Today we are leaving New Zealand! I had picked up a box from Experience BMW to pack our helmets, riding clothes and camping gear. We packed our waterproof bike duffel with our boots and miscellaneous heavy items. We carried on our pannieer inserts that had all of our clothing, a backpack of electronics and a shopping bag full of Pineapple Lumps and Ra Ro. It was a little cumbersome, but it worked!
The airplane entertainment was fabulous, and when I flipped through the selection, the movie "Red Dog" caught my fancy. One of the hardest things that we faced in making this trip was to find the perfect home for our Blue Dog. Blue was our loyal, playful, obedient, loving Blue Heeler. We had raised him from a pup and he was 6 years old when we gave him away. I miss him! Well, Kev was having a bit of a sticky and it did not take long for him to select the same movie. It was a brilliant Aussie movie, based on a true story and wouldn't you know it, soon we were both sobbing, tears running down our faces looking at each other thinking…"Great, just what we need…puffy eyes and red faces to meet Mum and Dad at the airport!"…hey maybe I could get away with it….tears of joy??…ha ha ha…Go rent the movie!
Boarder Control was being filmed at Tullermarine as we made our way through customs…Hmmmm, great!!…Is there a Pineapple Lumps limit for Australia???….ha ha ha
It was fab to see Mum and Dad watching for us, like they have for so many years, as we exited the customs area… they look marvelous too! Dad drove us home and I could not believe how the city has oozed its way into Melbourne's suburbia, a little culture shock for us…there is no stopping progress!!! We are embarking on a new adventure in my birth country…I am really, really excited! We found that we thrived on the adventure and excitement of riding around New Zealand for seven weeks. Oz is a huge country and this will be a real undertaking! Our first leg will take us into early October.
The things that I enjoyed most about New Zealand are: the fabulous friendly people, incredible roads for riding, one lane bridges over raging rivers, beautiful beaches, a vibrant countryside, surprises around every corner, and awesome food including Bluff oysters, scallops, Hokey Pokey, warm Ra Ro and passionfruit gelato. We'll be back!!
Kiwi's spend a lot of time on the beach! On a windy day they go kite surfing or blow carting; when the waves are right they go surfing; and, on still day they go supping. They are adventurers in every sense of the word and I love it!