October
2003
– Susan and Melissa’s Annual Fabulous Birthday Celebration
and Adventure in New Zealand. (click through)
This New
Zealand trip was out of the ordinary for me. I usually travel with my
husband, Michael, to New Zealand. We’ve been coming here since
our honeymoon in 1991 (he had been there several times previously but
it was my first trip in 1991). I had been to New Zealand once on my
own for a travel convention in 2002. Otherwise, hubby was always the
driver and the driving force in our adventures in New Zealand.
This trip.. Melissa was truly in the drivers seat.. And scaring the
“heck” out of Susan on a regular basis!
Susan and
I travel for our birthdays every year. This is usually in September,
which is when our birthdays are (Melissa’s: Sept 26 and Susan’s:
Sept 20). But when Susan told me she wanted to go to New Zealand for
our 2003 birthdays (she is a Virgo and likes to tell me, her accommodating
Libra best friend, what to do-nicely) I told her September was not acceptable
since it would be just a bit too chilly for our normal warm weather
birthday adventures. October became the month of choice.. And so it
was. I had never been to New Zealand this time of year so I expected
things to be a little different. I loved every minute of October in
New Zealand and.. Playing in this fabulous country with my best friend
of 28 years.
Not wishing
to bore you, but it’s important (to me) to note that I tried on
numerous occasion, to talk Susan into going somewhere else. “Sue..
Let’s go to Costa Rica and play in the jungle with birds!”
Nope! “Sue, how about going back to Fiji to a remote jungle island
where they have only 12 bungalows?” Nope! Finally, it sunk in
that we were going to New Zealand and when Huka Lodge came back with
the confirmation for 2 days.. Well........ I got excited and we were
off and running and I put on my vacation planner HAT and got to work.
All of a sudden, our 4th annual birthday adventure starting taking on
a new sparkle.
Upon arrival
I had hired a private car to take us from Auckland to Taupo. The flights
to Taupo did not work for us so it was the 5 hour drive with a delightful
older couple that drove us to our luxurious first stop, Huka Lodge.
I must add, that one of the things I LOVE about New Zealand is the friendliness
and innocence of the people. Here we have Mom and Pop... Driving us.
No matter how tired we were and no matter how ordinary the scenery (
the drive from Auckland to Taupo is not the most interesting).. I savored
the experience of enjoying these people.
We stopped at a candy factory somewhere in the middle of no where..
We stopped in a “character” town to take a walk around.
It was New Zealand.. I can feel it on my skin... I can smell it... My
spirit senses it... I am stepping back in time... Ahhhh... Susan was
right.. New Zealand was the best choice.
Huka Lodge
was everything we had heard and more. The water rushing by our riverfront
rooms (not right in front but close enough) soothed our souls... And
created a peace and serenity that settles your inner-workaholic. Or
is it the outer-workaholic? We acclimated ourselves and walked around
the grounds .. In the misty chilly drizzly weather. It was enchanting
and mesmerizing. Our friend Do Cammick of Taveuni Island Resort in Fiji
(who lives in Auckland) , met us and our first night at Huka Lodge was
the girls night out.. In style.. It was a night of meeting new people
(and the Lodge cat), enjoying each other’s company and savoring
the ambiance that IS Huka Lodge. The Lodge weaves its magic. Each moment
convinces you that you have arrived at Nirvana.
The next
day we walked to Huka falls and then around the river up to the township
of Taupo. Along the way we captured views of the river and walked by
steaming streams that meandered down the hillside into the Waikato river.
2 kayakers had jumped ship to bath themselves in the warm sulfured waters
while their kayaks bobbed nearby in an eddy in the river. Back in our
rooms, we both took bathes in the deep tubs in the well appointed spacious
bathrooms.. And then met, fireside, in my room... Popping a bottle of
champagne.. We invited the ducks in to visit while we toasted to our
birthdays... And the first leg of our fabulous birthday adventure.
At dinner
this night, Susan and I met Nick and Marge from the UK and Shawn and
................ For Boston/San Francisco. We would run into both later
on.. At Blanket Bay and in TeAnau. It turns out that you not only have
a great time with the Kiwis (the New Zealanders) but the people you
meet along the way! Just one more reason to fall in love with the experience
called “New Zealand”
Our car
was delivered to Huka.. And we were ready to head out to Napier. I had
experienced more than normal anxiety about driving in New Zealand. It
had always been my husband in the drivers seat as we ventured on the
“wrong” side of the road. I had decided at the very beginning
of planning that Susan was not allowed to drive. For crying out loud...
She scares me to death when she drives at home in Hawaii.. There was
not a chance in heaven “that” girl was going to drive in
NZ. So off we went on long stretches of road with no cars or people
in sight. I loved it. Hours of open range. And then there was Napier....
Susan’s
eyes had never shown such panic as I saw at the intersection I had just
stopped in the main part of Napier. I have since described the driving
experience in NZ as... The one who is tortured the most is the person
who is in the passenger seat (Shhhhh don’t tell your spouse) .
We made it through unscathed. Remember, Susan is a Virgo and a control
freak. And you have me.. The Libra “it will be fine” personality..
Slithering my way through the maze of cars to our next 2 night stay...
The Master’s Lodge at the top of Napier Hill.....
Happy
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