Oh Dear! (Day 118)
Oh Dear! Not every day is a bed of roses - nearly everyday though. Sometimes we get things a bit wrong or can be a bit moody - that's when to Halt!
Our last morning on the South Island – after breakfast our hosts, an elderly couple with about 26 grandchildren between them, gave us some presents. Some lavender, the NZ National Anthem in English and Māori and the Gideon New Testament and Psalm Proverbs Bible. They have been missionaries in the past, travelling to many countries to share the Christian faith and also have run many motivational workshops, mainly to young people, enabling them to believe in themselves. It really is fascinating the people we meet.
Our ferry back to the North Island was calm and we sat to consider what we were going to do in the next 36 hours until we return to Hamilton. We had different ideas, however I wasn’t as bothered as Tim, and as he is doing all the driving then I was fine going with his choice. When we first looked on the map, it looked as if it would take us just over 3 hours and for some stupid reason I thought the ferry crossing was just over the hour, so my calculations were that, with a break, we’d reach Mount Taranaki by 2pm, just in time for a nice walk on some of the volcano. Oh dear. The ferry crossing is more like 3.5 hours, the journey ended up being 4.5 hours, plus with stops, we arrived at the camp site at 7pm (More on that later).
I hadn’t slept well the night before, tossing and turning and itching – yes, the bites are back – this time sand flies with a vengeance. Oh do they itch. One on my toe came up in a great big blister. I have lost count how many I have.
Our friend Robin had shared with us an acronym H.A.L.T whereby before one gets into a downward spiral, HALT and don’t do anything rash. H = Hungry, A = Angry, L = Lonely, T = Tired. We have found that if either of us are in any of these states and get caught up on our thinking, then we leave the other well alone. We haven’t felt lonely, so have replaced this with L = Lavatory. If I need to go and there isn’t a toilet nearby, then I can get like Tim when he is “Hangry”. Not good! We call this Weegry or does Peegry sound better?
Today I was “T” and our “L” for some of the time. Tim kept quiet. Plus there was the extra “I” for itchy to top it all. Hey, can anyone think of a new acronym to incorporate either “I” for itchy or “B” for bites?
Our journey was OK, our lunch was ok (I had prawn and scallop risotto which was under cooked so then imagined I was going to be sick – all in my head – I’m fine). Ok, I admit it, I was a bit moody. How does Tim put up with me? I am much, much better than I used to be. My mood doesn’t last too long, I can see through it and in a way I wait patiently, knowing that “It too shall pass” as our wise friend Chandana shared with us. We often use this quote now.
We finally arrived at the campsite. Oh dear – in fact rather than campsite it is someone’s driveway! We can go in the back of the house to use the toilet and shower, in the latter we have been asked not to roll the blind down as it is broken. If anyone passes the bathroom window when we are showering in the glass cubicle, they will see our altogether! I think not. Tim is more brazen than me. And we’ve paid for this! (ok not much).
It is dark now so I think we’re be having an early night tucked up in Keith the car, at least we now have some bedtime reading. Tomorrow a quick jaunt up Mount Taranaki and then back to see Serety, Ian, and all the family including Mac the dog – we wonder how big he is now.
