Kiwi See the World through my eyes - Great Britain

Watching the UK coast line come into view was an incredibly emotional moment, remembering how long ago we had left to start a new life in New Zealand. The countryside appeared scorched from the ongoing heatwave, not its usual lush green, but still recognisable as home. We arrived into London after two flights and 14 hours which actually was remarkably pain free. Michael had slept and woke in a good mood which was fortunate as we had mistakenly booked to arrive into Gatwick Airport, meaning we had a train and the underground to navigate with backpacks before arriving at our Airbnb situated in Camden.
Exhausted but determined to stay awake we dumped the bags and headed straight into chaotic colourful Camden Market where we were thrilled to watch the expression on Michael's face as he stared at the outlandish shop fronts, and marvelled at the range of Fortnite t-shirts and memorabilia every where. He decided instantly he liked London! Our first meal in London left us feeling sick and bloated and bemused staff offered us a take out bag. The sheer size of portions after six months in Asia was a shock to the digestive system!


You know there's something so magical about London that the rest of the world could learn from . So many different nationalities blended together bringing their mix of cultures, food, ambience's and flavour. The city just vibrates energy. Camden market in particular, with its many colourful characters, quirky stalls, it felt like being in a candy store. So much choice, diversity and difference . Rock T-shirt heaven! Its fair to say we stretched the budget without really considering just how much its going to cost to send it all back home !!
With one week to explore before venturing north to start visiting friends and family we decided to become typical tourists and brought a Coca-Cola Merlin site seeing pass. Five attractions for £55 including London eye, Madam Tussuad's, London Dungeons, Thames River cruise, Shrek Adventure and Sea Life . Great value and enabled us to book time slots on line so we could plan our days and not spend half of it in queues. Michael seemed relaxed, happy and to be really enjoying himself, barely noticing the 15 to 20K steps a day as we took in the sites of this magnificent city. His only moan being the number of Chinese tourists ironically!

We were fortunate enough to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace after a kindly American tourist from Texas made room for Michael to view the pomp and ceremony from the railings. Conversation however became a little sticky after Michael failed to register my cues to be quiet and proceeded to give her his views on Trump! 'Awkward '- As a result we have devised a "safe" word that we can use to silence him with out making a scene from hereon in!! We also visited the Queens Gallery which was an expensive opportunity for Jason to show Michael the floors he laid while working in the UK. Much to the bemusement of the staff as they walked around inspecting floorboards, not at all interested in the exhibits on show. Proud Dad moment!

We walked miles taking in the historical sites such as Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, monuments and old buildings. Much of the sites are easy to get to on foot through London's many parks including Hyde Park where we visited Diana's memorial playground and stood bemused staring at the strange pink Christo art installation called 'Mastaba' which towers above Serpentine lake. Not sure if I'm a fan or not! 

Rolled money dipped in 24K Gold

A trip to Harrods was an interesting experience where we were shocked and pleasantly surprised at Michael's reaction to the opulence and wealth around him. As we marvelled at the grandeur around us and pointed out the obscene price tag of paintings and art we realised that Michael was actually becoming quite upset and angry. He started to rant out loud at passers by asking them whether they really needed a painting worth $120K or a plate that costs $200. Did they not realise that there are so many poor people in the world and it was a waste of money that could be used to feed people. Realising that he wasn't actually joking and was waving his arms around wildly close to the offending objects, we quickly retreated before he had us evicted or worse he broke something! Jas and I were however quietly pleased to see that our months in Asia had in fact left him with a lasting impression.


Being in the UK has enabled us to introduce Michael to an extensive family that he has never met. In preparation we have spent a lot of time preparing him and letting family know about Michael's oddities. In hindsight now we wish we hadn't. We have realised that we use his 'label' to excuse some of the quirks that make Michael so unique. Especially when we have felt embarrassed by his outbursts or behaviour in public! The reality however is they are not what people see in him, in the first instant anyway. Instead just a smart, polite articulate child, perhaps a little awkward and shy. Realising that the label has become more of a crutch for us than it is for Michael, has forced us to stand back hold our breaths and let him face his fears . He has actually has just filled us with pride and validated every cent of our journey so far . We knew he had grown in confidence but he clearly has just flourished . While we have still had moments of anxiety he has actually had so many more moments to celebrate. Interestingly we have noticed once back into just our company he still lets go and 'mum still gets the brunt of his negative behaviours, but knowing he can hold it together in group settings and company is reassuring and we just need to make sure he has the time to chill out and recharge. Mum copes by taking respite in a bottle of red wine each night for sanity purposes! 

One of the joys of visiting the UK is actually being a tourist in our own country. We based ourselves in the home of my brother and his family in Lincolnshire and have actually 'unpacked' and purchased full sized toiletries! From here we have taken off on regular intervals with a hire car to explore the spectacular countryside, historic towns and cities, visit friends and discover the beautiful gems of the north of England and Wales.

Northumberland in particular was just stunning. An area of outstanding natural beauty, ancient castles steeped in history, rugged moorland and friendly picturesque market towns. Staying with friends we enjoyed the unspoilt beaches and sweeping views of Bamburgh before driving across country following the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. Not quite the Wall of China, but still worth the visit. The frontier for the Roman Empire, the area was littered with archaeology, temples and forts which was fascinating to explore. We even took a hike to Sycamore Gap to see the highest remains of the wall and see the solitary tree forever immortalised in the film Robyn Hood prince of Thieves.


One of the highlights of our trip so far was a weekend exploring the spectacular Snowdonia landscapes while staying with friends we met in Vietnam. We climbed two mountains, swam in a crystal cold mountain lake and played on beautiful beaches comparable to home. Michael turned the treks into a PlayStation platform adventure and bounded up the mountains like an explorer which kept him engaged for the first 10kms before fatigue set in . It reminded me of our treks in Thailand where he was completely overwhelming by his environment, scared of the undergrowth and afraid of going into the ocean. Yet now 3 months on we were able to coax him into water for a swim and he ploughed through waist high heather, without a second thought as to what wildlife lay within. 

Another surprise sight seeing treat was Kent! Visiting family, we trekked across the white cliffs of Dover, visited the beautiful 100th Anniversary Battle of Britain memorial where we sat on the cliff edge in sight of France watching a spitfire circling above, tilt its wings in respect for the airmen who never returned. Truly a memorable experience. We also explored the eerie St Leonard's Crypt In Hythe housing over 2000 skulls and bones. A little macabre especially when we realised there are actually only two bones crypts in England and we had inadvertently now found both. The other situated under a 13th century church in Rothwell. 

Michael has loved being settled in the one place and having his cousins Hannah and Sophie to play with and has protested every time we have decided to take him off on the road for a few days. One on one he clearly feels comfortable but when other children are around he struggles to own his space and takes off on his own rather than try to join in . Especially with lots of girls as he finds the noise somewhat overwhelming and girls quite complex to understand! A common problem for most young lads I'm sure. The assumption that kids on the spectrum are comfortable in their own company is true but that doesn't mean that they don't want to be included and have friends. They just struggle to understand the social Dynamics at play when more kids are around. 

We had originally planned to stay only 5 weeks and then depart for Europe for a pre-booked 5 days in Euro Disney before heading down through Italy to the Med. (Blog on the Magic of Disney to follow) However those five weeks flew too quickly so we decided to come back to the UK after Paris, enabling Jason to work for a few weeks on the floors of the rich and famous with Weldon Flooring topping up the travel funds, while I got to spend some more time with family and friends.

Michael and I stayed with my brother Mark and his wife Chris, in Lincolnshire getting to know my nieces and catching up with old friends. As a bonus my brother an Ironman, Tri athlete & Personal Trainer and his wife, an amazing cook, managed between them to kick my butt back into shape, got me back on track running again and even taught me how to cook without using a jar!
We thoroughly enjoyed throwing ourselves into the mix of a busy family life and catching up on the 15 years apart. Lots of fun family days together, walking country parks blackberry picking to visiting local attractions and even participated as volunteers at a local Lincoln Tri kids event. 

The only downside to our extended stay being it was becoming harder to say goodbye. Jason lured by the bigger pay check and easy access to concerts, made a great case for us to stay on this side of the world. Even Michael who has protested for months to go home, expressed just how much he liked having an extended family around him and didn't want to go back on the road to start travelling again. If we buy him a PlayStation apparently he would be quite happy to stay and live in the UK forever! Sat watching Michael scream in laughter as his Uncle tickled him to tears, I found myself considering just where is home. Torn once again with having family and friends on both sides of the world. The onset of cold, autumnal days and rain in contrast to the sunny photos flooding my facebook pages with friends enjoying warm spring days in New Zealand was definitely the deciding factor for me. I seriously hate being cold! Even Michael who has an aversion to wearing long pants or jeans conceded that the UK was too cold for year round shorts, so it was time to go !

Leaving the UK was always going to be a tough emotional hurdle to face and the excitement of the next leg of our journey into Europe is tinged with sadness and some quiet reflection on what we leave behind. We are extremely fortunate though to have had this opportunity. By taking a year out of our lives we have been able to reconnect with friends and make some beautiful memories with family, to take away with us.