Our NZ getaway has been nothing short of amazing. We have been blessed with lovely weather, and even the "worst" day (our third day in Queenstown) had its fair share of sunshine.
The getaway, among other things, has given Vanessa and I quality time to spend with each other and grow our relationship. There have of course been moments of friction, which for me is a sign of progress in our walk together, and I'd like to think that those moments were handled with maturity and grace by both of us.
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| (c) Jeremy Wong. Available under license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 |
We have also been spoiled with very delicious food. Not surprisingly, that has constituted the biggest expense of our getaway, but the meals were worth it. The meal that stood out for me was the Shabu shabu nabemono (thinly sliced beef hotpot) at Minami Jujisei restaurant in Queenstown on our second day. Just thinking about it brings a contented smile to my face!
One of the most pleasing aspects of my time here has been the progress I made in skiing. I did fulfill my ambition of attempting a blue run, even though I wiped-out five times going down it! I hope to have another chance to practice soon (hopefully in Europe during the winter) to consolidate the skills I learned.
During my times travelling away from home, I have always felt an enhanced sense of God's grace and protection, and this trip has been no different. Two incidents stand out:
1) The first incident was during our second day on the slopes at Coronet Peak. Upon arrival, I was tasked with carrying skis and ski poles up the stairs to the lobby. As I was struggling, a stranger offered to carry the ski poles for me but forgot to tell me where he would leave them.
Now you need to bear in mind that our ski equipment was rented. I naively assumed he would go on ahead of me to the lobby and return them to me when I got there. However, the man was nowhere to be found when I reached the lobby, and for that matter, neither were the ski poles.
After a quick search, I alerted Vanessa, who conducted a more thorough search but came up empty. In desperation, I started praying to God to help me find those ski poles. After several fruitless searches and inquiries, we were about to give up when I was prompted to search outside one more time, but this time I went all the way back to the carpark stairs. HALLELUJAH! The ski poles had been left at the top of the stairs.
2) The second incident arose on our drive from Queenstown to Dunedin in our rented Toyota RAV 4 from Thrifty. It had been a relatively smooth ride until on State Highway 8, a truck driving on the other side of the road had an unsecured package fall onto the road in front of us. I had almost no time to react due to the speed at which we were travelling; all I could do was instinctively brace for impact.
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| (c) Vanessa Chen. Available under license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 |
The thud was fairly loud and I could see bits of debris in my rear-view mirror which gave me some indication of how bad the damage was, although it wasn't until we stopped in Dunedin that the full extent was revealed. Although the rental policy is to disclose details of an accident as soon as possible, it was a good thing I continued driving onwards, even though the dashboard warning systems started flashing.
We drove until we reached Thrifty's Dunedin City office. Unfortunately I parked in an illegal area, and when I tried to restart the car, the engine wouldn't engage. Fortunately I had taken out comprehensive insurance when picking up the car in Queenstown, which meant I would pay no excess for damages incurred. The paperwork was quickly sorted and a replacement rental car was arranged for the rest of our trip. So if you are wondering which car rental company to choose if travelling to New Zealand, I can heartily recommend Thrifty!
I have really enjoyed the opportunity to get away from the busyness of life at home and just slow down and enjoy the beautiful scenery and time to rest and relax. But as I gear up to head home, here are some of the things to "look forward to":
- Arranging farewell catch-ups with friends before heading off to London;
- Sorting out my tax return to give my bank balance a bit of a boost; and
- Clearing out my bedroom for my brother to use while I'm away, and then sorting out what to take and what to leave behind.
Before I end this post, I want to put a quick shout-out to the Highlanders who are taking on the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby final in Wellington tonight. I was an on-and-off supporter of the 'Landers before I met Vanessa who, being an ex-Dunedinite, is a committed Highlanders fan. Although I have a soft spot for the Crusaders, the Highlanders have again become my NZ team due to Vanessa.
Cheers and God bless.
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