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Gabriella’s year abroad has now come to an end, and in her final blogpost, she recaps what her final week was like living in New Zealand.

The time has somehow come. One whole (just about) year later and I am now officially back in the northern hemisphere, slightly baffled by life and unsure what to do with myself. I left New Zealand’s cool and rainy winter only to join England’s cool and rainy summer. Consequently, to ignore this sad truth, I would love to share my last week living in Aotearoa – it was truly a lovely one.

We left it fashionably to the very last minute, but my friends and I eventually made our way into a stadium to watch some rugby league. Having only really learned anything about rugby this year through my best friend, the World Cup, and simply by being in New Zealand, I was a bit of a clueless admirer. Nonetheless, I was impressed by both the skill and the gorgeous bleeding smile of these men.  Despite losing, I am sure The Warriors will be extremely pleased to hear that they have gained a new fan.

A couple of days later, Dan and I embarked on a quick last-minute trip to the wonderfully windy Wellington. We well and truly took the capital by storm, eating and drinking our way around for 48 hours. For research purposes, and research purposes only, we tested whether their coffee and craft beer really were worth all the hype. After a few repeats, as students who respect the scientific method, we concluded that the answer was yes. On this brief trip we ate the best pain au chocolat we have ever had, bright and early at Leeds Street Bakery; we had amazing sandwiches from Fred’s; we drank smooth and flavourful coffee so often that we had to start drinking decaf; and we tested the limits of our insides with some spicy chicken. We also visited an Irish pub that we swear was bigger on the inside…

Speaking of bigger on the inside, as if they knew we had been watching the show daily, the city was also holding a Doctor Who science exhibition. Right beside the monumental Te Papa museum, which we too explored, we took an hour out of our day to learn about wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff. This, the pretty parks, the old cable-car, and an embarrassing performance from me in bowling left us heading back to Auckland feeling very satisfied.

Back up north, Nicole, Dan and I finally made our way to a location where we could consume the most New Zealand of things. This spot combines two of this country’s most powerful crafts. It fuses the unthinkable. Finally, after weeks of delays – someone was busy, or the place was closed – we made it. We went to PieFee.

If you have ever wondered, perhaps late at night in a sleepless state, whether one could combine great coffee with New Zealand’s great pies, then please make your way to K-Road. It can be done, and it has been. In an example of beautiful engineering, you can drink your coffee from a biscuit pie structure, which you can then of course eat too. There is little to say about the experience of consuming a PieFee, other than there is no better way to say goodbye to the country.