Sunday, December 17, 2006

Day 64. Auckland. A silver lining.

After 50 fun filled days it was time to hand back the van. Wend was distraught, inconsolable, a broken woman.

Well, she was for about 15 minutes anyway, until she saw the newly purchased double bed in the guestroom at Matt and Paul's swanky downtown Auckland apartment. Paul is an old work buddy of Wend's who moved to NZ 5 years ago to be with Matt who he met while travelling. Matt's an ex-Uni lecturer who now teaches English to foreign language students, while Paul organises programmes and events for adults with disabilities.

With Paul and Matt

Anyway, a quick tour of their flat and a swift glass of Sav and we were off to climb Mount Eden to get a 360 of the City and find our bearings for the next few days.

Later, we enjoyed some quality nosh at a BBQ thrown by Helen, a colleague and good friend of Pauls. Quite an eclectic, multi-national gathering made for a very pleasant evening. We were particularly pleased to meet Helen's mum, June, who won a Silver medal for New Zealand in the 1950 Empire Games.

June, Silver medalist

She kindly posed for photographs in the running vest she'd worn all those years ago and let us hold up the medal so we could pretend it was us who'd taken on the world in the 80yd hurdles.

June celebrated her 80th birthday this summer, which makes her the same age as my Dad. They're both as fit as fiddles but I know who my money would be on in a 100 metre dash.

Silver medal

Sorry Dad.

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