At the end of June, I got on a plane and flew back home to catch up with people but more importantly to attend the wedding of one of my best mates. Because of how much leave I had and which days I could get cheaper flights, it ended up being about a week and a half on the ground, and boy it went fast.

It was a bit weird being back after 10 months. It’s the longest I’ve ever been away from home, and the nearly 23 hours of flights each way was certainly the longest travel I’ve done by myself (Rebecca had just been to NZ and couldn’t get away for the wedding due to school commitments). But being back felt a bit odd – a lot had changed while plenty still felt as if I had never left. Soon after landing, I popped down to the local Countdown which felt entirely normal but at the same time felt a bit surreal that I was back.

After spending the Friday I arrived relaxing and trying to push through the jetlag (which I did quite well at – crashed at 8pm after landing at 10:45am), I flew to Christchurch early on Saturday for a few hours catching up with my eldest brother, his partner and my niece, and seeing the city I had spent my uni years in.

It’s remarkable how much has changed in the last five years, let alone since my last visit. For a city that was practically destroyed in the February 2011 earthquake, there is plenty going on there now. As my brother noted, it feels like the place has moved through the demolition phase and is now thoroughly into the reconstruction phase. There are parts of the city which felt dead when I last visited in 2014 which are now alive and pumping. Businesses are back in the CBD, new bars and restaurants have opened, and there’s life there. Of course there are areas where there are still houses waiting to be torn down, roads which still need to be repaired, and a cathedral which has been sitting in the square waiting for something to finally happen, but it feels as if the garden city is getting back on its feet.

After a fleeting visit to the south, it was a quick flight back to Auckland to head to my friend Natalie’s birthday dinner and drinks, before the stag do on Sunday. It started out in the morning when [REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED]. But then the funniest thing happened – Matt had [REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED]. It was an awesome day, even after [REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED]. And oh my, you should’ve seen [REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED].

After recovering on Monday from all the [REDACTED], the rest of the week was spent catching up with friends and family (coincidentally my trip timed well with my niece Millie’s birthday), helping Dad with a few things at home and catching up with former colleagues at the new NZME Central.

Matt’s wedding on Saturday was wonderful. Held in the beautiful King’s College chapel, the school where we had met and where Matt had lived for a number of years, it was an amazing day for him and his bride Julia, and I feel truly honoured I could be part of it as best man, and glad I could make it altogether (thanks for the cheap flights Thai Airways!).

After that, it was a case of doing as much as I could in the 72 hours I had left in the country. I went to the Cathedral on Sunday morning and saw the new chapel and organ build as well as catching up with the choir, had a nice final lunch with our group of friends before many had to fly back home, family dinner on Sunday night, spent time with my brother Richard who flew up for 24 hours that same night, and then running a few quick errands like stocking up on Whittakers to take back to London.

From landing on a Friday morning through to the wedding the following weekend, then flying back on the Tuesday, it was an extremely quick trip but felt like it was long enough to catch up with friends and family. That being said, obviously there were people I didn’t get the chance to see, and some who I only saw very briefly – just means I’ll have to pop back again soon!

#Edward #NewZealand #Travel #Auckland #Christchurch