis and Fairy Bread 
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