Adrian on the Auckland Harbour (yay)
Me enjoying being out on the water before getting into a stuffy airplane
Sandra and I on the boat
Fiona and I after swimming on board
YAY - ready to go

Sunday 4^th March

Actually it is early on the morning of Monday 5^th of March. I have less than 48 hours left in NZ and I am sitting on a 43ft yacht in the Auckland harbour! Adventures just keep arriving. I contacted Adrian and Sandra to see if we could meet up for a coffee and it has resulted in an evening sailing, dining and complete with a sleepover on their watery home. It’s superb!

Fi and her boyfriend Jeremy joined us too - really nice to see Fi and make some final last minute plans, nice to meet Jeremy as well, as I’m sure Fi will be raving about him over the next 9 months (she’s already been raving for months). He seems awesome, and added bonus - knows his way around boats! To kick of the evening Fiona and I jumped from the overloaded little row boat on the way to the yacht (anyone who goes boating with Adrian will know what this means) and swam it instead. It was a good half hour or so, and it felt so nice to be doing something ridiculous and impromptu - swimming along, miles from anywhere, in warmish water chatting away about things like sunlight soap and mosquito nets (part of the mental packing process). It was great to have someone courageous in the water with me! Means I can be brave too and do things like swim out to yachts!! Something I would never attempt on my own. Having travelled solo normally it’s going to be fun to have a travel buddy!

Cool seeing Adrian and Sandra again too. It’s been a while, I wish I had some more time here. I think I’m going to spend a lot of time talking to Adrian when Dunedin’s community centre gets going. Like Ben Nicholls he has a lot of good thoughts, and knowledge and experience. Nice to be running into them and crossing paths during adventures too. Like seeing them in Berlin which was the last time we overlapped properly. I think I’m liking being grown up and having grown up friends. It’s a whole other world opening up.

So I’m on the road again! Every now and again I wonder why I am doing this kind of stuff? Building a wonderful store of memories and experiences - and it is getting quite extensive, sometimes I surprise myself when I think over all the things I have seen, been a part of or experienced in some way. Its been a busy 22 years. I think soon I’m ready for a more settled stage - a growing and building experience rather than a frantically gathering, exploring and watching time. I’ve explored lots and seen many things. Now I want to have a go at creating something others can come and see, learning stuff by staying in one place and kind of being introverted towards one place rather than extroverted and ducking in and out of different cultures, communities and lives… if that makes sense. Sometimes I feel I cant explain it all very well - its so contradictory yet makes perfect sense!

Talking with Sophie and Harry, and now Adrian tonight I am getting more and more inspired about this community centre! It would be grand if I could mix it with a masters of planning. My research for Uni would pretty much be what I would be wanting to do in my own time for the centre anyway - very complimentary! I’ll keep thinking about it during this year, and perhaps feel clearer about it after 9 months of long hot evenings!

Anyway, download photos and head to sleep. Tomorrow will be busy getting ready to go! How exciting! I can’t wait (after feeling for ages that I might prefer to stay here, I’m glad I have this feeling of excitement and joy at going!). Yippee -

Xx

Anna