Delightful New Zealand – the antidote?

I love New Zealand. If I were to ever leave Canberra for another Australasian city, I think it might be for Auckland. I’m sure my dad might baulk at that, claiming he left that rainy place for sunshinier life for us, but rain and all, I like it. When it’s sunny it’s divinely beautiful and when it’s grey and rainy it’s kind of cosy and comforting. And then after so many years of traveling to strange and foreign lands, meeting new people all the time, it is so nice to be visiting somewhere to which I am permanently connected despite the years of absence, to have dinner in the town I was born, to drive past the house my parents built (with a little help from my uncle) and to hang out with people who have known me and loved me my entire life, since the day I was born. My four days in Auckland have been the perfect antidote to my earlier adventure travels, simple, easy, relaxing and beautiful. I went for walks, runs, lunches and dinners, afternoon naps, visited the beach and the bush and the countryside with all the sheepies and spent time with the aunties and uncles and cousins. My favourite thing was going to see my cousin playing soccer. In a life where I am lucky to work with the same team for more than 15 days before changing place and teams, I was delighted to see the same team that I played touch rugby with when I lived there as a teenager still going strong and together 15 years on, and still up for a beer after the game. There is something very appealing about that life.