Haere Ra Tamaki Makaurau...

Wednesday 1 October

We said our final farewells to our wonderful hosts, the Orrs, and of course to Summer and Dilligas. Summer came over to check out life in Banjo, but decided against hitching a lift with her favourite auntie & uncle... but once Mairi and the kids had gone out for the day, her Houdini tendencies came to the fore - she burst out of the back bathroom door then managed to push at the wire net on the big gate and squeeze through there before trying to make a break for freedom through the hedge beside the deck. Once I worked out where she had breached the prison walls we got the strong black cable ties out and sealed up every possible weakness in the gate and the wire net - her disgust at my treachery was palpable!

I was a little teary leaving my pusskin again 💔 but we did have a lovely wee smooch before we left... as he is probably about 12 or 13 now, and has outlived his litter brother Richard Parker by more than a decade, I always worry that we may not see hm again - but at least he is living his best life bossing around the Orr household!

We were also very much saddened to hear the news of Nigel Latta’s death - he has been a legend here in NZ, particularly appreciated by parents for his brilliant advice around child rearing and handling rabid, hormonal teenagers! We were fortunate enough to see him in Auckland a few years back - a friend shared a post about a school fundraiser evening where he was speaking and we leapt at the chance to get tickets. Such a funny and down to earth guy who had so much empathy and made you feel good about even your worst parenting nightmares!!!

Back on the road, we got the rig weighed again - still just within limits, but could do with shedding a few kgs (just like me) as we are close to max. Then it was full steam ahead to Hamilton… fortunately with a fairly clear run in terms of traffic and weather conditions. Though we did find ourselves heading back to Auckland after a lunch and toilet stop in the Bombays, and very unclear signage as to which lane we needed to be in to head South!

Amy’s godmother Georgie who was an integral part of our children’s early lives, had offered us a place to stay at hers, so we turned up in Harrowfield Drive mid-afternoon for a fond reunion. The drive was too steep for Banjo so we abandoned her on the wide avenue and accepted the spare bed & bathroom for the night (luxury!)

It was great catching up with Georgie and her partner Mish, and we had a laugh meeting Louie their Staffy, who rules the roost and took a while to accept these strangers in her house - until we went walkies with her & Mish and then became besties. She adored her nearly namesake Louis 🩶

Burgers in the garden for dinner then lots more chat on the deck under the heaters as it was getting chilly - still early Spring.

A lovely evening to start the next chapter of Banjo’s Odyssey 🥰