After another week with Jeff and Sheila it seems appropriate
to open this blog with one of their stories.
I do wish Sheila would write a blog as I’m sure this is only the tip of
the iceberg...
During Jeff and Sheila’s six weeks in New Zealand there were
only two nights which they had pre booked, (months in advance before leaving the
UK.) These were the nights at Milford
Sound. There is only one place to stay here; a hostel. Jeff had studiously booked a double en suite
room; a very clever move ensuring privacy and relaxation. Two days before their ‘expected’ arrival at
the hostel Sheila checked the booking confirmation and realised they were
booked in for March not February!
Already on their way and not wanting to miss Milford they rang ahead and
were relieved to hear the hostel was not fully booked for the actual required dates. However
there were no double rooms left so needless to say Jeff and Sheila ended up in
a mixed shared dorm in bunk beds! I am
so pleased that Sheila particularly embraced this experience telling us how she
brought home her spare pizza to her ‘roomy’.
Amazing ...
We travelled to Nadi (in Fiji) and then on to Musket Cove, a
resort on a small Fijian island called Malolo Lailai, the following
morning. Jeff had booked the trip
through an Australian company who turned out to be a nightmare and so he wasn’t
surprised when our transfer from the airport was the only broken rusty bus and
the hotel in Nadi was tired and quite damaged with tape cordoning off many of
the rooms. We all wondered what lay ahead. After some confusion about the boat
times we managed to get the correct bus and then boarded the ferry. It was a beautiful journey and as we dropped
people off at the first resort they were greeted with singing and shell
necklaces. I think we were all slightly
anxious about what we would find around the corner at Musket Cove.... It was beautiful! Being a marina meant that there were
beautiful yachts lining the resort. It
was so tranquil. As we exited the boat
there were no singers but a golf buggy ready to take us for a tour of the
resort, as we set off a van pulled up and a chap jumped out with glasses of
tropical juice for us. We exchanged
glances, paradise! The next few days
were filled with swimming, snorkelling, sailing and lots and lots of eating.
As Jeff’s treat we all went out on a twenty two foot sailing
boat called Merlin 1. I loved the idea
of sailing; wind in my hair, sun on my face, dolphin spotting as I glide over
the pacific ocean.... Bliss.... My
actual experience does not quite echo my optimistic hypothetical sailing imagery. As the wind filled the sails (the wind was
quite strong) I felt certain we were on the brink of catastrophe! The boat leaned at a very unflattering angle
and I braced myself with silent anticipation wondering what would happen
next. As Jeff practically squealed with
delight all I could think about was the massive gin and tonic I was going to
need as soon as I hit shore, to get over this experience (and I don’t usually
drink gin). I did survive the
experience and am currently contemplating where I stand with regard to future
sailing trips. Likely with my feet
firmly on the ground I feel!
I initially thought Greymouth was small but I never thought
I would meet people we had links with in Fiji!
On the third day Jeff and Sheila got chatting to the guys in the next
banda. It turned out that one of the guys
had family in Greymouth, a loose link but still quite incredible. Then something really amazing happened. As the conversation deepened we realised his
mum had recently been in hospital. Then
it clicked. I had seen is mum during my
first set of nights at 7.30 in the morning just before I clocked off. She had been the sickest person I had ever
seen conscious and within seconds of coming through the door her heart rate
dropped from 150-30 and she lost output.
I started CPR and as the rest of the team began to arrive she regained
output. For the medically orientated out
there the gas I then performed had a pH of 6.8, for those who need a little
context this pH isn’t compatible with life.
However she defied the laws and did really well with the treatments that
followed and looking back I think she is one person whose life I genuinely
saved. And there I was talking to her
son in Fiji. It was like a little nudge
from God saying “that’s why I sent you”.
Suddenly five years of medical school and the move to NZ all seemed to
have new value. I saved a life.
We left Musket Cove on quite a windy day and the journey
back was described by Jeff as a “a little choppy” however the Sheila-ometer graded
but the greeness to Sheila’s face and level of conversation would suggest that
it was a little more than choppy. We
said goodbye and Dan and I spent our last night in Nadi before travelling to
see Anna and Andrew in Tauranga. I
intend to write another blog about our adventures with Span (Anna) and Andrew
so here are just a couple of other interesting moments during our journey
home...
On our way to Tauranga from Hot Water Beach I text a
national radio station to request a song.
Ten minutes later we pulled into a petrol station and nipped inside for
a comfort stop. Dan then walked in
completely bewildered. It turned out
that as I left the car my phone rang and Dan had a lovely chat with the lady
from The Breeze- Tanya. As he hung up
the phone it occurred to him that he had been live on the radio. Unfortunately we had lost signal for the
station and despite frantic tuning we didn’t manage to hear our song.
There are a few golden rules in NZ. One I will now never forget is-
Fill up with petrol before long journeys.
After flying back
from Auckland to Christchurch we had a three hour drive over Arthurs Pass
through the mountain range which separates the two coasts. It was very late when we set off, perhaps ten
pm and I suggested we fill up with petrol in Christchurch, but we had half a
tank and Dan doesn’t believe filling up until you have less than half a tank,
plus we got distracted by food during the petrol conversation and forgot to
revisit it before we left Christchurch . Over the next hour we passed six petrol
stations all of which were closed. I
didn’t feel too worried but Dan did and his concern infected me. Now we
were at the point where it would take us two hours to drive back to Christchurch
and return to the point we were currently at.
Logic would say “we made it one way on half a tank so we should make it
back”, but as the rain hammered down, the thunder and lightning flashed and Dan
dodged fallen rocks the voice of logic was not very reassuring. Dan tried to be optimistic listing off our
potential options, his favourite being driving until we ran out of petrol and
then sleeping in the car. It was past
midnight, cold, wet and I was due at work at 7.30am, I did not want to hear
options like that! Apparently I was
being negative. Isn’t it amazing how
being told you are being negative when you are actually quite scared can turn
fear into anger. That’s a golden rule
Dan won’t forget! I’m being slightly
dramatic, Dan and I worked fabulously as a team to solve the problem- he told
me to sleep and I told him to get us home alive- sorted! We made it to the village at the pass, the
only stretch with signal, and text a friend to say where we were and if we didn’t
turn up to work it was because we were stuck on the Pass with no petrol. Her response was that she had driven half the
journey with the petrol light on and had been fine, this was a hugely calming
message and we made the final stretch of the journey in a relatively relaxed
manner (mainly because I was asleep!)
We had a great week with Jeff and Sheila. After another week of work we were blessed to have a second weekend with Anna and Andew- another blog to follow shortly!
Much love
S x
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