NZ – Having a Pepsi Moment – Five Go Round The World

the tree house at Grandi and Gray's -  barely space for the three of them , somehow they make space. — the tree house at Grandi and Gray’s – barely space for the three of them , somehow they make space.

The kids are over the moon to see us. Five days has been a good break away for all of us. Hilary, who has been looking after them while we have been away, has indulged them and they have thoroughly enjoyed their time with her and all the Gees. Jemima even made a friend and had a sleepover with Lucy (friend of T and H’s).

We spend a few days in Wellington, this lovely chilled city, the beaches so near, the hills all around, very little traffic – and a view of the sea from almost any point. It really doesn’t feel like a capital city.
Gabriel gets into the wars again, when he slips on some marble steps,whilst we are having an evening picnic overlooking the sea. We assess the gash on his chin to see how serious it is, but it’s quite wide and methinks a few stitches are required. Gabriel is not a good patient (nor would I be for that matter) but he howls the hospital down when he has an injection in his chin. The nurse deliberates over whether we should make do with glue but I insist on stitches. It is on his face after all, his beautiful face, so more tears, another injection and then fortunately Mark walks into the hospital and saves the day by giving me support. Poor little boy. At least this happened here in NZ. And not whilst we were trekking! I just hope accidents don’t happen in threes. No more, Gabriel! Please!

The car gets fixed AGAIN! This time it’s the automatic steering that’s gone, but easily fixed and the bill is minimal, so huge relief. This car is looking like new now. Please just make it to Auckland, Dynamite! We need to sell the car now to recoup some money.

Then it really is a final goodbye to all the Gees and big thank yous all round. We head off, this time heading North to Auckland, stopping at the airport to show the kids the fantastic large oversized figures of Gollum, suspended from the the airport ceiling. This is quite an impressive sight. Peter Jackson is understandably a big hero here and the Kiwis grab any opportunity to exploit “The Lord of the Rings “.

We take two days to get to Napier, this fantastic Art Deco place – ah, at last a place with immense architectural charm…. I am wooed and then onwards through more vineyards, Hawkes Bay labels coming to life as we drive. and orchards. Fruit, fruit, everywhere. Then over over the hills to Rotarua – famous Rotarua. Last but not least Rotarua. The bubbling, steaming, sulphur-smelling, extraordinary place. We hold our noses as we drive past. Here you are reminded that we live on this powerful earth, the land sizzling under our feet. The omnipresent power of the earth, in this geothermal part of the world.

This is the place where the Maori presence is most strong. We are recommended to come to a cultural evening, a little touristy but fun and worth the while. We are picked up from our cabins on our camp site and whisked off to a village, where we are shown the ways of the former Maori lives before the Europeans arrived. How they hunted, their rituals, their songs, the famous war dance the Haka, which was supposed to deter the enemy but instead spurned them on. It clearly has the right effect on the rugby ground. All fascinating stuff, the kids love it, we love it and we then tuck our Hangi supper – lamb which has been roasting underground on hot stones.

The kids are all feeling a bit low at leaving the Gee Threesome (Thalia, Loma and Zeb) and miss our Pepsi kitten, now cat, Gabriel in particular. We now call it having a “Pepsi moment” when they feel homesick, and they just want to talk about how much they miss Pepsi, their friends and the family and St Margaret’s. Then they want to talk about the changes they are going to do to their bedrooms! (The contents of our house have all gone into storage, so we can start again so to speak when we get back) Gabriel fancies turning his into a jungle, he has images of vine swinging ropes and roaming tigers…. I haven’t the heart to tell him that in a room the size of a postage stamp, none of that is likely! Jemima just wants to “design” hers and plan her colours, and Millie is totally unbothered. Twenty minutes later they have recovered and forgotten they were homesick. This has happened a lot, but they move on pretty quickly. They content themselves with writing postcards to their teddies back home, safe and sound with Granny Janny.

Heather’s mum and dad, Grandy and Gray, are perfectly situated out of Tauranga high up on a hill, surrounded by kiwi trees. We head there to spend a few precious days with them, hanging out in their garden. Those poor Peacocks, as if they haven’t had enough of us already! Grandy and Gray have one of those inviting gardens which most parents with kids pine for, large flat beautiful trees – they welcome us in warmly with big embraces and the children now already familiar with this place, run with outstretched arms and emerge a few days later. SPACE, AHH!

Because of their proximity to Hobbiton it seems a waste not to go there and see the set where much of The Hobbit was filmed and some of Lord of the Rings. Grandy and Gray opt to come with us. Although none of us have actually seen the film, the kids know the story backwards, from our endless car journeys. We are all enchanted by the homely hillsides where 38 hobbits live. Of course, we never see a hobbit, but you feel like you’ve just missed them, they’ve just popped out. The spade in the allotment is still dug in the ground, the half drunk cup of tea, the jumper thrown over the fence. The baskets with the freshly dug up produce, and then of course, tiny doors into the hillside, which lead you to believe there are cosy fires and interiors, though the children find this hard to believe.