Lucky....

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How lucky am I?

Well my luck continued..... deciding to settle near Matt n Chloe and Becky n Clive on the North Shore, I managed to land a job at North Shore Hospital in Takapuna (a town just a couple of kilometres north of Auckland city). A couple of phone calls and a day later I was interviewed and then a week later I was in post doing Orthopaedics and MSK Outpatients... just like that!

Anyway, on my second day I landed an amazing 5 bedroom, villa-style house, only 5 mins walk (if that) from an amazing beach....and all rent free for a month over Christmas and New Year! How lucky! I don't know whether it was luck, my charming personality or the fact that one of my colleagues was just extremely generous and trusting! To say the least I jumped at the opportunity!

So, life on the North Shore began. Alot of people don't like Auckland and the surrounding area but I've got to argue! Devonport is so nice and the beaches up the east coast are just as amazing. Beach after beach. At night I could come in from work, wander down to the beach or go for a run along the cliff tops and back along the beach and if it was just too hot, laze on the deck!

A few nights or weekends we'd head down to Piha Beach (one of NZ's best surf beaches and home to "Piha Rescue" - surf rescue TV programme). Well, ok I wasn't surfing. But it meant while Matt was out, Chloe and I could gawp at all the surfer dudes!

Luck also came through when we managed to get some last minute tickets to see the Foo Figthers.... I'm now a rock chick! It was amazing cos it was such a big thing over here "huge crowds", "packed out".....there was loads of room! I suppose there are only 4 million people in this country so a few thousand or so is probably "crowded"!

Another weekend, a gang of us took the ferry over to Waiheke Island. We hired a people carrier (Gemma was designated driver and I was supposedly the navigator) and decided to do a circuit of the island. We stopped for lunch at Onetangi Beach (sooo nice), chilled out for a bit in the sun (boys went swimming) before setting off to Man 'O War Bay (skimmed a few stones) and then realized we had to catch the ferry but where probably at the most furthest point...oops! Eventually made it home safely!

As for work....work is work where ever you are, but working at North Shore Hospital was brilliant for my first time NZ job! The people over here ( i will add that about half were brits or former brits! We get every where!) are just so chilled out and friendly and I worked with such a brilliant team (although I do feel walking up to the 9th floor at least twice a day is a tad excessive (Mel!) - and it never got any easier!).

So, life in NZ continues... and hopefully the luck will too!

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Photos

Rothesay Bay
My local beach!