#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

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#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

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#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

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#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

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#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!

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#72: The Dandenongs to Finland

Postcard number: 72
Bought in: Dandenong Ranges, Australia
Sent to: Helena in Finland
Written: 3 January 2017
Sent: 4 January 2017

Text says:

3 January 2017, Auckland

Dear Helena,

Happy New Year!

Hope your 2017 has started off well! So far mine has been mainly spent unpacking and sorting through boxes from my childhood and early 20s, which have been stored since then by my parents. In doing so I’ve found a lot of old postcards, including this one of the Puffing Billy Railway which I bought in 2005.

I couldn’t actually remember doing this trip at first, but then, in an old wallet, I found a ticket with a picture of the train and the words: ‘Puffing Billy Railway: Luncheon Special Light Hamper Adult, $52.00’. I think it must have been a belated birthday outing for me, a last road trip from Melbourne before beginning my postgraduate studies in Wellington, NZ.

The date on the ticket would, nine years later, become the birth date of my son. This year (totally by coincidence as I booked before finding this ticket) we’re planning to celebrate his third birthday by taking the family on a train trip as well.

Wishing you all the very best,
Natasha

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#71: Sydney to the Philippines

Postcard number: 71
Bought in: Sydney, Australia
Sent to: Heimer in the Philippines
Written: 2 January 2017
Sent: 3 January 2017

Text says:

2 January 2017, Auckland

Dear Heimer,

Last week, I found this postcard with others I bought in 2006, in a box that my husband and I packed away when we left Wellington, before we headed off to Europe for almost nine years. I think the only time I would’ve visited Sydney in 2006 was in transit to Melbourne for a friend’s wedding, so I must have bought this postcard at the airport. However, I did live in Sydney for several months in 2003 and visited three times last year.

I love catching the train into the city in Sydney because of the views you get from the train windows of the beautiful harbour with its iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House. When I worked in Sydney for a couple of months, I used to take the long way to my office on the train just so I could see those views – a highlight of my day before a rather dull shift in a call centre!

On one of my trips last year, I managed to find a spare hour to walk around the waterfront here, take photos, catch a few Pokemon (was obsessed with Pokemon Go at the time) and eat icecream.

Happy New Year to you,
Tash

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#70: Auckland to Czech Republic

Postcard number: 70
Bought in: Auckland, New Zealand
Sent to: Katia in Czech Republic
Written: 1 January 2017
Sent: 3 January 2017

Text says:

1 January 2017, Auckland

Dear Katia,

Greetings from New Zealand and Happy New Year!

My family and I are currently spending a couple of weeks in Auckland, where I grew up and where my parents still live. Last night, as the sun set on 2016, we went to a lookout at the Arataki Information Centre in the middle of the Waitakere Ranges. We ate pizza and drank sparkling wine and in the distance, we could see the lights of the city and the Skytower, as shown on this postcard.

I hope 2017 brings many good things your way.

Tash

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#67: Geelong to Thailand

Postcard number: 67
Bought in: Geelong, Australia
Sent to: Nuii in Thailand
Written: 31 December 2015
Sent: 31 December 2015

Text says:

31 December 2015, Geelong Australia

Dear Nuii,

I was intending to send you a postcard from my travels in Europe, but unfortunately I can’t find any of those just now. They must be in one of the boxes that we sent from England before we moved – the ones that six months later we still haven’t unpacked.

So instead I’m sending you this one which I bought more recently and which shows our new hometown of Geelong.

The waterfront is definitely one of my favourite parts of this city, with its sculptures and its painted bollards, its cafes and Fish and Chip shops. Our children love the old-fashioned carousel inside the pavillion and the playground at Eastern Beach. Recently there’s been a large floating Christmas tree moored in the bay, which lights up in the evenings.

We’re still finding our feet here in Geelong, but looking forward to exploring the region more in the months and years to come.

Wishing you all the best for 2016!

Tash

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#45: Waitakere Ranges to Ukraine

Postcard number: 045
Bought in: Waitakere City, New Zealand
Sent to: Maryna in Ukraine
Written and sent: 1 February 2012

Text says:

1 February 2012

Dear Maryna,

This is the first postcard that I’ve sent for my Postcardia project in about a year and a half, so I thought it was only appropriate to choose one from New Zealand. After all, New Zealand is home for me. I grew up in the foothills of the Waitakere Ranges shown on this postcard, and spent many a weekend afternoon as a child going on walks through the native bush with my family. Back then, I was more focused on how much my feet hurt and the fact that I would’ve rather been at home reading a book – but whenever I’m back in New Zealand now, I’m struck by how beautiful the Waitakere Ranges are, how quiet and calm.

We spent two weeks in New Zealand in January this year and during that time, my parents took us to a new walking/bike track in the Waitakeres that has just been opened.  We walked along with my one-year-old in the baby backpack, pointing out the birds and trees, the waterfalls and bridges. I’m sure it’s the first of many Waitakere walks that we’ll do with her in the years to come!

Wishing you a wonderful 2012.

All the best,
Tash

This is the first postcard I’ve written for the Postcardia project since the birth of my daughter. She’s now one, and into everything. I left this postcard on the couch while I went into the kitchen for a couple of minutes. When I came back, it was in her hands, folded in half, and heading towards her mouth!

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