Bidding a fond and perhaps final farewell to my Whānau and my homeland

by Martin Moodie |
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Martin Moodie

Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

Well that was a close game.

At half-time that is.

I’m saying farewell to New Zealand, Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud. More like the Land of the Long Black Shroud today after our famed (and once feared) All Blacks rugby team got pulverised on Saturday night by the equally famed (and still feared) Springboks of South Africa by 10-43 after leading 10-7 at half-time.

Do the math. Yes, 36-0 to the Boks in the second half and I was there in the Kiwi capital, Wellington, for the match. Mostly trying to hide under my seat. Ouch.

Well at least we were the clear winners of the Haka

Welcome to my Interim Pullman Hotel Bureau, a stone’s throw from Auckland Airport’s international terminal, from where I will fly home to Hong Kong in the morning, staying for a few days before a three-to-four month stay in Wales, England and Spain.

The Pullman is the sort of facility that gives airport hotels a good name, the staff unfailingly and naturally friendly, the ninth-floor Te Kaahu restaurant laid-back but excellent and the proximity to the airport, as mentioned, very handy.

I’ve dined tonight on some succulent local oysters, followed by a seafood chowder just bursting with great New Zealand mussels, prawns, squid and fish. As good as anything I have tried outside New England and maybe even better than the Boston equivalent. Wow.

Of course you need to wash such tasty cuisine down with some good wine and my country never but never falls short in that respect.

I’ve taken my tastebuds on a trip to the South Island from where I hail, a beautifully crisp Neudorf Chardonnay from Nelson (the sunshine capital of New Zealand) followed by a light, fresh Lake Chalice The Raptor from nearby Marlborough. A lovely, fleeting moment in time.

So good is the wine and food combo that I’ve almost forgotten last night’s catastrophic rugby result. I said almost.

It has been a cathartic experience in New Zealand before some difficult days that lie ahead. A time spent in a beautiful country with friends I have known for half a century or more, true and enduring Kiwi hoa (friends) as opposed to some of what I call scorecard-keeping and/or superficial friendships I have encountered alongside many other fine people during my amazing travel retail journey of the past four decades.

Who do you turn to in times of trouble? We all know the answer. One’s Whānau (family and close friends).

So goodbye Aotearoa. Maybe for one final time. You are the country that made me and to which I will always belong. ✈

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