etnobofin

It’s strange what you notice when you come home after a time away.

First of all, New Zealand can be a remarkably empty country – even close to a big city like Auckland. Driving back through the countryside to my parents house from the airport on Sunday night, (40km), we didn’t come across a single other car. Just 6 rabbits, scampering through the glow of our headlights. Empty, and quiet.

Also, I’d never quite appreciated the effort that some kiwis go to in personalising their houses with their own artwork – this seems especially common outside the cities. There’s something rather charming about a letterbox turned into a cat. Further down the road, a rather weatherbeaten lizard displays a house number on his back.

My parents’ own letterbox was painted by my sister with scenes of the nearby bay… even Dad’s sailboat makes an appearance, cruising out in the Hauraki Gulf…