LIFE DOWN UNDER
Our Home in New Zealand
Far from civilization but right where we belong
It’s been a change of scenery on so many levels. Moving from the northern to the southern hemisphere while jumping ahead through 12 time zones we left in late fall and arrived in spring. The temperatures were very similar, so is the scenery some would say.
And yet, everything is different.
We’re no longer living in a trailer parked at a small airfield but have our own unit staying between vineyards at the foothills of the Southern Alps.
The poppy flowers aren’t red but yellow, I certainly like that one, and the driveway to our home is decorated with a line of blooming flowers.
When we arrived in New Zealand just a week ago, we were flashed. By everything. The mountains, the people, the roads, the jetlag. All of it.
And just at the end of a long day, we turned off a gravel road toward our new home when I blurted out
“Stop, this is even prettier than anything I imagined. Can this be real? That looks like our flat.”
Yes, we had searched Facebook and other platforms for rental places in the area and based on a few pictures and one Skype call (which wasn’t held in our future home), we said yes to the place.
The main house of this property is run by an elderly couple in their late 80s and then there is this unit, a one-bedroom apartment with views of the vineyard and the mountains.
Our new home.
Our nearest neighbors are sheep, rabbits and birds. All of them in abundance. Apologize for my choice of images, these birds were doing it on display.
And guess what? I didn’t order that but there are yellow roses blooming at our door. Yes, this is a sliding door to the terrace/entrance. And we were told we don’t need to worry about locking.
Can this get any better?
And you bet, right there out front the door is my happy place. Taking the lounge chair and a small table out, I’m there. In the sun, taking it all on.
No place in the last five years did not have my friends from around the world displayed and it shall not be any different here in New Zealand.
While we were very limited on luggage moving overseas with a maximum of 30 kilos per person while our skydiving and working gear weighs already close to 40 kgs, we didn’t have much left for the rest.
But these photographs always travel with me.
It’s the little bit of comfort I need to feel at home.
So here I am. Sitting on our terrace while the wind is blowing through the trees next our home. Some birds are chirping in the bushes to my right and the sun is shining from ahead.
It’s been a great day.
Down under.
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