KTarun has been back in India for over two weeks now and both our lives are back to normal...whatever that may be!
I knew I should have written this up day by day, but somehow I got out of routine and it just didn't happen. It's really hard to recall the details now but I will do my best.
We left for Taupo on 6 May, starting with a stopover in Cambridge and Hamilton for the funeral of my stepmother. This was another new experience for Tarun and his main role was to keep an eye on 'just' four year old Ben. However, he wasn't that good at keeping him quiet as we all heard Ben's voice coming out with 'she was shot three times and she died.' Not true I might add.
It was lunch with the family and then we continued on to Taupo taking Ben and Amelie (12 months ) with us. Ainsley had a birthday celebration to attend that night and drove down to Taupo the next day to join us.
The weather Gods were still with Tarun and Taupo was beautiful with mostly lovely sunny weather. Of course Tarun went swimming in the lake...given that it is cold even in the middle of summer we felt that he was very brave.
One of the things Tarun really wanted to do was the Tongariro crossing. He was picked up by the shuttle bus at 5.30am and when we woke up a little later we were disappointed to see that the weather was very cloudy and the mountains weren't visible, thinking that he wouldn't be doing the walk in the best of conditions. We might have known....he came back with a smile on his face saying that they were above the clouds and the weather was perfect. How lucky this boy has been.
Most people find the crossing quite a challenge but Tarun added a climb to the summit of Mount Ngauruhoe to the standard trek. For those of you who aren't Kiwi's look at picture of the mountain and you'll realize what a feat this was.
I think that this day was one of the highlights of his trip. He was really buzzing on his return but also very tired. The next day he was complaining about sore muscles too...I was not surprised. His walking slowed down a little after that, apart from a walk up Mt Tauhara.
The thermal waters of this area are good for soaking the sore muscles and he also enjoyed soaking in the warm patch of the Waikato River where the thermal springs flowed into the river.
There was time for a look at St Faiths church and the Marae at Ohinemutu. There is a beautiful image of a Maori Christ on a large window looking out onto Lake Rotorua.Ohinemutu is home to the Te Papaiouru Marae and the Tama-te-Kapua meeting house, named after the chief and captain of the Te Arawa canoe. The carving on the large meeting house is exquisite and highlighted by hundreds of inlaid shiny paua shells. This is a living Marae.
Back to Auckland.
Tarun's last week in New Zealand was a time for him to catch up with a few friends and acquaintances he had around Auckland. His life, and mine, was made a lot easier because I had just bought a new car and the old one was available for him to use. He enjoyed a few dinners at peoples homes and got introduced to a cou[le of new activities like boxing. It was also another chance for him to go to one of the indoor climbing centres which he loves.
The last weekend was also nice enough to go fishing so Paul and Ainsley took him out fishing. They were lucky enough to catch several fish so that night Tarun enjoyed the fruits of his labours for dinner.
Of course, every trip requires a shopping expedition. By this time Tarun was fairly clear about what he wanted to take home which was good because he HATES shopping. It made me realize how patient he is because most of the people he takes round India want to shop...I guess he pretends he enjoys it but now I know better.
It was also a chance for me to find a good home for some of my excess stuff and he went home with an odd assortment of things including electric blankets, a retractable dog lead, a sleeping bag, muesli and a microwave cake pan.
Every time I see carrot cake I will think of Tarun as that was one of the things he liked best to eat. His family don't have an oven so I taught him how to make a microwave one. His take home luggage included a carrot cake recipe, vanilla and spice...like taking coals to Newcastle but he wasn't sure if he could find the right kind in India. He also learnt a few other cooking skills like how to poach and boil eggs.
On Tarun's last day the wonderful autumn weather we had had for his whole time here changed. We spent most of the day at home beside the fire before driving out to the airport for his flight home via China. At this stage he was ready to go as he was staring to miss his family. My family and I enjoyed having him here and I hope he equally enjoyed being here. He saw more of New Zealand than many of the locals do, and had a wealth of new experiences and I hope he will go back and read this blog occasionally to remind himself of his time here. In the meantime I still dream of my nesxt trip to India and look forward to seeing him again in his home country soon.
I knew I should have written this up day by day, but somehow I got out of routine and it just didn't happen. It's really hard to recall the details now but I will do my best.
We left for Taupo on 6 May, starting with a stopover in Cambridge and Hamilton for the funeral of my stepmother. This was another new experience for Tarun and his main role was to keep an eye on 'just' four year old Ben. However, he wasn't that good at keeping him quiet as we all heard Ben's voice coming out with 'she was shot three times and she died.' Not true I might add.
It was lunch with the family and then we continued on to Taupo taking Ben and Amelie (12 months ) with us. Ainsley had a birthday celebration to attend that night and drove down to Taupo the next day to join us.
The weather Gods were still with Tarun and Taupo was beautiful with mostly lovely sunny weather. Of course Tarun went swimming in the lake...given that it is cold even in the middle of summer we felt that he was very brave.
One of the things Tarun really wanted to do was the Tongariro crossing. He was picked up by the shuttle bus at 5.30am and when we woke up a little later we were disappointed to see that the weather was very cloudy and the mountains weren't visible, thinking that he wouldn't be doing the walk in the best of conditions. We might have known....he came back with a smile on his face saying that they were above the clouds and the weather was perfect. How lucky this boy has been.
Most people find the crossing quite a challenge but Tarun added a climb to the summit of Mount Ngauruhoe to the standard trek. For those of you who aren't Kiwi's look at picture of the mountain and you'll realize what a feat this was.
I think that this day was one of the highlights of his trip. He was really buzzing on his return but also very tired. The next day he was complaining about sore muscles too...I was not surprised. His walking slowed down a little after that, apart from a walk up Mt Tauhara.
The thermal waters of this area are good for soaking the sore muscles and he also enjoyed soaking in the warm patch of the Waikato River where the thermal springs flowed into the river.
The private spa pool we had in our accommodation was also well used and Tarun was a good childminder in there.
After a few child focused days Ainsley left Taupo with her children and Tarun and I had a little more adult focused time. For me it meant a bit of shopping and reading, and for Tarun a bit of pool, and socializing with a couple of new friends.
We returned to Auckland via Rotorua. First it was a stop at the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park. Here Tarun got to see some of the thermal wonders of the area ..boiling mud pools, geysers, steaming water and the colours of the various minerals.
We had lunch in Rotorua with some friends of mine before having a quick look at the Redwood Forest. If we had more time I'm sure Tarun would have loved mountain biking in the area but it wasn't to be. We had a look at the lake and Government Gardens where we caught up with my cousin John for coffee.
After a few child focused days Ainsley left Taupo with her children and Tarun and I had a little more adult focused time. For me it meant a bit of shopping and reading, and for Tarun a bit of pool, and socializing with a couple of new friends.
We returned to Auckland via Rotorua. First it was a stop at the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park. Here Tarun got to see some of the thermal wonders of the area ..boiling mud pools, geysers, steaming water and the colours of the various minerals.
We had lunch in Rotorua with some friends of mine before having a quick look at the Redwood Forest. If we had more time I'm sure Tarun would have loved mountain biking in the area but it wasn't to be. We had a look at the lake and Government Gardens where we caught up with my cousin John for coffee.
There was time for a look at St Faiths church and the Marae at Ohinemutu. There is a beautiful image of a Maori Christ on a large window looking out onto Lake Rotorua.Ohinemutu is home to the Te Papaiouru Marae and the Tama-te-Kapua meeting house, named after the chief and captain of the Te Arawa canoe. The carving on the large meeting house is exquisite and highlighted by hundreds of inlaid shiny paua shells. This is a living Marae.
Back to Auckland.
Tarun's last week in New Zealand was a time for him to catch up with a few friends and acquaintances he had around Auckland. His life, and mine, was made a lot easier because I had just bought a new car and the old one was available for him to use. He enjoyed a few dinners at peoples homes and got introduced to a cou[le of new activities like boxing. It was also another chance for him to go to one of the indoor climbing centres which he loves.
The last weekend was also nice enough to go fishing so Paul and Ainsley took him out fishing. They were lucky enough to catch several fish so that night Tarun enjoyed the fruits of his labours for dinner.
Of course, every trip requires a shopping expedition. By this time Tarun was fairly clear about what he wanted to take home which was good because he HATES shopping. It made me realize how patient he is because most of the people he takes round India want to shop...I guess he pretends he enjoys it but now I know better.
It was also a chance for me to find a good home for some of my excess stuff and he went home with an odd assortment of things including electric blankets, a retractable dog lead, a sleeping bag, muesli and a microwave cake pan.
Every time I see carrot cake I will think of Tarun as that was one of the things he liked best to eat. His family don't have an oven so I taught him how to make a microwave one. His take home luggage included a carrot cake recipe, vanilla and spice...like taking coals to Newcastle but he wasn't sure if he could find the right kind in India. He also learnt a few other cooking skills like how to poach and boil eggs.
On Tarun's last day the wonderful autumn weather we had had for his whole time here changed. We spent most of the day at home beside the fire before driving out to the airport for his flight home via China. At this stage he was ready to go as he was staring to miss his family. My family and I enjoyed having him here and I hope he equally enjoyed being here. He saw more of New Zealand than many of the locals do, and had a wealth of new experiences and I hope he will go back and read this blog occasionally to remind himself of his time here. In the meantime I still dream of my nesxt trip to India and look forward to seeing him again in his home country soon.
