I got back to Christchurch on the afternoon of the 23rd & got hold of Caren so that she could come and pick me up and take her to her brand new house that she & her husband had built and had moved into while I was travelling around New Zealand. How very very exciting to move into a house that was exactly the way they wanted it down to the design, light fittings, door, showers etc etc etc. I had to wait around in the centre of Christchurch for a while which for a person with a book is never a problem. The weather was gorgeous & the city centre was just humming (given that it was the 2nd last shopping day before Christmas) & I thoroughly enjoyed watching the goings on while I waited. A couple of her friends met us there as well (due to transport issues) sp we grabbed a coffee before heading off where I got to go with Caren so I could tell her all about my trip which was just great as I was buzzing from my most incredible trip & had so much to tell her. It was so exciting to get back to the house and see it all finished and moved in. Really good to see what they have done & how stunning it was (which believe it or not, compliment to my dad, had ideas taken from my parents house from our high school days). After chatting with everyone for a bit and then heading out for nyummy Indian take aways, we spent the rest of the evening in fits of laughter, trying on clothes (I needed something for Christmas) & catching up.
The next couple of days were spent doing last minute Christmas shopping & present wrapping & celebrating Christmas & Boxing day with friends and family with lots of delicious food, a fair amount of alcohol as is customary with the festive season (I even found some delicious Jacobs Creek veggie friendly Chardonnay that I could enjoy). I also got to speak to my family on Skype at the end of the evening as they were starting out their day & a happy, festive time was had by all. I had anticipated spending Christmas in a hostel which would really not have been my idea of a good Christmas but it was 1 Christmas & not the end of the world. How lucky that I had a friend in Christchurch to celebrate with.
On the 27th I joined the Constables on part of their holiday up to Picton & the Marlborough Sounds for an extra 5 days before I headed up to Auckland to catch my flight to Singapore. We joined another family of 3 in a lovely house just outside Picton & made the most of the gorgeous weather during the day on the Sounds fishing (boys fun), kayaking, swimming, boating, tubing etc & the evening chatting, playing games etc & pretty much had a great time. I chose to have a day out of the sun to watch South Africa play the last day of their 2nd test in Melbourne which to my absolute delight they won which won them the test series. As South Africa have yet to win a test series in Australia this was indeed a hugely historic day & one that I was so excited to see & so proud of our boys. It really made me remember just how great it is to be South African.
We were going into Picton to watch the fireworks after dinner but as the weather was totally rainy and wet and rubbish that we decided to rather stay in and have a couple fo drinks and play games which suited my just fine as I am not that phased by New Year so I am happy to do whatever. When we hit midnight we all wished each other happy new year & watched the fireworks from a distance & then Caren & I decided to try and do the Maori warrior stick your tongue out and pull funny eyes thing which was just hilarious. That girl and I laughed so much in the 2 weeks that I spent with her. It was just so so divine and such a crying shame that we lost touch but we are now firmly back in touch again never to be out of touch again.
When the time came to head off to the ferry it was by no means my happiest day especially as the whole family came along. I had such a great time with them all & I enjoyed the kids so much so it wasn't just a case of saying goodbye to Caren. It was all 5 of them that sucked but of course saying goodbye to Caren was the worst and I had tears in my eyes as I waved goodbye. Gees do I hate goodbyes. They really are my worst thing.
