Home sweet home...

I landed in Auckland early just after midnight.  Ironic really - as I had a 7 hour wait ahead of me.  My best mate, Alex,  would be arriving at approximately 06.30 to meet me, so our Kiwi Adventures could truely begin.   My excitement at this point was almost indescrible.  Words alone cant really portray the feeling I had in my belly; I honestly thought I would burst at the seams.  15 months of waiting and planning and I had made it!!!!!!!!!   I was in beautiful Auckland, city of sails, and the elation of this was monumental.  It suddenly made up for the heart-ache of leaving behind my friends and family.....  experiencing a feeling so powerful it literally nearly knocks you to your feet.  I had written in my journal during my wait at arrivals 'How often in life do you get to be this excited about something?.... so excited that you can't sleep, eat, or even chain-smoke one single more cigarette'.  The only problem was that the minutes seemed like hours, and I felt as though I had spent a week on my make-shift bed (an uncomfortable bench at one end of the airport) before FINALLY I saw that that Flight NZ1 from Los Angeles had touched down safely.  Again.... BOOOOOM, excitement beyond description.  Now it would surely be less than an hour before I was reunited with my pal, and we could set off to our magical new home in Coromandel.  Of course, I did the whole running up the arrivals lane when I saw Alex coming through, flinging my arms around her and screaming like a banshee, ignornant to all else around me.  Nothing else mattered, other than we were both safe, and together.......   and totally untouchable in that moment.  Despite being down under..... I was undoubtabley on top of the world.

Another two hours passed before we reached 'Thornton Bay'; this was the location of my Mum and Step-dads house and my new home for as many months as I wanted.  The house turned out to be as much of an adventure as the journey itself, and I can only describe it as like something out of a story book.  It has 3 levels, 3 different entrances and staircases and random rooms all over the place.  Exploring it for the first time that morning was one of the highlights of my trip, and an ever-lasting memory.  It was just soooo grand, and so beautiful I could hardly believe it was ours!  The highest level had a spacious balcony and conversvatory, providing a 180 degree panoramic view of The Firth of Thames, and a lucious landscaped garden surrounding the property below, PLUS a new (second hand) car in the garage for our use.  Seriously.... I am the luckiest girl in the world or what??? The first thing I did after dragging in our luggage and locating our individual rooms, was head to the fridge, where my mum had left me a 6-pack of Steinlarger beers, and depsite it being only 10.30am, I cracked one open, and headed out to the balcony to enjoy the morning sunshine..... which seemed as if it had come out especially for me, to welcome me to my new home, and to this incredible country, full of opportunity and exploration....... Geez, I was finally Home Sweet Home!