My wonderful husband has written a blog. I was quite amused reading his interpretation
of the events of the last little while; it was all very factual and interesting
and much less dramatic than my perspective.
I’ve decided this is because
Dan’s memory works so differently to mine.
He has the awesome ability to forget stressful or traumatic events,
which proves fantastic when we have a tiff, ten minutes later he has forgotten
what it’s all about! Anyway my thoughts...
We last left the blog having got as far as Plimmerton. We proceeded to National Park which lies
beside the biggest mountain range in the North Island. We had a little problem finding the hostel
which resulted in a few U-turns and frustrated rants (mainly about my
navigation skills), but as noted above ten minutes after finding our hostel all
was forgotten and an hour later we were frequenting the hot tub! We arose the next morning wondering how to
spend the day. We drove to the ski
slopes and had the season started I am certain Dan would have donned skis and
been off, however it hadn’t so we went for a lovely three hour tramp to a
waterfall. The scenery was wonderful but
glimpses of its splendour were rare because the clouds sat like a blanked over Mount
Doom.
We stayed two nights and then drove to Lake Taupo before
on to Tauranga the same day. I was very
grumpy- a phenomena which happens about once a month and last about three
days. Dan as ever was very excited and
on the rare occasion he noticed my grumpiness forgot it in ten minutes. As we approached Tauranga The Mount came into view and the
realisation that this was to be our home for the next six months caused a rare
moment of silence between us...
We stayed initially at a Motel arranged via the hospital. On arrival Dan’s 'hunter gatherer' instincts
kicked in and he was out the door to get food.
However he had no internet on his phone and insisted on
going before I had looked up where the supermarkets were. He was sure we had
passed one on the way. Twenty minutes
later I received a frantic phone call from Dan who was in Pak and Save. For those unfamiliar with NZ supermarkets Pak
and Save is almost a cash and carry type place, not ideal for quick shopping
and epically difficult to find things such as gluten free alternatives if you
don’t know the store. Overwhelmed and
hungry Dan could not decide what to get.
I offered a few different suggestions half wishing I was there to help. However, like a mother who finds out her toddler has had a paddy in a supermarket,
I was secretly glad I wasn’t witnessing the public melt down of my husband. Dan returned home with every single item I
had suggested (which corresponded to elements of a few different meal
suggestions) and as he described his frantic shop and the disaster of Pak and
Save I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically as I imagined a grown man lost and
confused in a maze of edible obstacles. We
laughed together, ate our random concoction which we called dinner and went to
bed happy.
Dan has written about house hunting and work etc so I won’t
rehash this material. However I will
tell you about Dan and his(our) ski trip.
We live about three hours from the ski slopes and Dan has always said
that he wanted to go skiing whilst out here and in theory I concurred. However it just happened that we didn’t have
a weekend together until the week before we flew to England. Dan decided that this was a fantastic time to
go skiing and researched it with great enthusiasm. I was not so sure that this was a good idea
and kept imagining having to fly back to England with my leg in
plaster.... We set off Friday night and
stayed in an angler’s motel and then on Saturday morning we drove to the
slopes. I had been checking the weather
and a little (bigger than little) part of me was hoping the slopes would be
closed. However they were open and
thanks to trusty Max our 4x4 we were able to get up to the resorts. (The road
was only open to those in 4x4s or with snow chains) The next dilemma was what sort of lesson to
do, I wanted a beginners class having only skied once, but Dan wanted the next
one up. I felt that for me the most important outcome
of the day was to not break my leg and to make sure Dan had enjoyed
himself. I acknowledged that I had no
control over Dan and his need to push himself so I agreed to the lesson Dan
wanted and started practicing. 
By the time the lesson started the visibility was appalling
and Dan and I were the only people taking the lesson. The first time down we followed Kate our
instructor, she kept giving me tips and advice all of which I’m sure were
fantastic but my aim remained the same: to stay in one piece. Not to master the
stance and lean of a pro skier! Dan on
the other hand was keen to improve. He skied
with enthusiasm and ..... well speed. At
one point we lost him completely then suddenly he appeared bedraggled and
covered in snow having fallen down a six foot snow hole. After twice down with the instructor I
stepped aside and let Dan and Kate continue.
I could feel my anterior cruciate ligament stretch as I wiped out at the
end of the run and all I could think of was my mother’s distraught face as I
told her I wasn’t allowed to fly home.
After the lesson we skied some more and then I called it a day and
retired to the cafe. Dan would have kept
going until dark but three years of marriage has taught him that looking after
his wife is important; life is about compromise after all.
So Dan got his ski weekend, so I had a happy husband, and
all our bones, ligaments and tendons remained intact, so Dan had a happy wife!
Next adventures- HOME TO ENGLAND
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