My NZ Experience

From when I was 10 to almost 16 years old I lived in New Zealand. My Dad had been given a promotion with work so we moved to Howick which was a rural suburb of Auckland back then. Mum and Dad said they'd give it 5 years before moving back to Australia, but by the time 5 years was up both my sister and I didn't want to leave. We loved living in Auckland, we had made some great friends there and we saw just about everything to see in NZ during the 5 1/2 years we lived there.

We left NZ in December 1984 after my sister had finished high school and I still had 2 years to go. I visited NZ in 2008 - 24 years after leaving! I still keep in contact with 2 school friends and one of them was having a terrible time battling cancer so I decided to have a week just visiting with both of them.

My friend Andrea bought me this beautiful artwork which hangs on our bedroom wall. "Aroha" means love in Maori language. It came from the most gorgeous shop called The Garden Party and was made by Hayley Hamilton.


My other friend Adrienne gave me this piece of Kiwiana - a kiwi and pukeko noughts and crosses set. Kiwiana is defined as "quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood". Some other examples of Kiwiana that I love are hokey-pokey icecream, pineapple lumps, Footrot Flats, and tomato-shaped tomato sauce bottles.


I'd love to take Farmer Phil and the kids to NZ and show them where I lived, where I went to school, and do all the touristy stuff as well. I don't know when or if this will ever happen, but I can always dream!!