#085: Piha to Italy

Postcard number: 85
Bought in: Piha, New Zealand
Sent to: Giulia in Italy
Written: 8 October 2017
Sent: 8 October 2017

Text says:

8 October 2017, Geelong

Dear Giulia,

It’s been a while since I sent a postcard – life and a very new baby seem to have got in the way of this project over the past few months. However I’ve been tidying my desk today while my little boy sleeps, and I came across this postcard of Piha Beach which needed a new home.

Piha is not far from where I grew up, and is one of my favourite places in the world. I’ve got a painting of Lion Rock (which is shown on this postcard) on my kitchen wall here in Australia. It’s a great place for taking photos too, with its black sand, surf beach and dramatic skies. One day I hope to climb Lion Rock with my children, just as I did when I was a child myself.

With best wishes and apologies for the delay in sending this card,
Tash

#084: Manchester to the UK

Postcard number: 84
Bought in: Manchester, USA
Sent to: Nila in the UK
Written: 21 April 2017
Sent: 22 April 2017

Text says: 

21 April 2017, Geelong

Dear Nila,

I must have bought this postcard in 2002 or 2003, when I was working on a ski field in Vermont, USA. I lived in Manchester for a while, in a house that the ski resort had rented for its employees, with two Argentinians who were both called Maria. I remember it being cold, but beautiful; snow up to our knees in the front yard, ice on the pavements, streetlamps shining in the evenings. It says above that the photo on this postcard was taken from the Equinox Hotel. I used to use the phones in the stunning lobby of Equinox Hotel to call New Zealand and Canada, feeling very out of place.

I spent my first white Christmas in Manchester, and I remember the lights on the trees around town and making snow angels in the yard. I remember it being strange that, with the time difference, I was celebrating almost a day later than my family in New Zealand. I wrote in my travel journal how I saw the second ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie at Manchester cinema with my new friends from the ski school, and felt a long way from the scenery of home depicted in the film.

Such a mixture of emotions here, but living away from home for that ski season definitely inspired me to travel and work overseas again later!

Tash

#083: Warwick Castle to the USA

Postcard number: 83
Bought at: Warwick Castle, UK
Sent to: Candice in the USA
Written: 20 April 2017
Sent: 21 April 2017

Text says:

20 April, 2017, Geelong Australia

Dear Candice,

This postcard from a family weekend away in 2013, when we were living in the UK. We’d attended a friend’s wedding the day before, I was pregnant with my son, and we had a day left with the hired car to drive further North and explore somewhere new. I’d been reading Philippa Gregory’s novels about the Wars of the Roses, and so Warwick Castle was at the top of my list.

To be honest, I hadn’t done a lot of research and I was only expecting castle ruins, so I was blown away by what we found there. Not only was the castle itself beautiful, there were also birds of prey on show, jousting tournaments, a working trebuchet, peacocks wandering around the grounds and lots of different towers full of exhibits to explore. Our two-year-old daughter very much enjoyed dressing up as a princess and I could have definitely spent more than a day at the castle, taking in all the history of the place. But for now, since I knew the date of the wedding, I’ve managed to find the photos I took that day and will spend this evening just remembering the experience…

All the best,
Tash

#082: Corowa to India

Postcard number: 82
Bought in: Corowa, Australia
Sent to: Flave in India
Written: 17 April 2017
Sent: 18 April 2017

Text says:

 17 April 2017, Geelong

Dear Flave,

Greetings from Australia. My family and I have just this evening returned from our Easter weekend holiday in Corowa, a town near the border of two Australian states: New South Wales and Victoria. We stayed at a campsite near the Murray River, which you can see on this postcard. The weather was brilliant during the days, but got down to around 5 degrees overnight and I was so cold, even in a sleeping bag.

We filled our long weekend with markets, wineries, watching the Australian Billycart Championships, Easter egg hunts, golf (for my husband), walks along the river (for me), playgrounds and miniature train rides (for the children), toasting marshmallows on the campfire, setting up and packing up tents, and a long drive home today. It was lovely to have some time away with my family, but I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own warm and comfortable bed tonight!

Wishing you all the very best,
Tash

#081: The Grampians to the USA

Postcard number: 81
Bought in: The Grampians, Australia
Sent to: Lauren in the USA
Written: 7 April 2017
Sent: 7 April 2017

Text says:

7 April 2017

Dear Lauren,

Greetings from Geelong, Australia! This postcard is an Australian one, but I bought it the first time I lived here, back in 2004. At that time, I had only just recently moved from Sydney to Melbourne, and started dating the man who would eventually become my husband. The Grampians trip was our first Australian holiday together. I remember staying in a B&B and feeling rather grown up, and the space and the dryness of the Australian landscape. We went for a walk up the mountains, sat on rocks like the ones you can see on this postcard here, and looked out into the distance. I also remember the wild kangaroos, and that there was a bakery that claimed to sell the best Vanilla Slice in Victoria.

I’ve just looked on Google Maps, and the Grampians are only a two-and-a-half hour drive from where we currently live in Geelong. It’s now definitely on my list as a family holiday spot in the years to come.

Wishing you all the best,
Tash

#80: Geelong to Croatia

Postcard number: 80
Bought in: Geelong, Australia
Sent to: Antonella in Croatia
Written: 11 January 2017
Sent: 13 January 2017

Text says:

11 January 2017, Geelong

Dear Antonella,

Happy New Year to you! After two weeks in New Zealand, my family and I are back in Geelong, where we currently live. It’s the school holidays and we’re planning to do a lot of local exploring over the next few weeks. On the agenda is a trip to the waterfront (shown on this postcard), where there’s a carousel, weekend markets, an outdoor swimming pool and playground. Not far from the ‘shark fin statues’ (the artwork is actually called North), is the National Wool Museum where my kids like watching the giant carpet loom, and which will have the London Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year display starting soon.

We also might venture out to the You Yangs (the mountains in the distance on this postcard), and walk some of the tracks. Our favourite so far is the Big Rock trail – which, as the name suggests, has a big rock you can climb up onto at the end of it, with great views over the surrounding area. There are also several BBQs throughout the You Yangs Regional Park, where we can cook sausages for our picnics… though between the wind and rain in Winter and the heat and flies in Summer, it never seems an ideal time to eat outside!

Today, we walked along the river and the kids practised their Frisbee throwing in Barwon Valley Park. Despite the fact that postcard stamps are more expensive here, it’s good to be home.

Tash

#79: Waitakere Ranges to the USA

Postcard number: 79
Bought in: Waitakere Ranges, New Zealand
Sent to: Noel in the USA
Written: 7 January 2017
Sent: 8 January 2017

Text says:

7 January 2017, Auckland

Dear Noel,

I found this postcard in a box of brochures and souvenirs from my choir tour to USA and Canada in 1998. I guess I must have taken it with me on that trip, to show my host families where I was from. Back then, it was fairly clear cut. I was from West Auckland. Now, having lived in America, Korea, the UK, and Australia as well, now I am married to an Australian and have British citizenship, the whole ‘home’ thing is a little less certain.

I’m back in West Auckland this week, with my children, staying at my parents’ house. We’ve been to Te Henga, with its black sand hills; we saw the sun going down on New Year’s Eve looking out over the Waitakere Ranges. This place will always be special. But also this week, as I’ve gone through all the boxes that we had packed away, as I’ve discovered and reread my old journals and travel diaries, as I’ve sent out postcards, it’s like I’ve been living in all those other places again too.

In some ways it might be easier to have just one place to call home, but I’m so glad to have the memories of all the cities and people and adventures….
Tash

#78: Montreal to the USA

Postcard number: 78
Bought in: Montreal, Canada
Sent to: Tynesha in the USA
Written: 6 January 2017
Sent: 8 January 2017

Text says:

6 January 2017, Auckland

Dear Tynesha,

This postcard from Montreal has been sitting on top of the pile in my Postcardia Project box for the last few days, so I thought it was about time I found it a new home. I would’ve bought it in February 2003, during a short trip to Montreal with some friends from the Vermont ski-field where I was working at the time.

My lingering memories of Montreal are:

1. Constantly slipping on the icy footpaths, and the steps that had almost turned into an ice slide as we climbed Mont Royal. Being from New Zealand and Australia, this was a new problem for us! I really appreciated the underground network of connected shops as a way of avoiding the freezing temperatures and ice outside.
2. Having my wallet stolen out of my bag as I sat in a mall writing postcards. I didn’t notice anything until the mall’s security guards suddenly ran up to me, yelling in French – unfortunately I never got it back.
3. After cashing more traveller’s cheques, buying a marked-down orange coat that I saw in a shop window and fell in love with. I was wearing that coat, later in the year and half a world away, on the weekend I met the boy who would become my husband. I have photos of me in that coat on my wedding day. I still have that coat today.

Wishing you all the best for 2017 and beyond,
Tash

#77: Wellington to Taiwan

Postcard number: 77
Bought in: Wellington, New Zealand
Sent to: Reuen in Taiwan
Written: 5 January 2017
Sent: 6 January 2017

Text says:

5 January 2017, Auckland

Dear Reuen,

Happy New Year! This postcard comes from a date with my then boyfriend (now husband) in September 2005. I hope I didn’t pay for it, as I’ve just noticed the back of the card is printed the wrong way up! Anyway, we were living in Wellington, New Zealand at that time, and got tickets to the World of Wearable Art Awards show. The outfits on show weren’t everyday wear, but rather beautiful and strange original creations, made of a variety of materials, showcased on stage with lights and music.

To be honest, I don’t remember many details of the show itself, but I do remember my Mum and Dad, who live at the other end of the North Island, were watching the live broadcast of the event and saw the two of us going in. They called me me on my mobile, and asked if we could to walk past the cameras again so that my grandparents could see us too.

Wellington was a great city for theatre, book launches and live events like this one. I really enjoyed my time in New Zealand’s capital.

Tash

PS Happy New Year! I hope 2017 brings lots of great things your way!

#76: Jasper to Italy

Postcard number: 76
Bought in: Jasper, Canada
Sent to: Cristina in Italy
Written: 5 January 2017
Sent: 6 January 2017

Text says:

5 January 2017, Auckland

Dear Cristina,

This postcard comes from my trip across Canada on the train in 2003. I was travelling alone, with a huge backpack, a roller bag and the ski gear I had accumulated during a season working on an American ski-field. I stayed in a hostel about 7km outside of Jasper township, paying $49 for two nights accommodation and a lift ticket for Marmot Basin in the Canadian Rockies.

It was April, which I guess was near the end of the ski season, but in my travel journal I wrote that it snowed the whole time I was there – resulting in fresh powder, but also poor visibility at the top of the mountain (which was pretty scary when I was skiing alone).

I always remember the sense of freedom that skiing gave me, the quiet of making my way down an empty trail, the excitement of challenging myself to do a black diamond run (even if I often ended up face-down in the snow). There’s not too many opportunities to ski in my life now, but it’s definitely something I’d like to to try again someday.

Happy New Year to you!
Tash