Farewell to Palmy

As I pack up and get ready to check out of Awatea Park Motel, I cringe at the sight of all ‘my stuff’—the things I brought with me and those that I acquired while here. Remember my first blog entry about buying groceries? Well, I now have to find a home for partly consumed boxes of cereal, honey, margarine, etc. Remember bicycle touring and wine tasting/buying in the Hawke’s Bay area? Well, I still have two unopened bottles of wine from that day to (gently) squeeze into my suitcase. Remember that beautiful Kiwi I petted? Well, I have to leave him here.

Even though my time is Palmy has now come to an end (and, no, the paper Margaret and I are writing is not yet complete but we’re getting close), I still have a few days of New Zealand sightseeing ahead of me. This afternoon, four of us (Peter, Linda, Julie and Kathy) head off to National Park to ‘tramp’ the Tongariro Crossing (check out the website if you want to be amazed and perhaps a bit envious: http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/). It’s an 18.5 km trail that I have been reading about for months, so I’m very excited that I will be tackling it (and very appreciative of my colleagues who volunteered to organize everything and escort me on the journey!). So, I guess the next time you hear from me, I’ll be “on-the-line” from Auckland, with my feet up (and wrapped in ice, I expect) as I recover from my exciting adventure. Stay tuned…

Oh, before I go… I think I promised a photo from the Round the Bays run last weekend. Pictured with me is Francie, a good friend of a good friend from Regina. Francie was a wonderful tour guide and host for me while I was in Wellington and I hope to return the hospitality when she visits Regina one day!