Leaving Moorea

I have started writing this post from the air, in the comforts of a Dreamliner, winging our way to Auckland.  We all feel ready to move onto our next stop, although on the way to the ferry to take us to Tahiti I had a strong pull to run back to the beach and jump into the water, it was just so beautiful and hospitable.  But after 3 weeks in Moorea we are ready for a change of temperature, food and activities. 

We moved to the other side of the island for our final few nights.

Looking at hermit crabs

Vios and Amy

Our final AirBnB was right on the beach with a great climbing tree.

We ferried back to Tahiti and said goodbye to Amy who flew back to LA on a red eye.  

Moorea receding into the distance
as we ferry our way to Tahiti

Early the next day we woke with the sun and walked to the airport.  There are not many places you can say that!  As we walked down the small side street with all our luggage we were offered a ride by a lovely man who by small-world coincidence has a son studying in Montreal.   Appreciating the kindness of strangers, two of us rode with our big bags while the other three finished the walk in the early morning sun.

Safely on board we settled in for a 5 hour flight.

Last look at Moorea from the air.

During the flight we had the very unique experience of crossing the international date line, so we went from December 31 to January 1 in the blink of an eye.  This also meant that we skipped right into 2019!  Champagne was served in plastic flutes and cheers went up when the pilot wished us Happy New Year.  It was a great way to spend New Year’s Eve, historically one of my least favorite holidays.

Safely arrived in New Zealand, ready for the next chapter of our adventure:

Arrival at Auckland airport. We made it!

Upon our arrival in Auckland we made our way to an airport near the hotel. Once settled at our hotel and a quick meal I headed out to find some provisions and as luck would have it I stumbled on one of those "I couldn't have planned this if I tried moments".  As  I was looking for a grocery store I could walk to I saw something called “Strawberry Farm” 400m away on google maps.  It was listed as a farm market so, ready for some fresh produce, I walked down the road to check it out, but once I saw what was ahead, I quickly turned around to get the rest of the crew to join me.

What I had stumbled on was a true farm, right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the airport district, with beautiful fields of lettuces, strawberries and many other crops.

But the veggies aren’t the main draw to the stand, it is their incredible fresh strawberry ice cream.  It was a scene!  

Imagine the height of summer holidays, a warm evening, summer traditions.  All that was at play as families piled out of cars and stood in line for fresh strawberry ice-cream swirled into a waffle cone.  It was heavenly.  We didn’t even make the kids share. They each got their own cone and Leo and I shared one.  Talk about deluxe!  It is a brilliant idea: they take scoops of vanilla ice-cream and a few frozen strawberries, put them in a machine that swirls it all together and then pours it into the cone like a soft serve.  We need to get on this bandwagon in Nova Scotia!  After that delightful surprised we wandered back to the hotel and crashed for the night.  Once again I was reminded of what great travellers the kids are when it comes to long travel days.  
Happy 2019 to all!