Christmas In The Hot, Hot Sun
Roturoa -> Auckland, 24th-25th December 2001
Due to our late night computer session we had a long lie in on this
hot, sunny Christmas Eve. When the Kiwi Experience bus pulled up, it
was quite empty, probably because most people don't want to drive
around on Christmas Eve! We climbed on and took our seats for the
short drive to Auckland.
 After
a quick & quiet journey we arrived in Auckland. Even though
Wellington is the capital, this was definitely much more of a city.
Huge buildings, towering sky-scrapers, busy roads and bustling
pavements. Auckland is actually the 4th largest city in the world if
you talk about it's area. However, it's got a very small population,
making it a very sparsely populated city.
We took a quick drive around the town before being dropped off. We
were planning to meet Natalie's Great Uncle so we could stay with
him for a couple of nights. We decided to meet him at the Art
Gallery because it was an easy to find landmark. The bus driver
dropped us off at a hostel quite close to the gallery. we jumped off
and pulled all our kit from the coach. After heaving our bags onto
our backs, we headed off towards the gallery. However, it was a very
hot & sunny day, and the gallery was farther away than we
expected...
After struggling up a steep hill for about 10 minutes, we were all
drenched in sweat and leaving a damp trail on the pavement behind
us, so we decided to stop for a quick breather. Tempers were short
and nerves were on edge because of the combination of lack of sleep
and the weather. In the end, after lots or arguing and sulking, we
decided to stay put, conveniently next to a major Auckland city car
park, while Nat phoned her Uncle to get him to meet us. He said he
knew where we were and he'd meet us in 20 minutes. We took the time
to lie in a small heap on the pavement and bask in the sun.
About 10 minutes later, a battered blue Lada pulled up and Nat's
uncle clambered out. Luckily the car had a large boot, so we managed
to cram all our bags in and fold ourselves into the slightly cramped
seats. Nat's uncle is quite old with thinning white hair, bright,
active blue eyes and a large pair of glasses. I don't know what he
does, but he must be doing the right thing and I hope I'm as healthy
as he looks when I reach his age!
 We
took a quick drive along the motorway (and I mean quick, Nat's Uncle
Peter is no crawler, he burns along them roads!) As we were driving
along, we realised the boot wasn't closed completely because of the
size of our bags. Uncle Peter said it'll be fine, but we weren't so
sure. So Em sat for the whole journey with her arms behind her
tightly gripping our bags. Stinge swung round with every bump,
assuming that the boot had flown open and our kit was spreading
along the motorway. But, just as Emily's knuckles had had enough, we
pulled into his driveway.
Uncle Peter's house is very comfortable & welcoming. He had enough
extra beds in his house for all 4 of us. I had one room, Stinge had
another and Nat & Em shared the sofa bed in the living room. We
threw down our belongings and had dinner while chatting to Nat's
Uncle Peter about anything & everything. He tells us many stories
about his time in the Navy. At the end of each story you can see him
looking contentedly into the distance, fondly remembering some proud
or exciting moment.
After dinner was finished and stories were told, we headed off to
bed. It's kinda strange having a room to myself now, after nearly 2
months of sharing with other people. Kinda quiet & lonely actually,
but at least it'll be peaceful.
On Christmas morning, we woke up lazily. It was our first Christmas
away from home. No prezzies or stockings to dive into (Sob! Sob!,
but never mind, we're travelling the world!). My parents had sent a
couple of little presents for me to Nat's Uncle Peter, so I tore
these open and helped keep up the Christmas spirit.
I had a wash and then went into the kitchen where Nat's Uncle had
made the prezzies he'd been given into a large pile and was admiring
them. He'd been given loads of chocolates, biscuits, beer, wine,
whisky and other alcohol. Someone's popular!
In the morning, I made use of the baking hot weather to give the
tent a quick hose down. I washed it and scrubbed it to remove
(kill?) the mould. Interesting thing to do on Christmas day!
Nat's uncle took us and his friend Pearl down to the local RSA
(Returned Services Association) for Christmas lunch. The place had
some Christmas decorations dotted around it. It was the first
Christmas decorations I'd seen this Christmas. It's strange how you
miss silly things. Occasionally, I bet you get quite sick of putting
up & taking down decorations every year. But as soon as you stop
doing it, you start missing it.
We had a fantastic slap up meal with the full works. Turkey, beef,
ham, fish, loads of veg, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, chips and
more. Followed by swiss roll, Christmas pud, pavlova, fruit & more!
We washed it all down with a couple of pints of Export Gold. A
really cheap beer that I've suddenly grown a taste for. I wasn't
much of a beer drinker back home, but since I've been on my travels,
I've got used to it and started to really like it! Good preparation
for University life I guess!
Afterwards we headed back home, completely stuffed. We sat around in
Uncle Peter's living room chatting and watching the Christmas telly.
After a few hours of relaxing, we tucked into Uncle Peter's biscuits
& chocolates (Thanks very much! Sorry we ate so many of them!). Not
much else happened on our first Christmas day away from home. We
just relaxed and chatted and before we knew it, it was time for bed
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