New Layers on Old Connections

 We have just returned from a 4 day sojourn into the Wilderness - Far North.  Past Kaeo.  To reconnect with Precious Friends from the Past (PFP's).  Some friends you don't see for years and then, Bam!  When you do reconnect, it seems like time has stood still and you can take up the conversation where last you left off.  There's no explaining to be done, you have history. Like the threads in the tapestry of life.  Theirs are the weft, yours the warp.  Woven together in the pattern of living.  Stories combining at certain points to create the picture of life.

The view from our hotel room at Waipuna

Given that these PFP's live 6+ hours away from us, it is not surprising that we haven't seen them in 12 years.  Those years were filled with simply living, taking in all the little challenges that life throws at you.  Job.  House. Garden.  Children.  And distance.  These all conspire to keep us from connecting on a regular basis.  So Mike decided, it was Time to Reconnect.  To break up the journey, we stayed over in the Waipuna Hotel in Auckland (Mike gets a special rate as he often goes there for business).  Pure luxury.  The penthouse apartment.  Stunning.  Attention to Detail.  The bathroom had a walk-in shower and the bath was a Japanese Sitting Bath. Deep.  Unfortunately, we had to choose, so could only experience the fantastic shower - didn't get to try out the bath!!  

It was great to experience a little bit of glitz, even if we did stay in and make our own stir-fry for dinner (our preference).   Our home was left in the care of our daughter and her Cook Island friend, with the proviso that they could chill, eat anything, watch anything - but, no parties!  All great there.  Their biggest task there, besides feeding the cat, was to rinse the olives soaking in water, every day.

Extra Large Double Bed with ensuite bathroom

Loved this sense of Opulence.  We even had thick white bathrobes to wear!!  Note the shadow of self in reflected glass.

Lounge, dining and kitchen nook.  Everything you could ever want, and more.

So somewhere after Kaeo, we took a dirt road that seemed to lead on forever, further and further away from civilisation, until finally, we reached a number on a wire gate, that indicated we had hit our mark.  Of course.  To be expected.   Far, far, from the Madding Crowd.  Arriving finally, at Av and Ian's place after 4 and a bit LONG hours of driving, it was like coming home to family.  Even if we hadn't been there before, we still felt at home, instantly recognising that people make their homes feel the same, wherever they go!  You recognise furniture from a previous home.  A style befitting their character.  And of course, their home is truly in the wop-wops.  Far Gone.  Gone Bush.  Awol.  I have always said that the definition of "Isolated"  in the Oxford Dictionary, should be, " Av and Ian's place"! 

Our family who share different DNA.

I have often joked that with some of my own family members, we are simply strangers who share the same DNA.  Truly.  Life circumstances decreed we lived separate lives and our parents were the only connecting happenstance.  Some people, I find, you share a deeper bond with, despite the fact that there is no blood connection, only one of the heart.  Enough said.

The vista from the top of the farm.

We coffee and tea-d whilst filling one another in on the events of our lives over the last 12 years. Then they aspired to take us on a tramp to view the farm in all it's glory.  There is no accident they called it "100 acre Wood".  It's pretty much all regenerated natural NZ bush.  And so steep in places just to make a stroll turn into a hike.  A-huffing and puffing, after 20 minutes I was pleading to turn round so we could go home and drink more tea.  They laughed at my joke. I wasn't joking.  This was just a stroll for them, in the NZ bush. For me, a hike in the Hindu Kush. A hike of epic proportions for someone who tries everything in my means to save the planet but makes no excuses about jumping into my trusty little Toyota for any small excursion.  Onwards and upwards I hyperventilated until we reached the top of the summit!  What a view.  I am sure I would have appreciated it equally, by viewing a photo though.  Not for me the exertion of energy in pursuit of natural splendour.  Why, I get a thrill out of watching a Nature Series documentary on TV.  And without much more exertion than pausing the TV and padding over to the kitchen to make a cuppa!  I'm definitely the armchair nature addict.

Trusty old farm fence posts.

Little Magic mushroom in the woods.

The river that floods in any heavy downpour, and the morning swimming hole for the Brave-Hearted

Apparently Av does this "little hike" every day, sometimes 2x a day.  For fun!  Oh, and then, for that extra little cherry on top, she hops into the icey-cold river to cool off.  Paradise for some. Sheer unadulterated torture for the likes of me!  But they say, opposites attract!  We have known these friends for a lifetime.  And to add perspective to this amazing daily ritual, Av is 70!  Hard to concieve, for the likes of me, who 20+ years her junior, is such a comfort-cookie!

Watsonia blossom at the river

Taupo Bay is a half hour away for a dip in the chilly ocean

Tracking sea birds.

Weathered sand dune bollard stands sentry-duty

The lonely little shack that reminded me so of my father's place standing on the banks of the Mbomvu River, Coffee Bay, South Africa

Our friends house is all cottagey, wood panelling and once-was-a-church.  Apparently, it was rolled on logs accross the river, and dragged up to it's current location.  After being flooded a few years back, they raised it 2 meters above ground, on stilts, only to be flooded again, by half a meter indoors!    They share their home with a rescued dog from Africa, called Taliqua, and 5 or 6 tame ring-necked doves who come and go at feeding intervals.

Feeding time

Mike having a dove cuddle

Taliqua and dove

What a wonderful time to re-connect.  Reminds me of the oath taken at a wedding, "To love, honour and cherish".   A friendship is like a union of souls.  Even if we don't live together, there will always be a place for these special people in our heart.

Autumn leaves

Particularly apt thought