Monday 18 June 2007

Visitors and Auckland best venues






It has been great to welcome visitors to Auckland. Obviously the main visitors have been Granny and Grandpops (Rosie's parents) but we have also had James and Dawn Wilson to stay (James was Rosie's housemate in Sheffield).
I would say we have 4 favourite Auckland attractions that we like to visit.
1. The Sky Tower. This dominates the Auckland skyline and is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere!! We went up with Rosie's parents and had a great time looking through the glass floors.
2. Cornwall Park and One Tree Hill (Made famous by the U2 song). Always a great afternoon trip. The views from the top of One Tree hill are stunning (although it is now no tree hill because some joker cut it down in protest for Maori rights!!). This was the venue for Grandpops' Birthday breakfast.
3. Mission Bay, St Heliers, and the Kahve experience. A great cycle ride and big breakfast! We did this twice when James and Dawn visited because we love it so much!
4. Mt Eden. This is an extinct volcano with a big crater. It has great views but also a fun park at the bottom of it. Matilda and Harry love the zip wire.

Wednesday 13 June 2007

Waiheke Island






Rosie's parents came to visit in March and April which was a real blast. Amazingly, they had already booked the trip before we knew that we were going to NZ! The highlight of their stay was a trip with them (and Paul, Laura and Gracie) to Waiheke Island (One hour ferry ride from East Auckland).
We stayed at this fantastic Bach right next to Onetangi Beach. It was perfect for the children who could cycle up and down the beach. It also provided a great running circuit for Rosie and me(that is correct grammar before you email me!). Another big highlight were the incredible rock pools and sea life. Harry and Matilda loved it.
We did brave swimming in the sea although it was autumn. Matilda seemed to really get the hang of body boarding....and warming up in the hot tub afterwards was definitely a bonus!

Monday 11 June 2007

Finding a House, Car and other essentials!


Our New Car!!


The Front of our House


The view during the day


The Sunrise View...not bad hey!!


The main aim of the first month was to have some time to find a house to rent and set up. Unfortunately we arrived in the middle of a rental crisis in Auckland (ie there were no houses to rent!). This meant the prices were rather high and most of them were rather "student accomodation" in style! We did eventually find a place with lovely seaviews and great amounts of space. The only down side to the house is that it is perhaps a little isolated and Rosie has to jump in a car for most things. The children seem to love it and there have been some great games of hide and seek! The other big bonus is a fun little walking circuit through the "bush" which we have done many times with the children.

Setting up the house has been quite fun. Our shipping eventually arrived at the end of April and that has made a big difference to the house becoming a home. "The Warehouse" and "Briscos" (the NZ equivalent of Ikea/homebase/B and Q/ Asda) have been great sources of some real bargains!

The biggest excitement has been buying a car. I know this may sound a bit sad but we went to a car auction to buy a big MPV! It was such a laugh and a real adrenaline rush. We managed to pick up a bargain Toyota Estima (bit like a Praevia) for a great price. Rose did almost bite all her fingers off though!

Monday 4 June 2007

Work



It may seem like it is one big holiday in NZ but I have also been working. I started work at the end of February at Rosehill Christian Medical Centre in Papakura which is right on the outskirts of South Auckland. The medical centre cares for a very mixed population and was first set up by local churches about 20 years ago. It serves quite a poor community (largely Maori and Pacific Islanders) and it has been quite a change from looking after the upper/middle classes of Leckhampton in Cheltenham!
The New Zealand system has many similarities to United Kingdom. However, the main big difference is that you have to pay to see GPs in NZ. Access to hopsital care/clinics is only by GP referral but free. In the centre of Auckland a standard consultation can cost up to $75 but at my surgery we charge only $15 (but this is still a large amount of money for many). The NHS may have many faults but I have come to appreciate the fact that it is free at the point of access.
The population I serve is really quite chaotic which does make efficient healthcare provision a bit of a nightmare! Diabetes, obesity, alcoholism, drugs, depression and infection seem to be the biggest issues. Simple education and compliance with treatment are on going battles! It is a far cry from the target orientated General Practice in UK and really quite satisfying. The other bonus is that I have 15 minutes with each patient which allows me to indulge in some health promotion and also get to know my patients properly.

Birthdays!!


Matilda with her new care bear (the pink one!)


Classic marble run pressie!


The cake was made by Rosie!

We have had some significant birthdays since arriving in NZ. Rosie turned 30 and to celebrate we enjoyed a birthday brunch at Cornwall Park (like Hyde Park but slightly more hilly!). I had my 32nd Birthday and Matilda was 4 on 23rd April! We had a sweet little party and I attempted a treasure hunt to entertain the troops. It seemed to work quite well although only lasted for about 15 minutes and so we had to also resort to the trusty "pass the parcel" and "musical bumps"! Matilda had fun and especially enjoyed the princess party hats.

The Coromandel




During our first month in NZ we visited the Coromandel (the sticky out bit to the east of Auckland!) with our great friends Rich, Kath and their little baby Amelie (our God daughter!). We stayed at a beautiful bach in a place called Whangapoua just 2 minutes walk from the beach. It was incredible and also fantastic to catch up with our friends (who have been living in Auckland for 2 years now). The highlight of the trip had to be walking from Whangapoua to New Chums Beach. You can only access this stunning beach by foot and it takes 30 minutes to trek through the jungle to get to it...worth every second! The children loved it and pretended to look for tigers to pass the time!
It was truly a fantastic break.