Goodbye Aotearoa
Two years, ten months and twenty-two days. That is how long i have had the extraordinary experience of living in New Zealand. I have crossed razor thin tussock-covered ridges being battered by endless gales and soaked by the rain. I have walked among forests full of life - crown ferns, beech trees, assortments of mosses and grasses covering the land, all very nourished and green. I have crossed the Southern Alps, those majestic mountain ranges that defiantly impose their will on the landscape, following the trails of old while forging some of new. I have swam in glacial waters, whose intense milky-turquoise colours are not of this world. I have sat by alpine flowers, the natural setup of the mountainside creating a sonic amphitheatre, and every creak and groan was echoed with clear punctuation. I have tramped deep into Fiordland, the land of endless rain and infinite sandflies, where rivers roar and trees grow old. I have met much of the wildlife, chatting with keas, waiting for kiwis, watching weka. I have slept under the sky, the stars appearing in detail, colour dancing across the horizon. I have made lifelong friendships with people of all cultures, emerging myself in with the history and traditions of the Maori. These days have been the best of my life. But now it is time for the next adventure. Tomorrow, I am leaving New Zealand to live in London, on the doorstep of Europe. New lands to discover, new friends and experiences to make. Goodbye Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. I will be back one day.