To celebrate my sixtieth birthday as Spring arrives is a novel experience, and will hopefully contribute more to a feeling of regeneration of spirit, rather than an awareness of the gentle deterioration of body.
This feels to have been a significant couple of months.
In late August brother Derek arrived for his holiday; quite a special experience for him. After a few days here, he took off to Christchurch in South Island and drove down the west coast, crossing on the ferry from Invercargill to Stewart Island in the far south. He is a passionate watcher of birds, and this connection with the real New Zealand gave him many inspiring experiences, and was his link to like-minded New Zealanders as well.
Then on 8th September, daughter Lucy arrived, slipping in a very brief visit, whilst Jeff and the children caught up with relatives in America. This gave her a chance for a somewhat fleeting and limited impression of the country, and also a share in the birthday weekend.
It was a special weekend. I had already booked in for a Yoga weekend at the Mana Retreat Centre on the Coramandel peninsula. Two teachers from Auckland were running their first weekend together. We share certain influences in common, so it was a comfortable place to be. The emphasis was on the restorative potential of the postures as well as their energising nature.
Lucy and I were staying in a lodge set slightly apart from the main centre, nestled in by the bush. Rupert and Derek joined us later in the weekend. Before the weekend began, we indulged in massage therapy, mine in a hot tub outside and Lucy’s inside on the massage table. Most of the food was freshly picked from Mana’ s garden, and meals were a feast of subtle flavours.
A walk up through the bush brings one to the Sanctuary at Mana, a stunningly beautiful building set in an equally special location. After present opening, we all walked here on the birthday morning, and then headed off down the coast to the Rapaura Water gardens. Lucy named our accomodation the tree house, and it certainly felt as though we were living inside the garden if not actually in the trees. Outisde the window the tuis were hanging from the braches of the kowhai, drinking the nectar; the mawpaw, or owl, ‘maw pawed’ through the night; the water rippled over the rocks and through the garden. From the minute I arrived, I was content. There was nothing to do but simply be there. The house was beautiful, and supper cooked and served by the owner and her son was exquisite.
And now the family are returned to England. It is over six months since we left. The weather today is beautiful. There is still a coolness in the breeze, but it feels like summer. Spring really does seem to burst in this part of the country. From thermals to shorts almost in one step! Hearing from friends and receiving visits from family on a birthday is poignant when one is so far from home. It is clear that Rupert’s work opportunities in aviation are good and also that he is sought after in a musical capacity. For me there is still something of a struggle; to return to teaching or to allow a new way of being to evolve. We are seriously considering staying on for longer than the one year and this throws up a myriad of emotions. More of this perhaps another time.
PS To see more photos, just click on 'Photos on Flickr' over on the right. To see an individual photo in more detail, just double click on it.....Apologies to those of you who knew that already!!