And there I was, some 30 hrs after take-off from Heathrow, going out through the gate at Auckland airport to board my domestic flight, (which was to take me to Rotorua), and at seeing the plane I went “oh no....”. I've been in small planes before, but this is by far the smallest one in what, over ten years? Ever?
Anyway, did climb the pathetic stairs and ducked to get through the pathetic door and made my way through the pathetic aisle to my seat, (there was one chair on each side of the aisle and all together some 12 seats), I was so not impressed and more worried than usual to be honest (no I don't like flying much). Did magane to not freak out during take-off and after a couple of minutes I was actually ok.
And then it hit me. Anyone who's seen me this summer can tell you that I have been dreading leaving, and I will admit that the final weeks up until taking off were filled with terror and total anguish. But as that tiny little plane left the ground and I finally realized that that beautiful landscape below me was New Zealand, I finally did remember why I am doing this.
I love it, I love travelling, and I don't mean the boring 30 something hrs of flying from Heathrow to Hong Kong to Auckland, I mean those moments when you are arriving somewhere completely new, the excitement of having no idea where you are going (yes you might know the name of the destination but you dont know what to expect of it). And the view from that plane (despite partially being blocket by the planes left engine) was amazing, and so different.
Rotorua Airport actually reminded me a lot of the tiny airports I have frequently flew to in north Sweden, managed to find a taxi to get me to the town centre (awsome driver who gave me a quick tour on the way in), and then there I was. I had a couple of hours to kill before my bus was to leave and spent most of that time down by the lakeside where, (yes I am pathetic) I got to see black swans and suddenly felt at home. We left Australia like 10 years ago, but even so the little parts of Australia that you find here in New Zealand do make me feel right at home.
The bus ride was short and I was picked up at the station by my boss; Pauline, (who is absolutely amazing by the way) and we went to the farm, and I was home.
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