New Zealand: The Two Birthdays

For a brief moment, I was flying. The sort of flying you do in dreams - in slow motion - looking at the world around you and enjoying the quiet. But then came the fall: the ground rushed up to meet me and as I got a mouthful of sand I was aware of noises again. The sound of an idling engine and barking dogs and laughter, mainly laughter.

***

We were up in Hokianga Harbour. Steve, Sam, Reggie and I had come north to visit Sam's family for the weekend. Kane and Mel live with their three great kids, on a farm a few hundred miles outside Auckland. As usual, we were given a great welcome and treated to a barbecue whilst we had a few drinks and watched the sun set over the rolling hills.

Before the light had completely disappeared, Kane had brought out his antique clay pigeon launcher and, as we had conveniently picked up some clay pigeons on the way, we had some fun shooting down through the valley with Kane's small arsenal of weapons! Sam informed us that Kane had done some shooting in international competitions, which explained why he had enough guns in his cabinet to see off a small zombie invasion!

The next morning we packed up our stuff again and headed, along with the whole family, towards the secluded beaches at the mouth of Hokianga Harbour where we would camp for the night. This wasn't camping as most people would know it though, as well as the obligatory tent or two, we had also brought three motocross bikes, two 4 wheel drive vehicles and a quad! All vehicles were needed to help reach the remote location.

It was idyllic. We spent our first day lazing on the beach; Bob and Ito chased possums in the woods whilst we swam, sunbathed and skipped stones. In the afternoon we made our way, in various vehicles, down a long beach and over big sand dunes to a little lagoon that Mel and Kane often visited when they were camping. It was a welcome relief from the surprisingly hot Autumn sunshine, especially for the two dogs who splashed around with us!

Back at our makeshift campsite - Steve, Reggie and Sam went to find some mussels for dinner, whilst I had a go on the kids' motocross bike. Kane had offered me his own bike for a test drive, but I declined - something told me that it wouldn't be quite as easy to ride on the sand as Sam and Kane had made it look. I was right. Once I'd managed to kick start the machine into life I did a couple of tentative lengths of the beach. Feeling a little more confident I followed the tracks made by the guys looking for mussels, as I approached them I attempted a turn and promptly fell off sideways. Thankfully, Steve and Sam were looking the other way and all that was hurt was my pride as Reggie watched me stack it! She repressed the laughter and I raced off down the beach back towards Kane, Mel and the kids. And that's when my more spectacular crash happened.

Kane tells me that he saw me approach - instead of warning me of my impending doom - he told his family to watch, as he knew what was going to happen - I was going to come off. And sure enough, as I got up speed I went from the hard, wet sand to the much softer, dry sand. The result, as Kane had predicted, was that my front wheel dug in and I was propelled head first over the handle bars.

For a brief moment, I was flying. The sort of flying you do in dreams - in slow motion - looking at the world around and enjoying the quiet. But then came the fall: the ground rushed up to meet me and as I got a mouthful of sand I was aware of noises again. The sound of an idling engine and barking dogs and laughter, mainly laughter.

I regained my senses quickly enough to jump up and stop the hot exhaust burning my leg more than it already had. Mel stopped laughing long enough to enquire whether I was okay (which I was) and offer some food as a consolation! Then I sat back and watched as small children showed me how to actually ride a bike.

That evening we followed up a family game of boys v girls rugby with a meal around the campfire and then lay in the sand to watch the stars. Watching shooting stars and trying to remember any of the names of constellations was a great way to end the day (at least Steve and I thought so, Reggie's attention span didn't last too long and every few minutes we'd hear her whinge 'I'm bored!'. We ignored her!).

The following day we packed up, said our goodbyes to the family and made our way back to Auckland. I'd arranged to meet an old friend that evening.

As I left school at Christmas, there was a far more important departure. Mrs Roberts, who'd taught at St Helen's for far longer than me, had left for pastures new. As it turned out, those new pastures were New Zealand - so it was a a great opportunity to spend a few days with her in her new home.

Mrs Roberts lived in a house with a stunning view, or at least that's what she told me. I had to take her word for it, as by the time I'd arrived it was too dark to see the garden, let alone the volcanoes in the bay beyond.

When I sat admiring the view the next morning, I realised that I'd arrived just in time to celebrate Mrs R's birthday (I think she told me she was 25 or something like that!). Her kind boss had given her the day off to celebrate. Mr Roberts' daughter, had come down with a sore neck which meant that she couldn't possibly attend school either and so the three of us set off for a walk along the beach.

Two strange things happened once we sat down in a cafe for some brunch: first of all, Susie's neck was mysteriously cured and I actually had a hot drink. Now that doesn't sound like a big deal, but I think the last time I attempted to have a hot drink was when I was camping three years ago; then I burnt my mouth and couldn't taste much for a week. I was like a proper grown up, well, actually, I wasn't - I had a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows.

Mrs Robert's boss, Charles, took us out for a meal that evening. It was great to catch up with the Roberts girls and hear all about their new life down under. I have so much admiration for people who grab chances like this with both hands. I know I will miss Mrs Roberts a lot, she has supported me so much in my early few years as a teacher, but I'm glad she has been brave enough to embrace such an incredible experience.

The following day was my birthday and to round off a fairly stunning long weekend, Steve, Sam and some other friends (Gillan and Debs) decided to treat me to a meal. When pressed, I had admitted that I'd love to eat steak, so Sam took us along to a place he said I would like - and, my goodness, he was right! I've never eaten such a delicious bit of meat - it was cooked to perfection. 

A great way to celebrate my thirty-first!