Wellington & Levin - Making Connections

We departed from the ferry and our last remnant of the South Island, and zipped into unfamiliar city streets, windows down, with a delightful warm breeze.  We immediately felt the energy and life of the city. Music bopping in cars as they passed and infrastructure and buildings towering around us. 

We pulled into our first hostel of the trip, called "The Dwellington" - situated across the street from the US Embassy.  It was a hip place equipped with everything travelers could dream of; a huge communal dining table & shared kitchen area with provided ingredients for DIY continental breakfast in the morning, a movie theater, comfy lounges, and a backyard hangout hangout with bean bags, yoga matts, soccer-balls, & hammocks! 

We enjoyed running around the outdoor area then headed for bed, tucking under big windows aglow with the city light. 

Morning brought friendship around the communal table, & conversation with fellow travelers. The kind of conversation and camaraderie I had expected more of this trip, but somehow our accommodations (or perhaps our family pack mentality?) had somehow prevented more of. It felt like breathing again, completely lifting the remnants of the last few days funk for me. 

Checkout was finally simple, as I had just packed one bag with essentials and the cooler.  After a game of UNO flip with the kids in the lounge, we headed into the city for a brief bit of exploring before hitting the road north.  We had one more day till we needed to get the car returned!  

My mind was determined on finding some LOTR film sights in Mount Victoria park.  I had downloaded an app that told us there were several nearby! The parking and roads were far from straightforward, but once we got into the park it made the annoyances of actually getting there vanish. 

The trees were stunning with their gnarly limbs, tossed around by a pleasant breeze with sites of the city poking through most directions you looked. We passed through a location that was potentially the site for "Ride Now to Gondor" from the Return of the King. It wasn't obvious, but the notion of imagining Peter Jackson and the film crew setting up in this forest was an exciting prospect regardless. 

We made our way to the trailhead and then through winding paths found our way to the first site. I was so stoked to find the that was marked as a film location, but where was it exactly?!

A passerby/fellow LOTR fan, noticed our search and pointed out the unassuming places where all the magic happened! 

Here's a little refresher of the actual LOTR scene for fun before seeing our pics:

Here's the road where the "Mushrooms! Get off the road!" scene happens after the hobbits tumble down the hillside:

 

We jumped into "hobbits hideout" where the hobbits hide under the tree's roots from the Nazgul. Of course, it was no more than a sandy dugout on the side of the path, as all the roots and tree in the film had been computer generated! But I was elated nonetheless! 

Down one more path was the tree where Frodo and Sam had breakfast (it's part of an extended scene in the Fellowship of the Ring)! The kids and I climbed up to reenact Frodo hanging in the tree. The fan girl in me was so stoked to be in this place, I was bubbling with excitement.  

After getting my "fan girl" fix, we made our way to a couple city lookouts along the meandering paths, and enjoyed looking out across the rolling hills and bays. We then headed back to the truck to hit the road. We were unfortunately now on a tight time schedule with appointments to make and many miles to cover.

We took a short drive along the shore, stopping for a quick lunch in Paremata. 

Then coordinating logistics with Lisa and Richelle, for our meetup in LEVIN.

Levin has been the place of my family's history.  In 1985 my mom had the opportunity to do a "teacher exchange" with a 4th grade teacher from New Zealand for one year.  During this year, they and their families, swapped houses, cars, friends, and jobs, and lived in one another's lives.  So she and my dad departed with their first child, newborn Elise (my older sister) and took off on the unknown adventure ahead. This story had always permeated part of my family's origin and culture growing up.  My dad always had stories and Kiwi expressions he would exclaim from this chapter of their lives, and always had nothing but positive stories to say of the cheerful and approachable people that make up this beautiful country. 

I was so excited to experience a sliver of my family's history.

We first met up with Lisa, the daughter of Ian and Margret whom my parents had swapped lives with. She first took us past the school where my mom taught 4th grade (pictured below).  I couldn't believe THIS very place was the one I had been imagining my whole life when I pictured my mom as she told stories of her classroom days. 

Then we were off to go see Lisa's home. It was delightful to talk with someone who knew my parents, and even other members of my family back at home. Her home was a slice of heaven, situated on rolling green fields and pasturelands.  We learned the unfortunate news that this place of heaven is about to have a highway built straight through it and lamented with her. We then spent some time with her gorgeous horses, feeding them carrots and laughing at their tickling tongues!

On our way to meet Ian & Margret, we did a drive by of her parents former house which was the very one my parents & baby Elise lived in (pictured below.) It was wild to imagine my parents here in their youthful times of life (similar in age to what Corey and I are now) living this grand adventure and starting their own family in a place very far from home.

Pulling into Ian & Margret's, we were met with Ians boisterous grin and warmth of welcome. We sat around the table and got acquainted with this couple that switched lives with my parents all those years ago. Ian's sense of humor, ever full of jokes and belly laughter. Margret's Alzheimer's is unfortunately full force now, but we did get insights to her endearing & gentle side.  She spoon feed me kiwifruit and continued offering these delicious fruits to the kids and I. And delighted in showing us her little frog figurine collection on the mantel. 

After a bit, Richelle and her mum Anette arrived.  She had called just as we pulled into Levin to say she decided to come down from Palmerston North (over 40 min away) to make it easier on us to not have to add extra time to our trip.  She had gotten called back to work unfortunately since arriving, and so only had a short window of time together.  Richelle's family were family-away-from-home to my parents during their year abroad.  My mom said, the kind of people who just took them under their wing. Richelle also came and lived with my parents when she was college age (and when I was a toddler), and did some studying in the states. She was a major caretaker and playmate for me that year, as my mom had undergone hip surgery (see pic of Richelle and my sister and I below). 

When Richelle came in, tears fill her eyes right away.  To see a piece of the past standing there; toddler now grown into a mother.  She and her mum both bestowed thoughtful gifts to us, along with many hugs. 

The tension of such a short time together was tough, as I had hoped to properly sit down with both families during our trip and get acquainted.  But the constraints of the ferry and this borrowed vehicle were the plain facts, and we soaked up as much as we could for this short moment in time. 

I was so happy to make this piece of history become real, and establish connections of my own, connections for a lifetime. 

We said farewell and drove into the evening to tackle the 4 1/2 hours of driving that yet lay ahead. So onward and northward we continued. 

-M