I feel I should give a little background of myself so that reader can get a better idea about my travelling experience. I'm Business Relationship Manager in an IT company and travelling world from last 10 years. Stayed for more than 2 years in US, UK, France, Netherlands and Philippines. And I travel with my family so that I don't miss them while I work :).
I reached New Zealand on 10-Oct from India with my wife, 6 years old daughter and 7 months old son. It was more than 35 hours of journey starting from my hometown Lucknow in India. I thinks I don't need to say much on how tired and exhausted we were when we reach wellington.
Since we came here for a long term stay and we had 4 big and 3 small baggages with total weight around 110 KG. It was a lot. No? :)
First encounter with our host:
So we landed Wellington at 20 hrs and took a shuttle wan to Kate's house. She guided my driver for direction and we reach in 20 mins from airport. She was waiting outside of house and warmly welcomed us, helped us moving those super heavy baggages to our room. I was not expecting this from her. But this was the first glimpse of Kate.
The Room:
I won't call it a room. It was a big hall with one single and one queen bed. still there was ample space for refrigerator, chair, a table, cupboard and still lot of space to dump our luggage and walk easily. Washroom was very clean and she has provided very good quality toiletries. I can say she has made no compromise in ensuring the best comfort for her guests. What a relief for me and my family.
First Night:
It was already 10 PM by the time we freshened up and ready for some food. She knew we are from India and Indians love masala tea. Guess what? she made great masala tea for us and 50% of travel trauma was gone. We had noodles in dinner and went to our cozy beds.
Our interaction with her and her family:
Kate lives with her family upstairs. She has 3 kids and all of them are very welcoming and soft speaking. My daughter was so fond of them specially the younger one that she had spent most of her time upstairs playing with them and a cute cat. My wife used to spend almost 2 hours everyday talking to Kate, giggling and enjoying her company.
Breakfast and access to kitchen:
Every morning, Kate keeps the usual breakfast ready. Kitchen was fully accessible to us for cooking anything from additional breakfast to lunch to dinner. What a sigh of relief when you travel with family.
Location and commute:
Super market is 5 min walk. Crofton down train station is behind super market which takes you to wellington in 8 mins (next stop). There is a bus service as well but it's not that frequent for regular commute. Use google map for planning your trips. It's quite accurate. If you have a car, you are 10 mins away from CBD. Very nicely located.
What else?
She has brought warm slippers for us as we forgot to pack them. On a stormy day, she took me for rental property viewing and dropped me to office in CBD. She cooked fabulous dinner for us one night. She helped my wife in laundry and cooking because my son is just 7 months and he was a little sick. She was always there for any advice or help. When we moved out, she was not in city but ensured that her ex is there for any support.
And finally
I don't have a word or set of words to express how amazing and respectful we feel about Kate. Thanks a lot for all she has done as a host, as a friend. She is not only the best host but a woman with high human values. And it makes a big difference when you as a guest stays in someone else's home, you share their space, their kitchen, a piece of their life. I have found a good friend in Kate and this relationship will go long way.