I’ve been in New Zealand for 5 weeks now and feel like I’m
starting getting the hang of how things work. I feel less uncomfortable
greeting people with g’day, I’ve figured out how to negotiate the very odd chip
‘n pin machines and most importantly I’ve learnt to avoid Wattie’s Baked Beans
like the plague. They’re package just like Heinz, but my god are they
different.
Since I last updated you I have driven over 2000km in the rented
car. This country seems small, but it really isn’t. Driving around here is so
damn easy though, there are basically no roads with more than one lane and
there is so little traffic that it is just a totally different experience to
the UK.
Last weekend I spent 3 days hiking in the West Matukituki
Valley near the town of Wanaka with my university friends Hawys and Jonny. We
left the car at the start of the track and walked 12km down the valley to a
mountain hut where we spent the night. These huts are dotted all over the
country’s mountain ranges and are super cheap to stay in. They have no
electricity or running water so you need to bring all your sleeping and cooking
gear with you, but they are warm and comfortable and you meet a really cool mix
of people whilst staying there. On the second day we walked on up the valley
and climbed one of the mountains off to the side, before returning to the same
hut for our second night. On the third day we walked back towards the car, with
a detour up to the base of one of the glaciers, which was a further 9km walk. By
the end of the weekend I was thoroughly exhausted, having walked about 40km in
total, but it was probably the best weekend I’ve had here so far. The scenery
was absolutely stunning.
This weekend I drove up to Mount Cook, the tallest mountain
in the country. I’m running out of adjectives to describe how good looking
everywhere is, but again, just an incredible place.
Nothing really to report here in Timaru, the hospital is still fine, but I’m beginning to feel ready to not go in any more. Only another 3 weeks to go though so not too tedious. I went out for dinner with all the junior doctors this week, which was good fun; food here costs a fortune though!
I took the day off on Friday to watch the election. Boy was that a mistake. I had a conversation with a man up a mountain today about politics; he explained that the political landscape over here is very similar to how it is back home. His solution to all the terrible things his government want to do: “I just spend a lot more time in the mountains”. Solid advice I think. I will definitely be spending the next 2 years working in an NHS, which I expect will see some pretty big changes over that time, but the thought of moving back over here for a couple of years after that is becoming more and more temping by the day.
I took the day off on Friday to watch the election. Boy was that a mistake. I had a conversation with a man up a mountain today about politics; he explained that the political landscape over here is very similar to how it is back home. His solution to all the terrible things his government want to do: “I just spend a lot more time in the mountains”. Solid advice I think. I will definitely be spending the next 2 years working in an NHS, which I expect will see some pretty big changes over that time, but the thought of moving back over here for a couple of years after that is becoming more and more temping by the day.
Miss you, see you in 6 weeks!
