Kia Ora: Post 3

Dad and his old house in Nuhuka.

The Marae (traditional Maori meeting house) in Nuhuka.

9/10 of New Zealander's look like this strapping lad. Cheers mate!

Looking north along the coast at Hawkes Bay.

Uhhh…art? Yeah, that's it.

We left George's the other day and headed south to Nuhuka to see the area that my dad grew up in. It was cool to finally see Nuhuka because I've always heard of it from my dad and nanny Millie. Not that there's much to see in Nuhuka but it was still cool. The surrounding area is quite nice too. We headed to the Mahia Beach area to try and find a graveyard that my dad's cousin is buried in it, but no luck (we found it in Nuhuka!). The Mahia area is a very small and lazy beach town that kind of sits out on its own. You take a one lane road to get there and once there it's pretty laid back, so it seems.

After reminiscing in Nuhuka, we headed south along the coast of Hawkes Bay to meet my uncle Dick and auntie Elaine (dad's sister) in Napier. Napier is an attractive seaside town with cool architecture. After hooking up with the family, we followed them to stay at their house in Dannevirke. That was on Wednesday, April 30.

Staying at Dick and Elaine's was great: I got to meet a lot of cousins I've never met before, I got to hang out with my Auntie and Uncle, and I got the chance to see what it's like to sleep in a haunted house. I love my aunt and uncle but the house they live in is haunted. It's 130 years old and it shows. There is a resident possum(s) that lives in the attic that runs around at night. It sounds like a person is running around right above your bed at night – yes, it's goddamn freaky! Plus, a list of other things that just make the place creepy. Sorry to say I was glad when we left for Wellington on Friday morning.

Edit 5.2015: After reading the last paragraph of this post years later, I feel like I should emphasize that I meant no harm to my Uncle and Auntie. I heard through the grapevine that relatives of mine in NZ caught wind of these posts and when they read this one they were quite upset. I was attempting to write with a cheeky tone but it may have come across as disrespectful and downright rude. I apologize if I insulted anyone, that was not my intent. I love Dick and Elaine and meant them no harm and I truly enjoyed my stay with them.