A busy couple of days

It's been a busy but good couple of days. We've signed up for a house and car. Having thought we'd go for an estate car again, we've ended up buying a Mitsubishi 4x4!! But it's definitely not a 'Chelsea Tractor'. Having taken the smart new hire car up 15km of dirt track to get to Mt Hutt ski area today, I'm glad we've gone for the 4x4 option.

I met my new colleagues at Beca on Thursday morning. They seem a good bunch and a team breakfast is planned for next Friday. The office is just round the corner from the hotel, so I won't have too early a start. It looks as though I'll get to do some travelling in the first few weeks, though it's likely to be limited to the North Island and nowhere more exotic.

We were out for dinner again last night, this time to a lovely couple who we met at church on Sunday. We've been overwhelmed by people's hospitatility and openess. It's so refreshing to be greeted with smiles and enthusiasm in shops and everywhere else. I even liked the car salesmen, as they are friendly but not too pushy. Amazingly, I was sold the car by a former pupil of Copmanthorpe Primary School in York!

Having sorted our jobs out and it being my last day of leave we treated ourselves to a day's skiing. Though the ski area wasn't big by Alping standards, the snow was excellent and we had a great day out less than two hours from home. And as we came of the slopes we were greeted to the sight of five keas (alpine parrots) clearing up the leftovers of someone's lunch.

Life is good.