Last leg of the journey...

The last leg of our Kiwi journey included Havelock to Napier to Gisborne to Hamilton to Auckland. We decided to return "home" (to Auckland) earlier than initially planned because we were being bombarded with phone and email inquiries about trusty ol' Gus. We thought we should get him home, clean him up, show him off, and SELL HIM (*sniff sniff*).

So, starting with our brief stop in Havelock. The "Sleeping Giant" famously resides here. The Te Mata mountain range is shaped like a sleeping man who, as Lonely Planet puts it, is "definitely a he".

Well, I consider myself an observant person by nature... but I couldn't see it! I COULDN'T SEE THE MAN! I was looking for facial features, then scanning downward in hopes of spotting obvious male genitalia, but I didn't see a thing. It would've helped if someone had let us know if we were looking at the correct mountain range or perhaps orient us to specific body parts so we knew what the heck we were looking at.

Anyhoo, we found a tiny picture on the internet, blew it up, and we THINK that the head is on the far right... do you see it? Do you see the mysterious sleeping giant?

Onto Napier. When we first arrived in Napier we did a walking tour set up by Lonely Planet. You see, the entire city was levelled in 1931 by an earthquake and needed to be rebuilt. Everything was constructed in an "Art-Deco" manner which was apparently cheap, safe, and contemporary. Details that scream this style include zigzags, fountains, speed lines, and pastel colours etc etc etc. Every single building (including banks, law offices, hotels etc) share the same style.

One example is the cathedral...

We were in Napier for ANZAC day (which is like our Remembrance Day at home). We continued our role as the loyal Kiwi citizens we've become and partook in the local ceremony.

(note the style of the shop in the background).

Before leaving Napier, we felt that we should participate in a guided tour of a winery. Napier is a big wine-producing area, so even though we don't like wine, we planned to purchase a tour. When we arrived at the winery and expressed our interest, the sales lady regretfully informed us that the tour was fully booked. Crap. The lady DID, however, offer some free wine tasting instead. Most normal people would likely jump at this chance, but have I mentioned that I would rather drink sewage than wine? I have tried to acquire a taste but... ick. Anyhoo, we accepted the wine tasting offer. The lady remained awkwardly close to us as I attempted not to gag on the unwanted beverage. Lowell has acquired a bit more of a taste for the stuff, so I casually (and probably totally obviously) slipped him my glass after a few sips of each type of wine.

Sorry- no pictures of the flaming awkwardness.

From Napier we headed to Gisborne to visit Julia, Scott and adorable baby Timiah. Julia is Mama & Papa Pound's eldest daughter, and the final extension of the Pound family that we had yet to meet. We have two "Kiwi families"- the Pounds and the Gwilliams. Because we're so close to both clans, we insisted upon meeting the rest of them before vacating the country. Well, meet them we did, and love them we did!

Ca-UTE!

Julia and Timiah (pronounced "Tih-my-uh) took us on a driving tour of Gisborne and showed us the hot spots. The tour included a hilltop with a view of the city.

Julia was explaining landmarks, and I was listening, I really was. I wasn't completely distracted by the adorable little girl in her arms or anything...

We had planned on staying for one night, and leaving the following day after church. However, Gus had different plans for us. We woke up to a completely flat tire (????)- so flat that it had half-slid off the rim...

Last time we had a flat tire, trusty big bro Marc was there, and I was perfectly content to let the boys take over. This time Marc wasn't around and Scott was busy with last minute touch-ups on his Sunday morning sermon. I remained minimally helpful while I cuddled with Timiah and watched Julia fetch items for Lowell...

Eventually I pulled my socks up and HELPED CHANGE A TIRE! I was so very proud of myself.

Because it was a Sunday, we just had to stay in Gisborne for one more day. Shucky darn!

Even though we had that extra day with them, we were still reluctant to leave the next day. We headed back to Auckland via the Hamilton gardens. These are some pretty crazy themed gardens. Here Lowell got a chance to strut his multicultural stuff!

Japanese...

English...

(Tee hee hee)

Chinese...

Modern American...

Italian...

Maori...

(If you look closely at all the wooden creatures, they're making the same face as Lowell is. This is the expression that reportedly means "Your flesh looks tasty.")

When we arrived back in Auckland, we took Gussy Goo to a car wash, then settled at Lance & Nat's and got Gus all ready to sell.

We're still at Lance at Nat's now and we've been filling our time playing "Mommy & Daddy" to Lance & Nat, spending time with other great Kiwi friends, and wrapping up our NZ lives (i.e., selling things, closing bank accounts etc). It's hard to believe that our 9 months in NZ is coming to an end in 4 days when we head to Thailand. I refuse to say any more right now though because I hate good-byes and can not even begin to describe how much I'm going to miss these people and this land that we have become so close to. WAAAAAHHHHHHHH!