This is the start of a new chapter in the Doglet Diaries. Quite unexpectedly, the family is moving to the other side of the planet, from where we’ve called home till now, to set up anew.
The 4th of February 2018 is a the day that the enquiry came in through LinkedIn, from a ‘Forensic Recruitment’ agency, to see if Mark would consider a role with a new Regional Reserach Institute being set up in New Zealand. I’ll edit this page in due course to give a bit more detail, but suffice to say the short answer was ‘Yes’.
After the yes, on July 25th 2018 I landed in New Zealand as the advance party to start setting up the new life. The girls hope to be out here by the end of September, ready for Munchkin to enroll in school out here – we’re hoping to live in the catchment for a school which uses the Pacific coast beach as it’s physical education playground. I think she’s going to enjoy growing up here.
To start with I’m staying in a self contained flat in a house where one of the city councilors lives. It’s up behind the main part of the town and the beach, pretty close to the edge of town. Exploring on the bike, it’s only a mile or so before you are out of suburbia and into the countryside. This is characterised by very flat fenced grazing land, but through by very steep sided stream gullies. I guess it’s because there is a deep layer of soft (volcanic ash based) soil before you get down to anything resembling rock.
These gullies are really inaccessible. As a result they are not grazed and contain relatively high grade native forest or bush. It’s quite the alien landscape for a European, with much of the flora dominated by large tree-like ferns. It’ll take a bit of getting used to before this is “just another bit of the countryside.”
