It’s been a while since recording monthly/periodical life updates. Due mainly to computer glitches, but also inertia and busyness….
So 2022, after a summer Travelling With Pickle,
ended in preparations for a whole family Christmas visit. In between my regular
day and a half of R.E. teaching, this academic year only from Year 2 to Year 5
– quite a welcome change – and some supply teaching in a local school just ten
minutes’ cycle away, I sourced clothing and equipment for the small people who
would be coming to visit.
A neighbour put a child’s plastic table and chair outside
their house, for the taking; I picked up a car seat and children’s cycle
helmets for free on the OLIO recycling app
and bought a tricycle from a Facebook group; borrowed travel cots, more
car seats, boxes of toys and Duplo and even children’s crockery and table ware
from kind friends; and visited a charity shop (GO – giving opportunities for
young people into work – selling all kinds of things from toys to toilets,
books to bathtubs, fashion to furnitures…) for a bicycle and other useful
items.
It involved quite a lot of trawling through buy and sell
groups on Facebook and visiting local charity shops, but eventually I felt we
were well-enough prepared.
The six weeks that the New Zealand contingent visited, from
the end of November until early January, were full on, with all kinds of
activities organised for very active children. Sadly, the weather meant that
there were not many days where an extended play time on the beach was possible,
but the library was wonderful, the swimming pool always a popular option and a
couple of visits from Cat’s best and closest school friends provided
entertainment as well.
In the middle, a week or so before Christmas, the Tanzanian
family arrived, Finn meeting his girl cousins for the first time. We celebrated
three birthdays within four weeks: first, Cara’s 4 years, with a pink palace
cake, liberally decorated with sprinkles; then Finn’s 1st, with a blue theme,
balloons and a sheep cake in honour of his favourite toy; and Rosie celebrated
turning 2 with a teddy bear, made from a mould sourced in our favourite charity
shop, or ‘op shop’, as it is known in New Zealand.
Then add Christmas into the mix… stockings with a selection
of all kinds of interesting gifts. Rosie in particular loved opening presents,
regardless of who they belonged to. The joys of a 2 year old. During the weeks
they were all here we delighted in the progress they made: Finn beginning to
walk (although it was at least a month after they returned home that he really
began to branch out, although a wooden toy tricycle was invaluable as a
balancing aid); Rosie’s language developed exponentially as she began to string
words together into intelligible phrases, no mean feat for her age; and Cara’s
creativity in everything she approached, whether solving a puzzle or
negotiating a particular need or desire with her parents.
All too soon, their visit was over and the house was empty.
We consoled ourselves with a concerted attack on housework and putting the
house to rights again, giving away toys and children’s furniture and returning
the borrowed items… the potty and child step stool from Sarah had been particular godsends: not
sure how we would have managed without them… January and February also saw us
intentionally catch up with friends, inviting many round for meals.
I also found myself teaching at another nearby school, all
with delightful – and alarmingly young (!) – teachers. It’s not a long-term
profession any more… the tales from the UK in particular are of extreme stress
and pressure caused by Ofsted resulting in mental breakdown or even, in one
horrific case, in suicide of a headteacher because of a poor (and seemingly
unjustified) Ofsted result.
The supply experience, though, has been great, and I
particularly like the children in my ‘new’ school. I have even found myself
enjoying Reception… helped no doubt by my experience with Cara, a year younger.
It’s very convenient, too: there is usually time to pop home at lunchtime to
see Richard, even when on my bicycle.
All too soon, half term arrived and with it our departure
for New Zealand. We had decided, back in November even before Cat and family
arrived, that we would try to go to visit them to help with the new baby,
expected February 22nd. Miraculously, as soon as I asked my head, he
gave his consent for me to take unpaid leave for the second half of the term.
(His last words to me, when we had a conversation about my renewing my contract
back in June 2022, had been that he ‘didn’t want someone who would disappear
off to New Zealand for 6 weeks’…!)
It had been quite hectic leaving all the lessons planned for
and prepared in advance. It is always more time-consuming to leave detailed
plans for others to deliver than to actually do the work oneself, especially as
I had no idea who would be teaching my lessons.
It had all been an interesting process. Covid – and
lockdown, staying in place for a couple of years – had left a legacy of finding
it hard to contemplate travel. We had, of course, gone off in the motorhome but
in many ways it felt like staying ‘at home’. Air travel, on the other hand,
seemed like quite a big step. Even the logistics of getting from Gatwick to
Heathrow and then to our hotel overnight seemed tricky. Still, we managed to
get the coach booked in advance at good times to allow for delays (although
there were none) and managed to negotiate our way through the vagaries of the
buses of the London Transport System to get to the Radisson hotel at Terminal
3. It was all well worth it – the hotel was very comfortable and had a swimming
pool, which we took advantage of both in the evening and early morning before
we left for our flight.
Once at the airport, all seemed familiar again. Virgin
Atlantic to San Francisco kept us very well-fed (I lost count of how many meals
they served us and even the gluten-free options were good) and entertained; the
transfer was incredibly easy and hassle-free, with no queues at passport
control and a delightfully friendly official; and then easy baggage check-in
and comfortable armchairs to wait in with a view over the airport apron to the
surrounding hills. After that, Air New Zealand was as wonderful as we
remembered and we felt surprisingly ‘untired’ when we finally arrived in
Auckland to be met by Andy’s brother John: Daughter No. 3 had arrived, just as
Daughters Nos 1 and 2 had, a day early, 12 hours before we touched down. Elsie Joy, 3.6kg.
We were delighted to be there and be of help. The weeks passed
in a blur of entertaining pre-schoolers, holding the baby and keeping up with a
constant stream of washing up, cooking, laundry and cleaning.
Entertainment included roughie time on the trampoline with
Yaya and, occasionally, Moomoo (no idea where Cara came up with that name as
she was learning to talk, but it has stuck). I learnt to recognise the early
warning signs which were precursor to Rosie launching herself, with some violence,
at me – and adorning Moomoo with pegs. The girls were crafty: they stripped off
all their clothes so they couldn’t be ‘pegged’
back. Most games went well, with only a few tears… #result.
We – I and the girls – spent a lot of time on the trampoline
which Rosie, in particular, absolutely adores. She was incredibly entertaining
with it, ordering me around with great enjoyment: “I go out now. You stay,”
with a backwards glance as she marched off into the house to ensure that I had
followed instructions with a further “Don’t get out.” It has been an absolute
delight to see her language developing in leaps and bounds over the last couple
of months.
Particularly memorable words have been the ‘Hello’ series,
developed on a car journey home one day. “Hello cars!” extended to the
favourite “Hello cucumber” which became her ‘go to’ phrase. Jumping on the
trampoline together one day, my hair flying up as I bounced, inspired her to
yell “Hello Yaya’s hair!”. Constantly inventive, she used words with glee as
soon as she learned them – Andy’s phrase of ‘Hoolibah’ was instantly adopted.
Cat leads the local Playcentre, a venue with an enormous
range of creative activities which all the parents involved take turns in
leading, and this is evident in the house. The list of ‘what to do when I feel
bored’ is impressively long, including ‘cups of tea and a chat’ and ‘drawing
with chalk’ – the house has a wonderful paved strip just behind it which houses
the Dow girls’ mud kitchen, a sandpit, numerous bikes and scooters and a
playhouse. Add to this the ‘garden room’ – a covered deck enclosed with PFV
rollblinds, furnished with comfortable couches and a coffee table and liberally
adorned with hanging pot plants and ferns growing up the ‘walls’.
Rosie enjoyed helping with dinner, as did Cara, and was
particularly adept at peeling garlic. Peeling stickers or drawing was another
favourite pastime – we loved hearing Rosie talking to herself about what she
was drawing (which was, of course, unrecognisable!), friends often featuring in
the chat. She is a delightfully inclusive little girl but is also very independent,
enjoying playing on her own. Cara, by contrast, gains all her energy from
interacting with others and is at her happiest when engaged in anything social.
And, of course, it was a delight to see Elsie gain weight
and fill out at an astonishing rate – in the first four weeks (and the first
week, when babies usually lose a little weight and then regain back to their
birth weight) she gained nearly 40% of her body weight – approximately 13% a
week! By six weeks her weight gain was DOUBLE the norm. She is a relatively
calm baby: demanding, of course, as all babies are and easily bored – she rarely
likes to lie awake in one place for very long.
A couple of weeks around the six week mark saw her develop
fretful spells in the afternoon. We found, quite haphazardly, that George Ezra’s
song ‘Shotgun’ had an instant and magical effect in calming her. As soon as he
started singing (the first few bars of the intro didn’t always cut it) she
quietened down, body relaxing. The effect gave some blessed respite and lasted
quite a few days, before she tired of him.
It wasn’t all cooking, cleaning and washing, though. Most
days we were able to venture out on a cycle ride or to go swimming – the local
pool is free, and a ten minute cycle ride away. We walked up and across Mangere
Mountain, just by the house (the address ‘Mountain Road’ is a significant
clue…).
Cat arranged various visits for us: a kind friend insisted
on lending us her car for a week while she was away, which enabled us to visit
Duder Regional Park (one of Auckland’s many), enjoying a good walk and amazing
views.
Cat got us tickets for Ayrslie Gardens, a private garden
somewhat like the Lost Gardens of Heligon with a variety of unusual plants
created by one family over decades; and a visit to Tiritirimatangi Island. We also
managed a visit to stay with Sue and Allan, Andy’s parents, at their home in
Houhoura in the Far North, driving up with them and flying back down to
Auckland.
And, of course, outings with the family. A trip to their
favourite beach in east of Auckland, at Maraetai, where Cat and Andy’s sister
Bex have done triathlons. We swam in a calm sea, warmer than back home in
Guernsey although still a little chilly at first.
Visits to the café and library in Mangere Bridge centre,
both such popular and frequent venues that the staff at the café know Cat’s
usual coffee order. And of course a dive into the ‘op chop’ (local Vincent de
Paul charity shop, with very friendly volunteers who seemed quite happy that
Rosie was rearranging the doll and toy corner to her satisfaction, trying out
the newborn baby clothes on selected recipients. A visit to an op shop was not,
of course, an isolated occasion: I returned there and also cycled across the
harbour to nearby Onehunga, sampling the shops there – one of which had
beautifully artistic displays. I even found a lovely soft wrap in the Red Cross
shop. It is a poncho made of merino silk: a mixture of merino lambswool, possum
fur and silk. It folds up into a remarkably small package.
A trip to historic Devonport across the harbour, involving a
train ride, a bus journey and a (very short, just minutes) ferry trip. Coffee
and ice cream were, naturally, features of the trip along with a visit to the
library and an impressive playground with a tall ‘lighthouse’ in the middle.
Cat also bought us ferry tickets to Tiritiri Matangi, an island
sanctuary an hour from Auckland city centre. The island had, like Duder
Regional Park, been cleared for sheep farming in the 1800s but in the 1970s,
after the lease was withdrawn, it was designated a reserve and left, initially,
to regenerate. An active program of pest eradication (the kiore/pacific rat)
and dedicated seed-sowing and replanting of 280,000 trees and shrubs over a ten
year period saw the island returned to its original state, with many native
species of fauna returning and flourishing.
Cat had, with great forethought, booked us a guided tour.
This lasted for more than a couple of hours and was absolutely invaluable. The
guide was very knowledgeable about both the island and wider ecological and
environmental issues: we would not have gained nearly as much from our visit
had we just wandered around on our own.
And, somewhat bizarrely, the guide knew Guernsey well,
having lived on Alderney for ten years prior to emigrating to New Zealand.
And of course several visits to nearby Ambury Farm in Ambury
Park on the edge of Manakau harbour and, again, just a few minutes’ cycle ride
away from the house, with several bird
sanctuaries. A favourite ride was along Kiwi Esplanade from Mangere Bridge
(where there is a new road bridge and a wonderful cycle bridge created in the
location of the original), where thousands of South Island Pied Oystercatchers congregate
on their migration north. Cat and Andy kindly took us here for our first New
Zealand fish and chips supper – the chips so much more delicious than the
usually fat, under-cooked and greasy chips beloved in the UK.
They also took us to several of their favourite eateries.
Ruby Red, the café in Mangere Bridge shopping centre was such a favourite that
the owner knows Cat’s usual coffee order. It sits in a row of cafés set back
from the road, enabling tables to spread across the pavement. There is a lovely
vibe there which makes the centre feel like a village. The centre has
everything: a hardware store, where we bought sandpaper to finish off a
painting job back at the house; a pharmacy; supermarket; doctor; hairdresser,
and various fast food outlets. Evangelists have set up their ‘shop’ outside,
with a sound system playing several well-known songs and choruses, our
favourite being the first, ‘Forever Grateful’, which we sang so often at
Nairobi Chapel and still have a recording of at home. Hearing the song –
sounding identical – literally stopped me in my tracks as I cycled past.s’s
One morning, Bex took Cara and Rosie out for breakfast, so
Cat and Andy took us to a favourite café, ‘Percy’s, out near the airport, in a
tall modern building. Good to have time together just the four of us.
Then there was Hallertau, a restaurant in Clevedon out
towards the east coast, which the girls loved: plenty of things to entertain
children in an outside courtyard. Fortunately, the sun was out as the wind was
quite chilly at the time. One particular bonus of our visit to add to the joy
of being with family was the weather: some days of rain, but still warm and
generally better than a summer’s day in Guernsey. #NewZealandautumn!
After four weeks or so, Sue and Allan, Andy’s parents, drove
down to Auckland for a church conference and so we drove back up to Pukenui in
the Far North with them. They had extended a warm invitation for us to visit
them several times, but we had been put off by the length of the journey.
Usually this would take a minimum of 5 and a half hours drive, but recently a
lot longer, as there had been damage to the roads caused by Cyclone Gabrielle a
few weeks previously. In the end, we made the trip in just 6 hours as several
of the diversions had been removed, although there was a very slow section with
several sets of traffic lights where the road was still being repaired after
portions had deteriorated or vanished in the cyclone and also the rain deluges
just prior to that. We all met up at Cornwall Park (which Richard and I had
cycled up to the day before, coincidentally, retracing a walk we did from One
Tree Hill down to the café there on a previous visit.) for a picnic lunch with
Bex and boyfriend Abe and his son Boaz before setting off.
The journey went more quickly than expected. I always love
to see the forests, particularly the distinctive Norfolk pines and the
indigenous trees, especially the tree ferns. We saw quite a bit of cyclone
damage but I was struck, again, by just how empty New Zealand is. Miles and
miles of rolling farmland with just a few houses or small settlements dominated
our journey.
However, the highlight was a visit to the Hundertwasser
Toilets in Kawakawa. We had stopped opposite for a break halfway through the
journey and to get a snack from one of the many fast food outlets lining the
main street. I was absolutely astonished by the toilets, which looked like some
sort of art installation, until I realised that these are the famous toilets
made in 1999 by an artist named Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The toilets are one
of the few toilet blocks in the world which are considered to be works of art –
just having a tree growing through the middle of them is unusual enough in
itself, let alone the wonderful conglomerations of brightly coloured ceramic
tiles, glass and quirky ironwork (the gate into the women’s side incorporates a
small propellor, to name just one example). What a delight. I had heard of
these but we hadn’t ever stopped to join the bus-loads of tourists who come to
visit them on their tour of the Far North.
Staying with Allan and Sue was, however, even more of a
delight. They have moved into Sue’s mother’s old house on the farm, a small
wooden house built by Sue’s father just after the Second World War on his
return home. Bearing in mind visits from the family – Andy is just one of 5
children who have given Sue and Allan 13 grandchildren, to date – they decided
to remove a small lean to from the side of the house and use it as a base for
building a cabin (a bach as such are known in New Zealand) in the
garden. The result is a delightful two-bedroomed house, double-glazed and
well-insulated with a huge double garage attached which doubles as
kitchen/diner/family/games room. We were so comfortable there and found
ourselves totally relaxed.
We hadn’t felt hugely tired out by grandparenting duties,
but there is no doubt that the first four weeks had been full on as we tried to
help the family adjust to Life With Elsie Joy. We had a relaxing time sitting
on the little verandah in the sun, reading, catching up on this blog post and
hanging out with Sue and Allan.
Richard had fun helping Allan remove a tree stump, which
involved quite a lot of discussion and to-ing and fro-ing with the tractor
before after an hour or so they were, eventually, successful. Allan drove us
down to Houhora Heads, where seven years previously we had put up a marquee for
Cat and Andy’s wedding, meeting Owen Wagener who had generously allowed us to
use his garden on the edge of the water for the event. It all seemed very
familiar and brough back lots of memories.
We walked along the waterfront a couple of times, venturing
for a dip in the sea: at mid-tide there was quite a rip, which made swimming
seem like being in an infinity pool. The water was calm and clear: there was
something quite magical about swimming in this inland harbour, bordered by the mainland
on one side and the farm opposite, Camel Mountain (named by Captain Cook on the
basis of its appearance) rearing up majestically in front of us.
We made the return journey by air (the bus would have taken
at best 7 and a half hours, with a stop over in Kerikeri, but detours were
still in place so no doubt it would have been even longer) in just over an hour
from Kaitaia in a small Caravan, similar to the planes Richard had flown in
Africa. #blastfromthepast
Back a day, and then we were off to Tapapakanga Regional
Park where Cat had rented a bach. A lovely holiday house perched on a hill
overlooking the sea. We walked down to the shingle beach, playing in the little
‘river’, marvelling at the ancient pohotukawa trees gracing the shore. There
was a ‘homestead’ – the first farmhouse built just over a hundred years ago, a
proud piece of history in this young country (even the Maori have lived here
only around eight hundred years or so). The wooden building was empty, but the
historical plaques in every window told
the story of a family of 14 children living a life reminiscent of
Richard’s childhood: a remote area, paraffin lighting and no running water.
A swamp harrier swooped and dived above the valley. A herd
of curious cows came up to the bach. We took a trip further east along
the coast towards the Coromandel peninsula, stopping at the Pukorokoro
shorebird centre at Miranda. We passed ‘Ray’s Rest’ – a motorhome stopover
right next to the beach where, a few years previously, we had stopped in our
hired motorhome. It had been marvellous to be so close to the waves and the
coast there has a wonderful open feel.
At the bird centre we were reminded how Manakau harbour –
just a few minutes cycle ride from Cat and Andy’s home – is a haven for
shorebirds. One of our favourite cycle rides has been to skirt the base of
Mangere Mountain, freewheeling all the way down the hill and through the
village of Mangere Bridge to the waterfront, turning left onto Kiwi Esplanade
just before the footbridge across the harbour to Onehunga. Cycling along with
the harbour on our right, there are thousands of South Island pied
oystercatchers gathering on the mudflats and the grass bordering the shore.
Throw in a few kingfishers, the odd variable oyster catcher (apparently
variable, but often completely black except for the red bill and legs) and some
immature black-backed gulls, and we are never disappointed with the bird life.
While not extensive in variety, New Zealand certainly makes up for that lack
with large numbers of each species.
From Kiwi Esplanade – where we have been cycling with the
children, having afternoon tea or a fish
and chip supper – we go through Ambury Park, cycling past Ambury Farm (where we
also once went with Cat many years ago – my memory is of a great deal of
sheep wandering around) and then along
the shore past the bird sanctuary. On almost our first day here, we ventured
down to the park from the other side of the mountain, seeing large numbers of spoonbills;
white-headed herons, seemingly unafraid; the inevitable oystercatchers; and all
kinds of small waders. A couple of pairs
of black swans had cygnets when we first arrived but, after a few weeks, the
cygnets were grown and the swans moved on. And, of course, the pukeko -
a beautiful purple/blue bird with bright red beak and legs, resembling an
overgrown moorhen – were everywhere, very tame. There was even a small flock of
chickens which hung around at the entrance to the footpath which climbed up
from the lagoon towards the exit, always rushing up to meet us. They seemed to
be all kinds of varieties, with various shapes and sizes and even a few tiny
chicks.
We had managed to cycle, on both sides on different
occasions, on designated cycle tracks/footpaths along the edge of the harbour
nearly all the way to its farthest inland point. Another ride took us from
Onehunga (once the main port for Auckland, at its heyday in the nineteen
twenties and thirties) up the hill to Cornwall Park.
The last days were filled with a trip to the Botanical
Gardens for brunch; trips down to the waterfront with the bikes – Rosie on her
balance bike and Cara on a newly acquired bicycle, at which she is remarkably
skilled; swims with – and without – the girls; playing in the garden. Easter
Sunday saw a gathering of friends from church – around 15 or so of us, all bringing
food to share.
All too suddenly our visit came to an end. Apart from the
very precious, special time with the family, we had enjoyed becoming
reacquainted with New Zealand. In some ways, it felt like coming ‘home’. ‘Home’
in its similarities with the UK – the language and customs – but also,
strangely, with Kenya. The pioneer style architecture of many of the towns and
villages, with their ribbons of shops boasting metal-roofed verandahs lining a
main street, reminded us of Nakuru. Add in the wonderful ethnic diversity and a
people speaking a tribal language – Maori - added a distinct sense of
familiarity. Mangere particularly, where Cat and Andy live, has a large
Pacifika population with an evidently different approach to life from the pakeha,
the white people. The Maori names, however, were difficult for us to get our
heads around… It helped a little to slowly learn the meaning of a few words (eg
kai means food) but often names of places were difficult to remember.
The weather, too, had been a bonus: brilliant summer
weather, even as ‘autumn’ approached, the days grew shorter (less than 12 hours
daylight) and daylight savings kicked in, resulting in lighter mornings but
evenings which began before 6pm. Even so, we were out most days in sunshine and
shirtsleeves.
We had been approved for residency eight or nine years ago
but, in the end for all manner of reasons, decided to remain in Guernsey. Difficult.
Mixed emotions doesn’t begin to describe our feelings as we prepared to leave,
but the inevitability of it helped. We left for home. For Guernsey.
And so…seven and a half weeks later, we arrived home, to be
met by dear Sarah who came to pick us up. Flying premium economy (Air New
Zealand, British Airways) certainly helped to make the journey much more
comfortable, as well as getting 14 hours under our belt to Houston so that it
was only (only!!) 9 hours after that. (And on that leg the plane was,
surprisingly, only half full.)
All was well at home. Pickle seemed slightly surprised to
see us. In fact, she gave the hairdresser more of a welcome a couple of days
later…#tryingnottofeelmiffed. She had developed a slight limp on occasions –
probably incipient arthritis, which Anne-Marie, our first dogsitter, had worried
about. Otherwise, apart from needing to lost a little weight – she is now a
heft 13kg – all was well. Anne-Marie had been the most wonderful companion for
Pickle. She even fretted about leaving Pickle alone on her departure, so the
girls who came after (friends of my gap-year student colleague Millie) had to
message to say they had arrived in the house…very sweet.
It took about a week to recover from jetlag and get the
garden back in shape – the grass had grown tremendously while the bushes and
hedges all needed attention. Satisfying to get back into a routine, although I
filled every day with catch-ups with friends: always helps to ‘ground’ me. But
oh.. we do miss them all….
