Guest Post: The Haffield Ladies go Haffsway Around the World

The following is an account from Sue Haffield, Will's mom, about her trip with Will's sisters (Nicole and Casey) to New Zealand, with some notes from Nicole as well. Back in June we had a great time hosting the gals for a few days in our home in Cardrona, and then road tripping all the way back up to Auckland. I honestly I could not have asked for a better trip with my future in-laws. Will and I were so grateful to be able to spend this quality time together before all three of the Haffield kids spread themselves across the globe yet again. This is one adventurous and well-traveled family! This trip just cemented how excited I am to officially become a part of it!

Due to the lateness of our contribution to haffswayaroundtheworld, we had to switch it up from our original plan. We had the privilege of spending time with Will and Laura as we said “hello” to New Zealand and they said “goodbye.” This literal transition for Will and Laura got us thinking about the transitionary status of our entire family: Will and Laura transitioning from one adventure to the next; including their upcoming marriage; Nicole graduating from grad school and contemplating her career opportunities; Casey graduating from college and looking forward to a year in Senegal; and parents attempting to sell our long term homes. We decided at the outset that our theme for our blog post would be “transitions.”

It didn’t take long for us to find a lot to say about transitions. We transitioned from summer in Minnesota to winter in New Zealand. Some might say that this isn’t that much of a transition (cue the Minnesota cold weather jokes), but the hardest part for us was that it got so dark so early. [Nicole’s note: we’re talking 5pm, people.] That only meant that we needed to take full advantage of the daylight hours to enjoy the breathtaking scenery around every turn. (And in New Zealand, there are a LOT of turns on the curvy mountainous roads). One of my favorite places for the scenery was Lake Matheson. This picture captures the essence of New Zealand…the bright blue skies, the majestic mountains, the clear blue waters, and the tranquility of the countryside.

Four Haffs on top of Mount Iron in Wanaka. This was just prior to us enjoying a few beers from Will's brewery and literally running down the mountain.

Wine Cellar tour in Gibbston Valley near Queenstown.

Five Haffs having a  go at the Luge in Queenstown. — Five Haffs having a go at the Luge in Queenstown.

The driving distance from Queenstown to Auckland is reportedly just over 1000 miles [Nicole’s note: a true south to north transition]. To be honest, the idea of traveling that distance seemed daunting when we started out. It is approximately the same as Minneapolis to New York or Minneapolis to Yellowstone National Park. I was concerned about whether Big Red could really hold all our stuff; and the winding roads the country is known for. Will and Laura’s Jenga-like packing skills and experience with the driving customs erased those concerns very quickly. (As a side note, we got very good at packing and repacking the stuff of 5 people and the people as we changed our location almost every night).

In keeping with the transitions theme, there are two driving customs that are worth mentioning. Even as a passenger, it required a slight adjustment to have the driver sitting on the right side. There was one moment very late in the trip when Will was about to make a left turn onto a busy road when I gasped at the site of the cars to our left; only to realize that I was still mentally thinking he was headed into the wrong lane. The other driving custom that is completely foreign to US drivers is allowing cars behind you to pass if they want to go faster than you are going. There are small pull off points to allow the faster cars to move ahead on the curvy two lane highways. Trucks did it for us frequently, and we did it for other people occasionally. I’m quite convinced that New Zealanders could teach us the zipper maneuver.

I also must say that the time spent in the car was amazing. It allowed transitions from seeing, hiking, and doing to talking about what we saw and did or about what we were about to see and do. Spending that kind of captive time with the family made this truly a “trip of a lifetime.”

On to temperature transitions. The most stark temperature transition was the day that we started our day with a helicopter ride to the Fox glacier and ended the day on the west coast at sea level. The glacier experience was like nothing I have ever had before. While standing at the bottom of the mountain waiting for the helicopter to pick us up, I was wondering how much room there could really be up there for the helicopter and all of us. Would we need to be careful not to slip off the mountain? Since we really couldn’t communicate verbally with each other during the ride, we all experienced the views on the way up through the wonderment in our eyes and excited pointing at the snowy cliffs and rocky terrain. As we approached the glacier, I felt silly about having enough room as the glacier is over 8 miles long. Even for the runners in the family, there was ample space for all of us and the other visitors landing in the other helicopters. Nicole even managed her signature yoga pose.

Haffield Kids (And one almost Haffield) Jumping for Joy!

I think I can speak for all 5 of us in saying that we know what it feels like to be “on top of the world.”

From here, our drive to the west coast had us shedding our winter gear to transition from the glacier to the ocean; [Nicole’s note: We liiiiterally went from being atop snowcapped mountains to walking along ocean waves in the matter of hours!! (!!!) Highly recommend ] and we arrived before sunset so we could see the transition from day to evening. Others have written about the unique rocks at Paporoa National Park that are definitely worth seeing. But there was more to the park than the crashing waves and cool rock formations. Local visitors to the park create these flower shapes by using their weaving skills and leave them behind for other visitors to enjoy. It is such a simple gesture but one that I really appreciated.

We experienced another transition from South Island to North Island. Our goodbye to this amazing place was done in style by going to several wineries in the Marlborough region on our last day. “Tastings” here were, let’s just say…generous. One of our favorites was at Forrest, “the Doctors Bubbles for Beth.” We learned that the vintner created this wine to celebrate his daughter’s graduation. Since I had two daughters of my own that just graduated, I have to say that I enjoyed that one very much. If anyone reading this has ideas about creating a new drink for Will and Laura’s wedding, you have several months to perfect it!

Nicole sipping a wine in a picturesque Malbourough setting.

The ferry ride from Picton on the south island to Wellington on the north island boasted spectacular views and was an appropriate send off from the place where Will and Laura spent so much time. On the day we left, the sky and the water were equally blue but were split by the green, tree-filled mountains. The three hour ride was very comfortable and quite different than travelling by car.

Four Haffs checking out Cathedral Cove on the North Island.

A lot of time has passed since we left New Zealand. Will and Laura have been making their way around the rest of the world on their way back home. Nicole has been diligently looking at job opportunities and has some great leads. Casey has received some great sponsorships for her Senegal trip, spent some time saying goodbye to friends and family and prepared to leave for her year-long service opportunity.

Experiencing all of the transitions New Zealand had in store for us was truly a blessing for me. In my time there, I got to see first-hand the man my son has become. I got to witness the strength and grace of my future daughter in law. I got to experience Nicole’s determination and drive, and Casey’s compassion and resilience.

The dictionary definition of “transition” is “the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.”

To me, every transition implies that we are leaving something behind and that we are moving toward something else. The transition itself is the bridge between the two. When I look at it that way, I realize that the transition bridge also allows us to go between the two places to keep the best of what we are leaving behind and still walk with confidence toward what is in store for us. Thank you New Zealand! [Nicole’s note: so well put, mom! Couldn’t have said it any better myself!]