At 5am this morning, I arrived home in New Zealand for a holiday! It is summer here and exquisitely hot and sunny with blue, blue skies.

We stopped at San Francisco on the way, but the only impression I have is from behind the window of the plane and the terminal. It was stormy and grey outside, and rain had flooded patches of the runway. While we waited for our connecting flight, I spoke with a man who was on his way to Auckland to meet his daughter for the first time. She had contacted him a few weeks ago from New Zealand, after being adopted over twenty years ago and they had decided to meet.

I was also befriended by a little blonde boy in pyjamas called Otto. He was sixteen-months and his energy was unstoppable. He waddled around at a pace picking up every plastic bottle he could find, and then toddled over to me, handing me his prize bottles only to come back a minute later to pick them back up and wander off again. He never did get tired of this little game.

I love arriving at the airport in Auckland, the mix of anticipation of reuniting with my family at arrivals, and also the welcome of my culture everywhere – the accent, the colours, the freshness, Maori language and art.

As we stepped out of the terminal it was just before dawn. The sky was wide and open; the soft night-time blue was softening into day. The air itself seemed different; almost sweet it was so clear.

It is strange (and so great!) to step straight from winter into summer. It is so hot and sunny here; perfect summertime. I sat out in my grandparent’s garden on a picnic rug and took some photos there. This one is of a native fern tree to New Zealand with a Maori name, Ponga.

I am so happy and excited to be home and I hope to post lots of blogs and sunny photos over the next weeks :).