A LONG WAY FROM HOME !!

When you live a long way from your home country, at times the feeling of longing, for anything that is familiar, visits us all sometime in our lifetime. No matter how happy you are with your new life, we all experience those occasional nagging yearnings for memories of our past. We've all bought the packet of biscuits we would never dream of buying back home, just to get that fix. We watch British TV programmes with a previously unknown fondness and reminisce. Coro Street, Eastenders, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire the list goes on. The perfect answer to quell this constant craving is to once in a while get back on YouTube and reminisce with those programs you miss most you can get everything you need to find on that site. Then we go down the Brit Shop in Browns Bay not too far away from home and we buy the odd packet of biscuits or sweets we can remember far back when we were kids. Wherever you come from in the UK, I can assure you the landscape here in New Zealand is astonishing and leaves you breathless when you get down to the South Island, there is so much to see and do with so little population here with the landmass 1/5 larger than the UK. The population is so tiny in relation to per land capita its bewildering considering the shock population growth in the UK at this present time. We have so much to look forward to here in New Zealand sometimes its so easy to forget where we are at times we take it just for granted like UK. That is why so many Brits go back after a few years to appreciate what they do have here in NZ and get to appreciate it more when they go back home and see the mass of people and greyness around them.

Holiday In Taupo

We have been absent of late but we are in the height of summer here in Auckland and there is plenty going on, so we are out and about and its just getting time to post that's the problem.

We ventured off to as far as Taupo this time and spent a few days at campsites around the East coast of Whakatane which was our first choice to make our home when we decided to move to NZ in 2006, so it was nice to see the old place again and how far it is taking off. We then moved to a campsite not too far away called Awakeri which was great for the kids with its Natural Thermal pool which was 38f and we spent a good deal of time in there just relaxing.

Then it was time to move on down to Taupo and we stayed at the Thermal Resort of De Bretts which was renowed for its Thermal swimming pools, also we enjoyed what was around us locally with plenty of shops to for sightseeing. A visit to Huka falls was in order and the local BeeHive shop which was good. There is so much to see and do with so few days to do most you have discovered, but knowing we can return now anytime as this is now home for the time being at least !! Who can predict where will life take us next on our journey, nobody can it just comes and off you go to your next epic journey in life.

This season has had its moments with family, bringing our two boys over from UK has had its moments but you soldier on and get through the tough moments. As we have time to sample more of Kiwi life we have had time to ponder back into our past and try to balance out the differences between life in UK and life here in Auckland. Its the sheer beauty that balances out the moments when you start to wonder off into insecurity and take a moment to think of your past at home from time to time. But New Zealand's beauty, richness, places of interest balance out what you have here and what hasn't changed in UK or will ever change.