Seasons Greetings to all!
If you didn't know already, last week I left Australia and jumped back across the ditch to good ol' New Zealand.
I've been living away for three years so coming back home after such a long time away is always a nice feeling.
I had a great time in Australia and abroad and there are definitely things I will miss and some things I won't.
I've compiled together a few lists for Australia and New Zealand stating these certain things (you will notice the majority of it is food-related)... Without further ado:
- Awesome cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast (big, iconic and such cool city vibes)
- The better weather (hot summers and milder winters)
- Zing shop (epic geek store and basically where I spent all of my money)
- Golden Gaytime ice cream in a tub (genius idea and yum as flavour)
- The beautiful wildlife (kangaroos, koalas, platypus, wombats etc.)
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| The friendliest of locals |
- Mostly nicer roads with 110 km speed limit
- Larger range of concerts and events on
- Schnitz and Grill'd burgers (both sooo good)
- The abundance of year-round cheap tropical fruit (watermelon, mangoes, pineapple etc.)
- More and cheaper flights
Things I won't miss:
- Snakes and spiders
- Annoying flies that don't bugger off
- The expensive price of beer and spirits
- The accents (lol no offence)
- The loud and noisy birds
- Certain bureaucracy making things more difficult than they need to be
- Seeing my friends and family
- Going on awesome summer road trips (beautiful surroundings in all directions)
- Homegrown Music Festival (an epic day out with the best New Zealand bands across five different stages)
- Tip Top hokey pokey ice cream (the best ice cream in the world)
- Doing some scenic hiking
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| 2018 goals: Hike Mount Ruapehu's Crater Lake |
- Kiwi friendliness
- The snow season (I have my first ever Mount Ruapehu season pass for next year woohoo!)
- Having a big pot of NZ green mussels
- Listening to the Rock FM radio station (I haven't listened to the radio for 3 years because Aussie stations suck)
- FEJOAS (A delicious seasonal fruit that is uncommon elsewhere)
- Kiwi onion dip and Bluebird chips (best combo ever!)
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| A Kiwi cupboard staple |
- Cookie Times, Squiggles, RJ's Licorice Choc Logs, Whittakers, Tuimato sauce, L&P (all the NZ things)
- Being able to buy beer and wine from the supermarket (so much more convenient)
- Burger Fuel (delicious gourmet burgers)
- Being back in the land of Middle Earth with LOTR spots and memories all over the country
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| Hobbiton, Matamata |
Things I'm not looking forward to:
- Colder summers and the wind
- Earthquakes (eeek I'm terrified of them)
- The narrow and windier roads
- Being even further away from the rest of the world
Those are just some reflections, all in good fun. I have been back now for almost a week and I can confirm I have already gone crazy for many of my favourite foods that I had missed!
I can also say that I left Australia on a piping hot 34॰C day and I'm currently sitting writing this in jeans, socks and a sweatshirt... no place like home!
This will probably be my last post before Christmas so I wish everyone a safe and very Merry Christmas. I will definitely have at least one post up before the New Year so I'll hopefully catch you then. Happy Holidays!
