The background into this trip. My dad was brought up in Galatea in New Zealand, when he was young the family then moved to Whakatane. Whakatane is a town in the Bay of Plenty. It is a hidden gem, its a glistening harbor town.. which a hill that winds up and around to one of the most spectacular beaches in the world, Ohope. I have been so fortunate to call this place a second home whilst growing up.
Anyway.. I am over here to see my Grandad who is 92 and i am seeing my auntie too and i am staying with her for the week.
I flew into Auckland airport and got in just after midday, my auntie has thankfully picked me up! Its about a 3 hour flight over here and now its another 4-5 hour drive down to Ohope (she lives on the beach side). We start driving out of Auckland and into the beautiful landscape of New Zealand. You know that feeling when you head out of the city and roll the window down and you get that blast of fresh icy air.. its not the same air you have in the city. Its crispy, its icy, its so so fresh.. it clears the nose and brings a whole different life into you. Well that was me, like a dog out the window breathing in this fresh air. I had been looking forward to this for so soo long!!! I am a bit anxious about the trip too and have been for a while as it may be the last time i am seeing my Grandad, and me and emotion it overtakes me sometimes so i am a little i guess nervous. Anyway we drive through the Kaimai Ranges (but first ofcourse we stop in Matamata for an early dinner. This is the town where all the tourists come and see all the Lord of the Ring and the Hobbit stuff. Now the Kaimai view is something else... unfortunately when i got up the top there was a bit of fog, but still and always breathtaking.. literally, as its a bit high it can get very cold up there!! Anyway we continue to drive, its getting pretty dark now, no street lights and we are following a HUGE MOON, the full moon must be out maybe?.. We finally roll into town around 7pm, i know its early but i am wrecked so so wrecked. its only 5pm in Sydney to. I have a shower and snuggle myself in a big warm dressing gown (my auntie has spoilt me with a dressing gown, slippers and an electric blanket... gotta love her). Anyway we sit on the couch, have a well deserved wine and catch up more, its so nice to be here.. i love the feeling of home without even being at home. Its a bit later, but we are both buggered.. so its night night and lights off. I read a bit of my book which is amazing!! The subtle art to not giving a fuck by Mark Manson. Its so good .. just smacks you right in the face with reality. I highly recommend. The sound of the waves, my warmth from the electric blanket and the sound of the ocean is all perfect, could getting to sleep be any easier!!
It is a beautiful day, the water at the beach is glistening. So my auntie has a dog who she walks everyday down to the coffee shop. So first things first .. COFFEE! we walk down the beach which is a solid 3km i reckon (but a beautiful 3km) and go to The Quay which is a local coffee shop down in Ohope. Long Blacks and the view of the ocean oh its so stunning. We walk back and its time for me to see Grandad! I am so excited.. my family have told me about the changes to him, but hes still my cheeky, joker of a Grandad. We chat about life, he is a funny one.. i stay there for quite a while.. its his lunch time now so i leave him and i may be back later. He's going well. We go for a little shop to the grocer, get some wine and ciders and some fresh food. I am taking my auntie out for fish and chips by the Wharf tonight.. The rest of the day is spent relaxing. I did go and look at the views around the town. I love sitting at two particular spots. There is the heads in Whakatane where you can watch the boats come in or there is a view spot overlooking Ohope.. two completely different types of views but both amazing!. So for dinner we go to the Wharf. This is on Ohope side on the side opposite the beach. We order the takeaway and sit down in a little picnic spot area by the water, we have our wine and cider, and there is no one there but us to begin with. There is not one breath of air its so so quiet. We undo the fish and chips from the paper.. i spill my cider all over the chips and we discover that fish and chips and apple cider is something pretty damn good!! haha i think im really smart because it tastes awesome and who cares if i spilt my drink everywhere.. but really WHY DO I SPILL MY DRINKS!!! The shadows on the water during sunset are awesome to, its like the boats are sitting on a wave that's still.. its like a painting its so so still. There are now a couple of people fishing on the wharf and every so often we see sting rays come up for air.. its pretty magical. We spend a couple of hours down here and head home. I wrap myself up in my warm outfit and we sit and watch this show called Doctor Doctor, which was pretty good.. after a few more wines we head to bed.
The next few days consist of me going to see Grandad for hours on end. I literally can talk to him about everything. I raided his closest.. where i found all these family photos. I went through everything with him. I have to hold photos literally right up to his face but when he gets the photo into focus he knows exactly whats going on. He fills me in with stories about him growing up, about dogs chasing him to school and waiting for him as he got off the school bus as a kid, he tells me funny stories about dad growing up and then we go through my life. I tell him about what im doing, show him photos of my roomies, i show him photos of my travels i have been on. He was so amazing when i showed him an active volcano video and told him about my ventures through central America. We went on walks through where he lives (which would take an hour atleast) but i loved seeing him breath in the fresh air. We just get eachother and i love spending time with him.
I have also been driving around, visiting all the beautiful view spots around town, I have been running up the hills (lets be honest i went up the hill once, i was sooo exhausted) but walking along the beach everyday was so so special. If you haven't visited New Zealand or need new adventure places, Whakatane and Ohope are the places to go. There are hot springs, beaches for days with no one on them, beautiful walks through kiwi forests.. there is just never ending beauty. I was so lucky one more to have my auntie bring me breakfast in bed!! Avocado on toast as well, how good can it get. I tried the fruit Feijoa which is SO SO YUMMY!!! but Australia doesn't have them i don't think.. I have been also reading my book over here that I mentioned before everyday/night .. it really does open your eyes .. yes we can for sure have dreams about how amazing this world is and how incredible we can be, but in doing that we need to stop thinking and caring about the little petty things that irritate us.. that in the end don't really matter at all. He explains that we live to solve problems etc etc.. you should 100% read!
Saturday night, my last night was a night i won't forget either.. the sunset was INCREDIBLE!!! We went down to the beach with a neighbour and their kids and we just played all night until it got too dark to see. We had wine, we watched the waves roll in, we raced along the beach we went crazy.. kids are exhausting but they're so great!
Anyway.. i have been really stuck for words in writing this and have written stuff and deleted it.. the last morning with grandad was one of the hardest times ever (especially when he thought i was going the day after). I have really treasured this time with grandad, and will remember the week forever.. I hope and i told him i'd see him again.. and i hope i do. He is a strong one, he broke his damn femur and survived through it when he was old so i am hoping he sticks around alot longer.. but who knows. He is such a beautiful person in my life and i am so lucky to have him.
As i said i have been stuck for words so this has been a good release of everything, to tell you about the beauty of New Zealand and how much i treasure it. This blog is for me to express me and if you like it then that's great and if you don't that's ok to... i can't impress everyone! But just remember to treasure the special people around you and know who those people are. Treasure your beautiful family and what a gift everyday is :)
![Whakatane & Ohope [N.Z]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ce3d95_99ddbff304fe49bbb75aab82eea04115~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_460,h_613,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/ce3d95_99ddbff304fe49bbb75aab82eea04115~mv2.jpg)
