NEW ZEALAND – OPPORTUNITY AND EXCELLENT LIFESTYLE

ABIGAIL’S AUSTRALASIA  TOUR – MARCH 2013


COUNTRY
1 – NEW ZEALAND – OPPORTUNITY AND EXCELLENT LIFESTYLE


Awesome New Zealand!   Thanks to typical Kiwi hospitality, my
journey started in the modern harbor 
City of Auckland.  Within an hour
of landing I was boarding a boat to go across to Rangitoto Island  – an extinct volcano with a fantastic view of
Auckland.  The boat journey itself was
great, with a panoramic view of the city, in the sun.  However, running up then down the volcano was
a lovely way to stretch the legs after a long flight.  After which we had a BBQ on the boat, before
heading back into Auckland. 
                   View from Boat back at Auckland
The next day I was in a string of meetings with
potential employers of accountants.  
There are a number of varied really interesting opportunities across New
Zealand.   The thing that stood out the most when
speaking with employers was that they are very enthusiastic about how the
companies they work for look after them. 
Companies appear to concentrate on a work life balance, through to providing
fruit for staff and a large number of social events.
Another consistent theme seems to be that all the
businesses are based in lovely, modern buildings, with good views of the lovely
city and its harbor.  I could imagine
myself having lunch breaks on the harbour before returned for an afternoon’s
work, leaving at a reasonable hour and then off to the gym.
I then headed down to Wellington.  The capital city, also with a lovely
waterfront.  Home to the government, most
work opportunities there will be either working for the government or providing
a service to it.  
However, instead of
being a ‘stuffy’ capital, the city has an air of cosmopolitan about it.  Excellent restaurants from Waterfront Sea
food and wine bars to trendy funky Mexican to American breakfast diners. 
Wellington is a very hilly city.  It reminds me of Cape Town for the mountains
that surround it and of Chicago because it is such a windy city.  However, you don’t have to run up the hills,
as I did, you can even take a tram to the top to get the view’s.  
From Wellington I took a ferry across to Picton on the
South Island .  Now I am sure you are
getting the theme, but yes, I did take place in a run around Picton.  What better way to see all these great
places.  Picton has the feel of a small
sleepy town.  It is pretty and a great gateway
to the wonders of this fun filled beautiful island.
   View from Ferry between North and South Island
The rest of my trip consisted of visiting more
remote old fashioned hotels, to walking through forests to the lovely pretty
town of Nelson, with its stunning long beaches. 
Previous trips have included flying in small planes over the stunning
Lord of the Rings type scenery, river surfing down the rapids in Roturua,
climbing a volcano near Lake Tapo and watching crazy people bungy jumping
against the most scenic backdrops.   There
is so much to see and do in this beautiful country, I could go on forever!  
Why wouldn’t you want to live and work there?