Home Time (part 3)

DAY FOUR

Day four, I woke up reasonably early... Excited to get a move on with my holiday... Which was more than I could say for Ben (who had finally got into holiday mode and wanted to sleep a little longer). Somehow, I had convinced mum and dad to let us have the ute for the day. So as soon as breakfast and showers were out of the way, we were off to visit the family.

First stop, was my cousin Erica's. We caught her just before she had left to the lake, so it was a quick hello then off to show Ben a bit of the island. We drove out to Owenga, a small village in the lower part of the island.

It was a good drive... pointing out everyone/everything I saw and knew. We finally got to the end of the road (literally) where the statue of Tommy Soloman was. Tommy was the last full-blooded moriori (the indigenous people of the island) so it was only right he had some form of a memorial. I remember being little and always being scared of the statue. It was huge! and of a man for crying out loud!!! .... and there's no eyes!!!! It also never helped that some crazy person told me his body was inside the statue!!!

After a quick look around it was time to drive home. This time I let Ben do the driving, considering there was no way he could get lost! (and I despise driving manuals).We decided we had a couple of hours until I had to pick dad up, so instead of home, we were of to town to go have a cuppa with my Aunty Liz and catch up on the local gossip. At 4.45pm I called home to see if I should pick dad up from work, turns out he had finished earlier and wasn't even expecting us to pick him up. Incase he was angry I suggested it was time to go home.

DAY FIVE

The next day, was the day of the Chatham Island Horse Races AND New Years Eve!!!!

Unfortunately, there was a bit of rain which caused the races to be cancelled. So my Aunty Irene (one of my favorites) picked us up and took us to the lake where my cousins Erica and Trish were camping with their partners and kids.

Trish's kids Reese (2) and Leighton (5) took a liking to Ben and nicknamed him Ben 10. They spent the whole day playing, while I caught up with everyone and munched on the bbq food!!!



At the lake



The whanau




Leighton waving goodbye

 Later that afternoon it was time to go home and get ready to go to the local pub with mum and dad, while my brother Kerry (16) went off to a friends house.

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera with me, so I have no photos of the night... But it was so much fun!!!
I didn't have to buy a single drink, I had family and friends pulling them out left, right and centre. There was a live band (who were GREAT). I mended old friendships, chatted with other friends, caught up with family, had a very short 5 minute dance with Ben before passing him off to my Aunty Irene (who by now, was as drunk as a skunk!) and even met a few new faces.

However the highlights of the night... Getting a laugh out of everyone telling Ben not hurt me, otherwise the family would be on him (hehehe so funny!). Also, getting a feeling for home again. I saw so many people I had missed more than anything. The final thing, was seeing how much my parents trust me. In their eyes, I left home an immature, young girl who didn't know how to fend for herself. I wasn't exactly trusted by them. But being home, they saw how much I had grown up, I could do things I wasn't allowed to do beforehand, and everything was simply just..... BETTER.

Home Time (part 2)

DAY THREE

The next morning we were awake at 5.30am to be ready for the airport shuttle due to arrive at 6.45. We showered, cleaned up and packed then we were off to check out... At long last!!!!

My dad had told me that the plane departs at 8.15am but my mum told me that check in was at 8.15... I didn't know who to believe so I just decided to be safe and treat departure as 8.15.

The shuttle arrived after waiting 20 minutes outside in the cold, and we were off. We were at Christchurch Airport by 7.15. We checked in... A little early but the lady behind the counter just took our bags and assured us she would make sure they got on the plane (it's always nice when you get friendly check in staff... They always give a good start to someone's holiday). The next thing to do was go to the upstairs cafe for breakfast!!! Afterwards I took Ben to the rooftop to look out for the plane which was due to land soon!!! As we climbed up the stairs, Ben became uneasy. "Are you sure we're allowed up here?" "There's no signs, we're not allowed here!" he kept saying. I reassured him that everything was ok and to trust me. Once we got to the top, he realised we weren't the only people on the roof and everything was alright.



Excited to go home!




We were looking out for the plane as it was meant to land



We spent a good 30 minutes on the rooftop looking for the Air Chathams plane to land. Every time I saw one in the distance I would shout "It's here!! Look it's the plane!!! YAY!". Only to be let down and realise it was a much larger Air New Zealand plane every time!!! After seeing about 5 planes, we gave up and  went back downstairs to check the screen. Turns out, the plane was delayed and wasn't due to land until 9.45 and we would depart at 10am. 15 minutes was going to be a quick unload and reload of the luggage, so I knew there was no way we would leave on time.

One thing I love about Christchurch is that I'm always guaranteed to see someone I know... At the airport I saw my Aunty Lynn checking in at the counter. I snuck up behind her and gave her a huge hug and kiss!!! I knew that if she was there, Uncle Eddie (her husband, my dad's oldest brother) would be there too. I noticed that her grandson (my second cousin) Noah was there too and he was flying home to see his dad. Aunty Lynn then asked me if I would sit with him, so he wouldn't have to be an unaccompanied minor.

Later on, I saw my uncle along with a few other islanders I didn't quite know. We all made our way to the departure lounge where Ben and Noah had huge yarns about 'Ben 10' (a cartoon programm I know nearly nothing about). Soon after, we got to board the plane... and to my amazement... we departed on time!!!

Within 1 hour and a half, we were home!!!!

We got to the airport where my mum was waiting in the truck. She still looked the same =P

When we got home, the first thing I did was go to my mums cafe where Annalise and Tazmin were working while mum was away. I gave them each a huge hug and introduced them to Ben, then put in an order for my favourite burger... a Jackie Burger!!!



The Chatham Island Airport!




Mum's Cafe (next door to home)



While we were having lunch, my friends Jayal and Porsha arrived.... the next thing we knew, we were off to the old intermediate school swimming pool for a swim!!



Porsha, Jayal, Jayal's Boyfriend and Ben



Ben and Jayal on the mat in the pool

After the swim, we chilled out at home, had a bbq for dinner and recovered from a very long day!!!!

Home Time (part 1)

I spent all Christmas and boxing day working... and counting down to when Ben and I go home to the Chatham Islands.

DAY ONE

The 27th of December 2010 came and I woke up so early - all excited to leave. I caught my bus from Dunedin at 1pm and chilled out until I got to Oamaru where we would have a lunch break and where Ben would get on the bus too.

I was starting to feel exhausted and a little bit sick, so I had a quick snack and drink then got on the bus to cuddle into Ben and sleep. Unfortunately there was no sleep the whole way there. We listented to music, played games and talked the whole way to Christchurch.



Ben and I on the bus to Christchurch

 We arrived in the center of Christchurch city just short of 7pm and grabbed our bags to make our way to our accommodation -Hotel So (now known as All Seasons On Cashel).



Hotel So and a picture of the size of the room!



Hotel So was very "modern" and gave a good first impression. I only paid $75 for the room (thanks to an industry discount). I knew the rooms were small due to reviews online, but when Ben and I entered our room, we were glad we were only staying one night. The room was tidy, but so small! There were no windows, just a large mirror behind the bed (it was a comfy bed too =] ). The cool thing about the room was the lighting. There was a blue light underneath the bed (which was thought  to help improve sleep) and although the bathroom was small, and the only thing seperating the bed from the bathroom was a smeared screen glass wall, there was a "mood light" which could be controlled from the bed. You could change the colour of the bathroom light (red, green, blue, purple, orange and normal) and it lit up the whole room (not that it would've been hard).

Once we had settled in, we went for a walk in the city to find something to eat. We didn't get very far before deciding on KFC and then afterwards going to Timezone (a games arcade). We then went back to the hotel to relax and wake up early to go to the airport.

DAY TWO

We woke up early in the morning (due to my excitement) and sat in bed watching tv and deciding on breakfast, until we were interrupted by a phone call from my dad. He asked if we were ready to go, and when I replied yes, he simply said.... "Well don't be". He informed me that the plane was cancelled due to 60 knot winds on the Chathams. I was so close to crying, but I sucked it up and finished the conversation to tell Ben the news. We packed up our things, and then checked to see if it was possible to stay another night in the hotel. Luckily it was!

They put us back into the same room for the same price and once I had calmed down a little, Ben and I went to get breakfast. Ben had never really been in Christchurch before, so I took him to a place my dad and I like to go. We walked for about 15 minutes in the rain to 'The Oxford on Avon'. They have a buffet breakfast every day which I always liked. After eating, I asked Ben what he thought and he replied "It reminds me of the hostel". That comment made me think that it wasn't really his kind of place. But I later discovered it was because he HATED christchurch and wasn't really giving it a go to begin with.

After breakfast we caught a bus to Riccarton Mall... I later thought I had made a big mistake. Ben hated the mass amount of people, and being a country boy by heart, he hated the fact that people in the city, don't acknowledge you as easily as they do at home. His constant complaining set me back into a bad mood. I eventually told him that if he carried on, he could stay at the hotel and be bored while I went and did something. His complaining then changed and not any better than before. He was now getting mad at me saying that since Chch was my favourite city, why wasn't I showing him all the sights and taking him to places. I don't think he got the concept that there had been another earthquake 2 days earlier so alot was closed, and the only transport we had was the local bus.

Then I found the cure for his bad mood!!! The same cure that works for nearly any girl!!! RETAIL THERAPY. Ben had taken a liking to some shorts he had seen some guys wearing. They were knee length and quite tight and I liked them too. Unfortunately I had a very short patience at this time, and didn't appreciate Ben's determination to find the PERFECT pair. We finally found some, and I thought YAY!!! We're all clear. But now he had decided he needed shoes to wear with them. Thankfully there were some right beside the shorts that Ben found suitable. We then went to the counter to pay for them. Only to find that Ben had lost his wallet!

So I got my mad walk on and dragged Ben out with me to the movie theatre we were at before hand. Turns out while we were watching Gulliver's Travels earlier that day, his wallet had fallen out of the seat and some nice citizen had handed it in to the front counter. Once everything had been paid for, we went to Timezone yet again, to take out our stress on some useless games. Then it was home time... Thank goodness!

We spent the rest of the evening walking around the city, admiring it's beauty at night. Afterwards, we went to a bar along the avon so Ben could have his first legal drink at a bar. He liked showing his I.D and felt "grown up" as such.



A cool building we found while exploring



The Bridge of Remembrance at night

A monumental statue for Chch. The leaves are from all of NZ's native plants



A happy couple at the end of the day