Eight years ago today I sent the last in a series of diary emails home, missives which I've since been reposting on this blog. I hadn't intended for this to be the final one, but it took on a life of its own after it had been sent, so perhaps it was best to end on a high. The focus is a day spent in Te Awamutu, NZ, which is here on Google Maps. It is the home town of Neil and Tim Finn, who provided much of the soundtrack to my upbringing through Crowded House and other projects. The day turned surreal pretty quickly and just wouldn't let up.
One of the people receiving the email happened to be deputy editor of the New Zealand Listener (a cross between Radio Times and The Economist) who had me rework it for publication. That's right, in New Zealand I'm a journalist – the article's on their site here: Meanz to an Enz.
Posting my travelogues from 2002-2004 on this site has been a wonderful way to relive two years of travel, work, fun and adventure. This was a world without much in the way of social media, digital cameras were not de rigueur for backpackers and I had decided to stop using capital letters. Fortunately times change, Neil Finn is now @neilmullanefinn... but history never repeats.
A short post script:
@dsrjarman it was even stranger when I lived there bit I didn't know any different
— neil mullane finn (@NeilFinn) February 24, 2012