A family Christmas

Six years ago Garry and I flew to New Zealand to join my family for a final reunion before my father died.  At the time we knew Dad's days were numbered.  He'd been moved to a hospice a few weeks before our arrival.  However, at the time he still appeared to be in reasonable health but his strength and agility varied greatly from one day to the next. 

We arrived in New Zealand hoping to bring Dad back home for a final Christmas Day with everyone together.  Sadly it wasn't to be.  On December 25 we found Dad weak and barely coherent.  It was clear he couldn't travel.  As a result, we never did get to have that final Christmas reunion and Dad died 12 days later. 

Garry and I returned to New Zealand this month for our first McGregor family Christmas since those final sad days. We began our vacation in Auckland where we hired a car and drove south via the Kiamais to Mum's house.  We planned to spend five nights with the family before embarking on a ten-day road trip through the central North Island and flying home from Wellington. 

Our transfer to the Mount didn't quite unfold without a hitch.  At the airport we battled with Hertz to ensure it properly document significant damage on the vehicle we rented. Then, soon after we left the airport, we discovered the glove box housing an empty wine bottle.  However, this shaky start was soon forgotten as we soaked in a stunning view from the Kiamai summit a few hours later.

Christmas Day was a fabulous day filled with fun and laughter.  The weather also played its part.  Our first four days in New Zealand had been dogged by clouds and rain.  However, our dose of decent sunshine appeared early in the afternoon capping off a perfect day of family festivities.  Garry also prepared one of his perpetually Instagram-worthy pavlovas.

While in town we also spent a productive afternoon on the beach conducting a professional photo shoot. Shelley won the shoot after entering a social media competition.  The photographer took superb photos of Matt and his family, plus a truly awesome image of Mum and us boys. Thanks to some pre-planning we boys were dressed in matching light blue shirts and royal blue shorts, while Mum wore an eye-catching crimson blouse.  No doubt it'll become the defining image of some ancestral photo album in decades to come.