Life on the Other Side

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Well, what a 6 months it’s been - arriving in Auckland with a massive hug from my sis and a couple of little blondies running around the airport causing havoc. It was great to see a familiar face at last. The next month was about finding our feet, forgetting the last 6 months of fun in the sun and concentrate on earning some mulla and re-stocking the depleted bank account. We didn’t have to wait long when Vic had an interview lined up for the first working day we were there and subsequently got offered the job at one of the countries top primary schools. Our luck was in.

A few weeks later I got offered a 3 week marketing contract job at Honda NZ, which turned into an on-going contract and helped us settle into New Zealand very quickly. Next the purchase of a saloon (Honda of course) to get us around, then to find our own place to live and get out under the feet of my sister and her family – 2 kids and 4 adults trying to get to work made for some interesting breakfast mornings.

Finding a new place down the road from Madeline and Richard owned by an Air New Zealand pilot, was the ideal solution. We were amazed at how quickly we had set up a new life and we were even going on holiday with the family down to the Bay of Plenty. A bach right on the beach, view out to the Pacific and 20 degrees October weather was perfect. The rest of the half term we ventured to Rotorua to see some geysers, lakes, and Maori culture before setting off to the Tongariro National Park and climbing some mountains with spectacular views of emerald crater lakes and snow capped volcanoes.

From October the weather started to get hotter and hotter, instigating a trip over labour weekend to the Bay of Islands and the rest of the Northland. Staying in a cosy bach looking out to another seascape, we ventured around pristine beaches, saw bottlenose dolphins riding the sea alongside our boat and visited the many islands out to sea, including the hole in the rock.

The timing of our trip coincided with both my niece and nephew birthdays with cake making, party games and lots and lots of presents. With only a month or so before the rest of the Warners ventured out here for Christmas we spent weekends seeing Jay Z and U2 in concert, walking around volcanic islands, going on fishing trips to the deep blue sea, joining a football team, flying a Boeing 777 simulator, going to rugby league games at Eden Park, forest walks, hot springs, strolls on the beach, sampling the amazing home grown produce and growing a massive handlebar moustache.

This led to xmas with a difference, heading out to the Beautiful Coromandel coastline and enjoying kayaking out to sea, natural hot water beaches, fishing, foresting for our home grown xmas tree and vising one of the top ten beaches in the world. The icing on the turkey when Vicky agreed to marry me on the beach on xmas day. A truly amazing and unique xmas. We were sad to leave this all behind but looked forward to a new beginning as future husband and wife…

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