Niue

BEHOLD THE COCONUT! 

...is apparently what the name 'Niue' translates to and was the reason I arrived at the tiny South Pacific Island absolutely certain that I would be handed coconuts everywhere I went. I assumed I would eat so many coconuts that I would be sick at the sight of them by the time I left 10 days later and about 30kgs heavier due to said coconut consumption.

Whilst there was an abundance of coconut trees covering the island, it was surprisingly difficult to actually be handed any by random passers by and I think I ended up eating about 3 in total. They were absolutely DELICIOUS though and you'll be happy to know I'm not sick of them yet.

Anyway enough coconut chat.

FUN FACTS ABOUT NIUE:

• Niue (pronounced New-ay) is a small island country in the South Pacific about 2,400 kilometres north east of New Zealand according to Wikipedia.
• It is one of the world's largest coral islands
• You can only get there via Auckland and there are only two flights a week!
• Although its only a 3 hour flight from Auckland, you jump to the other side of the date line so arrive a day before you leave. Woah.
• Niueans are absolutely lovely, super friendly and EVERYBODY waves at each other.
• There is no traffic, hardly any tourists and more chickens than you can shake an egg at. (that well known phrase)

So Niue! Oh Niue. Where do I even begin? The crystal clear water? The beautiful and colourful coral reefs bursting with tropical fish? The kind and friendly locals? The dolphins? THE WHALES? I need a a minute to calm down and think this through.

Ok lets start with the people. We were blessed with a seat neighbour on the plane journey named Ernest who would show us true Niuean hospitality and kindness. After driving past us a couple of times in his truck (probably looking like absolute pathetic pale sweaty messes), he insisted we take his car for a couple of days to explore the island then called his buddy who owned a car hire company to get us a good deal for the rest of our time there. He also gave us bikes from his guesthouse (that we weren't even staying at) so we could have more travel options! 

There's a custom on the island to wave at everybody who drives past. When I say 'wave' a slight lift of the pointer finger will do, but acknowledging the other cars is a must. It's a small gesture but is incredibly endearing and was hard to stop after we left the country which may have confused some Australian drivers.

Niue is famous for it's crystal clear waters which makes it incredible for snorkelling. We spent our first 6 days there swimming every day which left me feeling about 95 years old by the end, but was worth it for the island's absolutely breathtaking underwater wonderland. There are SO many snorkel spots to visit on the island, some sheltered and others where you have to check the tide times and direction before you jump in. Side note: being swept out to sea is one of my biggest fears and there were a couple of times that I panic swam back to shore after being convinced I'd been caught by the current...I may have been slightly over dramatic. During one of these moments after I had decided to get out early, Nick stayed in a bit longer and ended up finding a grey reef shark that he followed around for a while, which I had been really hoping to see too. TYPICAL EY. Overall the snorkelling was out of this world - Nick was amazing at pointing out different fish to me and telling me their real names when I yelled OH IT'S LIKE THAT ONE OUT OF FINDING NEMO in his face many times. (obviously I've already forgotten all of these names) 

Snorkelling in a sheltered pool i.e. MY COMFORT ZONE

There were also some incredible caves to explore, some with beautiful pools inside like the one pictured above, and all with the most amazing stalagmites and stalactites that looked completely unreal and other worldly. 

Nick partaking in one of his favourite past times - rockpooling

We were fortunate enough to catch the end of 'whale season' whilst we were in Niue and saw at least one humpback from land or boat almost every day. From July-October humpbacks come to hang out in the tropics to calve and nurse their young before migrating back down to Antarctica. We were there at the very end of the season so were super lucky to see a few mothers with their calves plus some males hanging about. We were EVEN luckier in that we were able to go on a whale watch/swim tour and actually get in the water with a couple of them. It was only for a minute or so but it was one of the most surreal, huge and mind-blowing moments of my life. I cried into my mask and almost blinded myself in the process but I just was not prepared for how huge they were and how small they would make me feel. I know that our encounter was far from the best the tour operators had seen, but for me it was such a special moment and one I'll never forget.

I don't have any photos of this, so instead please enjoy my favourite photo from the trip which still makes me LOL every time I look at it:

It looks like I'm a Dementor sucking out Nick's soul

Another out of this world moment that again I don't have a photo for, was our encounter with Spinner Dolphins. We were on the whale watch boat again and caught sight of a pod of Spinners nearby. The dolphins love riding the bow of the boat and were soon surrounding our little vessel. We were allowed to jump in the water two at a time and hold onto a rope while the boat pulled us along and the dolphins surrounded us - so magical! The visibility was SO incredible and it felt like we were part of the pod swimming along with the boat. I should mention that in my panic and excitement I held onto the rope in an awkward way and almost broke my little finger. It was absolute AGONY and I genuinely still can't feel it properly. I think I may have done some lasting damage to it but y'know...DOLPHINS. Who needs little fingers anyway?! We even got to see them performing their rare but beautiful spinning out of the water.

Another great spot for snorkelling. Can you spot Nick?

The sunsets were also out of this world. We spent many an evening down on the beach just in front of our guest house with a couple of coronas, usually with one of the island dogs that we named 'Pat' who ended up following us about for most of our trip.

I genuinely well up when I look at these pictures. He was the best boy.

Pat deserves his own blog.

Pat making Pat angels in the sand

The below photo was taken on our second to last evening on the island, and looking back now I just can't believe this place exists. It's like nowhere I've ever seen in real life or in photos and I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten the chance to visit.

Evening Corona on the beach

Overall our trip to Niue was a totally dreamy 10 days. I absolutely haven't done it justice on this blog post, I've mainly just used it to talk about Pat the dog and showcase my Dementor photo to the world. But if you ever get the chance to visit this place you should jump at it. There are more famous Pacific islands with sandier beaches but I do think this is a truly special place that is like no other. Because there are only 2 flights a week it doesn't feel touristy at all, and the other tourists you do bump into you end up recognising throughout the trip as there are so few of you.

I really hope it stays this way and I get the feeling the locals agree. There are fewer and fewer places like this in the world so coming across one does feel very special.

Ok I'm done now, I think I'll curl up with my photo album of Pat the Dog pictures and cry myself to sleep.

I MISS YOU PAT

On the road again

The last few days have been a huge blur of many emotions. Mainly in my case: denial. We've left Kaikoura - our home for the last 2 years, and have suddenly found ourselves once again living in a small van. Although we booked this and had a leaving date set a long time ago, I was definitely not prepared both emotionally AND practically. For example: I knew we were moving out of a house with electricity and into a vehicle without electricity yet I didn't charge any of my devices. This lead to a very long 3 and a half hour ferry trip across the Cook Strait without a book to read (paper books 1 kindle 0. Real books don't need charging. Sigh)

I thought I'd write a post about what we're up to as I've had a few confused messages from friends wondering what's going on with us. My whirlwind trip to the U.K didn't help this confusion either so I'm setting the record straight here.

We've exhausted our visa options in NZ without getting a job that would sponsor us to stay in the country, then eventually apply for residency. If we'd seriously considered this we could have found a way to go down this route, but friends and family are calling us home for the time being. This means we have to leave NZ at the end of September.

Not wanting to come home quite yet we decided to prolong our journey and make the most of being on this side of the planet so we're doing a bit of traveling en route back home. Our first stop is Niue- a Pacific island a 3 hour flight north of Auckland, and interestingly just on the other side of the International date line. So we actually travel back in TIME to get there. Niue also means 'behold the coconut' in Niuean so I hope you're all ready for a lot of photos of me eating all the coconuts. There are only two flights a week that go to Niue and the only airport you can fly from to get there is Auckland. So we've picked up a campervan that needs relocating from Christchurch to Auckland and are making our way up there over the next few days.

Our campervan is rubbish by the way. It looks like our beloved Luke from the outside but the layout is terrible and it's really cramped. The bed is way smaller than Luke's was yet it somehow manages to take up the entire van so there's no room to stand or put bags or do anything other than sit hunched on the bed. Good job it's free to relocate campers! I'd upload a photo  but for some reason I can't add pics to blog posts from my phone. Cheers blogspot.

So back to Niue. We're hoping we've got there while the humpbacks are still hanging around with their babies before migrating back down South again. We've booked a whale swim tour for the second day we're there to give us the best chance of seeing them. The water there is famously clear as the island has no beaches or rivers so the visibility is incredible. There's other cool wildlife there too like Spinner Dolphins, sea snakes and coconut crabs. It's going to hopefully be an amazing 10 days filled with heaps of  snorkelling, yummy food and a bit of relaxation after a crazy few weeks.

After Niue the plans are still a bit vague but we've booked flights to Sydney and are trying to get another camper relocation deal so we can drive south and hop over to Tasmania. After Aus then the plan is to visit a couple of South East Asian countries (not booked yet but will happen very soon) before heading home for Christmas.

Then we can begin panicking that we are homeless and jobless with no idea where we want to live - YAY!!

I'm not super excited to go home at the moment and each day hope that some inspiration will hit me and I'll suddenly know what I want to do with my life. It'll happen any day now. RIGHT??!! I'm trying not to think about it too much so I can just enjoy the now and this exciting part of the adventure but 2019 keeps looming at me out of the darkness no matter how hard I try and push it back.

I know we'll be absolutely fine but anxiety isn't one for thinking logically and there's a little voice in the back of my head whispering that I should be married with a mortgage and a dog  and stable job by now because I'm THIRTY and that's what THIRTY YEAR OLDS do even though I really am very ok without those things at the moment.

Apart from the dog.

Anyway watch this space for updates on our travels and hopefully a few pics. Kaikoura friends: I miss you already. U.K friends: I can't wait to see you. But for now adventure is calling again!

Leaving home again

I'm writing this from my living room at the house we've lived in for the best part of the last two years. I can hear the waves gently breaking at the end of the road and can just about see the snow capped mountains out of the window. I've just got back from the Dolphin Encounter office where it took me half an hour to drop off a box because there were so many people to chat to, and earlier today I hopped on a helicopter ride to see a couple of sperm whales. If it sounds like I'm bragging about my day, I'm really not - this is just what life is like in Kaikoura. It's an unbelievable place and days can turn extraordinary at the drop of the hat, or with one phone call saying there's a spare seat on a whale watch helicopter flight.

We're leaving this unique and wonderful town in September and it's only just really hit me. This is my home now and at the moment I can't imagine living anywhere else. We have a real life here and a community - friends that we love and will miss more than I can describe.

The other day I found this quote and I immediately welled up. It sums up exactly how I'm feeling at the moment - torn between two places, two countries and two lives. I miss my family and friends back home desperately and it's a given that I'm so excited to see them again. But oh man - after living in NZ for three years I hope no one will be offended when I say it's going to be hard to adjust to life back home again. 

It feels like we've lived here just long enough to settle in and get comfortable with the way of life here. We have great friends that live within walking distance and a beautiful teeny house that looks out at the Pacific Ocean. Whatever life we make for ourselves back home I do feel like we'll be aiming to get back to what we have here already. I hope that we'll get it (minus the dolphins and free helicopter rides probably) but it's going to take a lot of work to get there. 

We have NO idea what we'll do back home, where we'll live, how we'll even begin to know what sort of jobs to look for. That makes it even harder to leave this place where we don't have to think about anything grown up or serious. Luckily (and we are SO lucky) we have amazingly supportive family and friends in the U.K. and France who I know have our back. I know we'll be absolutely fine and there are bigger problems in life, it just all seems a bit daunting right now. 

There's so much I'll miss about New Zealand. The people I've met here I'll miss most of all. The mountains that take my breath away every day. The birds - Fantails especially. The colour of the pacific ocean. The road trips where around every bend is a view more stunning than the last. The marine life that I take for granted but will pine for when it's not on my doorstep. The beautiful beaches of Abel Tasman - my favourite place in the entire world. The forest walks that lead to pretty waterfalls that soothe my soul. The emptiness - you can visit a breathtakingly beautiful spot and feel like you're the only person in the world. The coffee - OH how I'll miss the coffee. I'm trying not to think about that to be honest. 

I'm so sad to leave. This is my happy place and I know we could live here comfortably forever...IF it wasn't so far away from our other home. I am blaming all you people back home reading this by the way. Why are you all so wonderful that I want to see you and be near you? Why do you keep having beautiful babies that I want to hang out with and get to know properly? Why do you keep getting married and giving me massive wedding FOMO? It's quite selfish to be honest. 

I am very excited to see you all. When we went home last summer for 4 months I was really sad to leave you all in the U.K. and I knew then that I'd never be able to live this far away for good. I think I knew it all along. Many Brits I've met here told me I'd get used to being so far away, friends would fade, family would understand and I'd make new friends. Well, we've made new friends who are absolutely wonderful and I hope we'll keep forever, but I knew that I'd never get used to being so far away, and my far away friends would never fade. 

But it's still a hard step to take. This place, this country, these people have all shaped who I am now and I do feel like a completely different person to the one who got on the plane at Heathrow in 2015. It'll take a while to adjust and work out how to fit into life back home again. 

I think we just need to get a puppy. Then everything will be ok.