The Arrival!

It seems a long time ago now but I thought I would give a bit of background to the adventure! It was October 2006 when we decided to plunge into lifting our family to the other side of the world. It has been an interesting journey with the usual ups and downs but the heart behind it has always been to try and live life to the full! It was fortunate that I managed to get a job in Auckland as a GP...more about that a bit later..but this confirmed our ability to move to New Zealand.

I can only describe the months before leaving as frantic. Saying goodbye was painful, especially to close friends and family, but thank God for the telephone and internet! We eventually managed to get some visas (one day before leaving!) to allow us to leave the UK and on the 31st Jan we set off on the Air New Zealand flight to Auckland via Hong Kong. It was a tearful departure as we said goodbye to Rosie's parents, Amy, Julia and my parents.

We arrived in New Zealand 24 hours later on 2nd Feb and greeted by Paul(Rosie's brother), Laura, Gracie, Rich, Kath and Amelie. Mixed emotions followed...one of relief that we had survived the flight (including Harry!!)..but also that of disbelief we had actually done it! However, the great welcome from friends and family has made the transition to a different culture far, far easier!