Well things have changed an awful lot since I last wrote so I'll have to do a bit of a catch up.
Having tried unsuccessfully for six months to get work in Gisborne, and Dave having tried unsuccessfully to get transfers to somewhere larger, we have made the decision to come "home".
New Zealand does have it's advantages, and I'm sure we will be moaning about the crappy summers in Britain in no time at all, but living in NZ long term just isn't the right fit for us. There are plenty of good beaches in the UK, and I managed to brave the UK sea for about 26 years without a wetsuit (although I got soft in 2006 and bought a "shortie" wetsuit). But there's no point having great weather if you're not happy and settled where you are.
I can say I did something that very few people have the guts to do - I upped sticks and tried out a completely different lifestyle on the other side of the world. So whilst I am sad that it's not the perfect place for me to live, I'm glad that I took the opportunity to do something different. We didn't get to see as many places as we would have liked, but we've definitely got a flavour of new zealand "culture" and as I said, done something completely different.
I'm in Christchurch on the east coast of the south island, I flew here last friday to stay with a friend of mine. I was going to try and get work until Dave's contract finishes at the end of October but decided that it would be better to get back to the UK sooner rather than later. I fly back to the UK on tuesday evening NZ time. Dave will stay in Gisborne until his contract finishes and then come back to the UK as well.
