We have received so much generosity from family and friends since we’ve been back in New Zealand – from comfortable accommodation and delicious meals to meeting for a coffee or lunch and a catch-up chat. We’ve travelled around from Awhitu to Auckland to Ohaupo to Raglan and back to Auckland, all in superb summer weather. We’ve experienced kindness from Kiwis we had not previously met. Like Lois who runs the Pollok gallery and cafe – she made us coffees and while we enjoyed them in the courtyard, she sat and chatted like we were old friends. Like the woman who came across me sitting on a bench overlooking Manu Bay where Jim was out in the surf. She asked if I was OK and after I’d reassured her, she told me that she often meets people up there who are lonely and not OK and she takes them into town for a coffee. How amazing is she! You’re probably wondering about the kitten in the denuded Christmas tree in the photo above. She belongs to our friends in whose lovely home we stayed last weekend. She crawled into my arms, sleepy and purring, at the end of a perfect day.