Such a BBQ farewell party

Finally these days have come, just a week left for us to be in New Zealand. Everyone is busy preparing for the final exams and packing their baggage. We all have kind of mixed feelings, some excited to go back home, others worried about the upcoming exams and some feeling sad that they haven’t done some things in NZ yet…

 

And suddenly a sunny Sunday came. Consequently everybody was excited about such a real party in Hilary’s beach place. After a long sleep we all gathered in the lobby. Then Carol, Elaine and Alastair came at noon to pick us up and we were so energetic to go.

 

Along the way, thanks to the clear sky we could see Kapiti Island. From the distance it looks like a giant creature which you could probably imagine in some Maori legend. The sky was so blue and it made the sea become blue too, and far away, where the sky meets the ocean was horizon.

 

So excited with the landscape, some of us didn’t even notice that the bus had stopped. Through the window, we saw Hilary, Deryn, and Malcolm waving to us with cheerful smiles. With curiosity, we got off the bus quickly and moved to the house. And then we met Peter and Mike. Malcolm’s wife and his two lovely twin daughters also came. Everybody immediately got excited with the lodge’s garden which has plenty of colourful flowers and its peaceful beauty surrounded by trees with a brilliant view to the sea.

 

While others were discovering the vacation lodge (called a bach in NZ), Peter, Mike and his friend prepared for crab fishing. They needed an additional volunteer and Ngoc, eager, agreed be the one. After a short while, everybody walked towards the beach. As the sun was shining and the wind was blowing, nature had polished its beach to a spectacularly beautiful picture. The girls seemed to enjoy playing with kites and the boys played soccer, and everybody was more than happy. But perhaps the most exiting activity that Peter introduced to us was golf. 

 

The sea water was a bit cold as a friend of Mike and Ngoc slowly moved to the deeper water to catch some crabs, Malcolm, his wife and the twins followed to help them. About an hour later we got just only five tiny crabs, a bit disappointing. What a shame for their hard work, but perhaps the Almighty was just keen to give us such a wonderful day but not crabs. Annie and her husband and the two little gorgeous kids joined us later when we went back from the beach. After all that we had a delicious meal, and of course we ate it all.

 

Everything was interesting this day, from log chopping to our certificates for weird achievements, thanks Deryn for her creative mind. And at the end, we gathered around the open fire which kept us warm and enjoyed the stunning atmosphere of NZ’s sunset. It was such a warm and joyful feeling that you only occasionally get in life. On the way back to our apartment, I was still dreaming about that cheerful day.