A Day of Lasts and Remembering!

It was a day of “lasts”…last morning in New Zealand, last breakfast made for me, last time to pack my suitcases.  I have thoroughly enjoyed waking up in the mornings to hotel breakfasts…some better than others…and conversation with my fellow travelers to start the day.  Some of us have been together for six weeks, and all of us are friends now.  It has been a fabulous group of people to travel with.


I will not miss eggs; I have seen and eaten enough eggs for six months!  I will not miss beans for breakfast; although, I did try them a few times, nor broiled tomatoes.  I especially won’t miss limp “streaky bacon”!  


I do not like and will never like nor miss Vegemite!


I will miss trying new foods and drinks and need to Google how to make lemon lime bitters!  I will miss my “news ignorance” which I indulge in when I travel.  It has been especially pleasant missing US election drama.


I will miss the electric hot water pot in each room with an assortment of teas, coffees, sometimes hot chocolate, and maybe even a biscuit.  Each room had a refrigerator with a small carton of milk so you could prepare your refreshments without the dreaded powdered creamer.


I finally remembered to try the lollies…assorted candies…this morning at breakfast!  What a sweet treat!


Phil wasn’t going to let us take a day off when our flights were in the afternoon and evening.  Off to the SkyTower, the 1,078’ needle shaped iconic structure that rises over the city of Auckland.  It has an incredible 360 degree view from the top with explanations of different buildings and sights that we actually recognized.  We debated about the position of One Tree Hill and Bastion Hill, identified the Auckland War Memorial Museum, our walk along the waterfront seeing container ships and cars, the largest yacht harbor in the Southern Hemisphere, and the list goes on.


One more souvenir shop just in case I forgot anyone, and of course, I carry out another package!


We walk along the harbor front and see a couple of New Zealand’s previous America’s Cup boats.  One is in the air, and the keel is huge!  A repeat pub luncheon at the site of green mussels preceded with a debate of which mussels are tastier.  I have a creamy seafood chowder with different seafood morsels and crusty bread topped with a gorgeous green lipped mussel!  It was actually good, but the chowder was fabulous!


Our group has diminished again as two leave for their long journey back to Alaska.  I return to the hotel to write a little, process that I am saying goodbye, and make sure my bags will pass the weight restrictions at the airport.  Soon we load up for one last bus ride for our flights.


Phil escorts us to the airport check-in.  I’m trying to talk to him, see where the others are going to make sure I say goodby, find out our flight is delayed by three hours, pull the adhesive strip from the baggage tag for my suitcase, and throw away the trash.  As I’m in line to deposit my suitcase, I realize I no longer have a boarding pass from just two minutes before!


I’m assured I have tucked it safely away, but it’s not in my “third boob” - my passport and ticket holder around my neck nor in my purse nor in my carry-on.  However, when I reached the ticket counter to explain my problem, there is the paper strip from my baggage tag.  Hummmmm.  I was really more focused on my bag only weighing 22.6 out of 23 kilos!


A last goodbye and appreciative hug with Phil, through security, and our group continues to divide as flight times approach…LA, San Francisco…and the final three of us on the delayed flight to Houston.


It is later as I’m eating a bagel with the airlines voucher due to our delayed flight that I remember the “trash” I threw away.  In my multitasking of checking in, I think my trash was my boarding pass!  Thank goodness they issued me a new one without any problems.  I’ll credit it to a blonde moment!


I don’t make my connection in Houston to Washington, DC, and I don’t know if another couple made their flight to Detroit.  I’m lucky to be on a later flight tonight, but I’m not sure where my bag will go since it is booked for the earlier flight which had left.  Another hummmm!


As a lady sat next to me on the plane, she appeared a little frustrated, and I asked if she was ok.  A group of seven relatives from Guatemala were coming to DC for a week’s visit and sightseeing.  “We lost my 85 year old aunt in the airport, and she’s in a wheelchair“!  


The group was running to the gate, her aunt was following in a wheelchair pushed by an airport employee who went in a different direction down a hallway, and when the family members arrived at the correct gate their aunt was missing…85 years old, in a wheelchair, in a foreign country with a foreign language!  The airport was notified, but wheelchair attendants all denied being involved.  Five family members boarded the flight while a nephew stayed to keep looking.


Just before the flight took off, my seat mate was notified that her aunt was found!  She and the nephew were spending the night in Houston and flying to DC in the morning.  Besides wondering how this could happen, it put my suitcase in perspective.  I have no problems at all!


There are always comments I forget or need to include in my blogging so I try to do so on my final one.  Some may be repeats so forgive my poor memory!  


  • When Europeans arrived on New Zealand there were only two species of bats but no other mammals.
  • New Zealand has incredible, colorful bird life with interesting names which I have not discussed.  I loved spotting them; I just can’t pronounce their names!
  • New Zealand opposums eat 22,000 TONS of foliage every night not pounds.
  • Ketsup is “tomato sauce” to Aussies and Kiwis, but it tastes the same.
  • Entrees are “appetizers”
  • A bottle of 100 generic ibuprofen at the chemist cost me over $25 in Australia!
  • I had my very first crumpet which is similar to an English muffin.  I don’t know why they repeat each other.
  • The “Purple is Coming“ campaign at McDonald’s was a return of Grimace’s purple shake.  I don’t know the flavor, but it has a dollop of whipped cream on top.  Wonder if we will be seeing this in the US?
  • “Trust the Process!” was a great comment by our guide at the Sydney Opera House when questions were asked before he got to a particular part of commentary.  It became a catch-phase for our group.
  • Barbecuing a sausage is a “sausage sizzle”!
  • Some of the Māori iwis were cannibals.  I don’t know about the aborigines.
  • “Tramping” is another word for hiking
  • “Christmas trees” are leafy green with red flowers in the spring.  Around December, the leaves turn bright red.
  • Lammingtons are soft marshmallowy cookies usually dyed a bright color and covered with coconut 
  • A “budgy smuggler”…one of my favorite terms!…is another name for a man’s skimpy bathing suit like a banana hammock!
  • Australia and New Zealand both have multi-colored currency made out of plastic starting as little pellets.

I saw a quote in a store’s window that I wrote down to remember…”Because being outside makes us feel good inside”!  We have certainly done lots of outside adventuring between camping under the stars, snorkeling or diving, hiking through trees and rocks, on the water in ferries, boats, cruises plus one waca, strolling through parks, soaking in pools and hot springs, zip lining through the forests, shearing sheep, and oh, the miles walked in cities and towns.  


We saw and fed adorable and unusual animals, learned fascinating cultures and new languages, were down in gorges and up on mountains and SkyTower tops, flew on fifteen flights, stayed in fifteen hotels plus one camping swag, traveled too many miles to count in trams and buses, heard controversial topics, talked and ate with locals, and loved or at least tried new foods and drinks.


We heard lectures from John and Phil and multiple other tour guides while also seeing and tasting and hearing and feeling and absorbing.  Australia and New Zealand have so much to offer, and our wide ranging cornucopia overflowed with adventures and experiences.


I am finally home and recovering slowly from jet lag plus there are bills to pay, laundry, appointments, yard work, unpacking, seeing family and friends, babysitting grandchildren, and work at the antique mall and beach house.  My life is slowly getting back to normal.  


I started this blog to record my “trip of a lifetime” and it absolutely was!  Amazing is just the beginning to describe it, and I will treasure the memories!  The only problem is now I have to cook for myself?! 


Happy travels!


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