Aotearoa- Land of the Long White Cloud

Welcome at long last to the story of the McCarthy journey to the Antipodes. Dan, Mary, Helen, Charlotte and their cousin, Rachael, set out in mid-August 08 for a six month sabbatical to the new Middle Earth. It was not to be the journey that any of them expected but one not to be missed nevertheless. To date, almost 5 months on, Mary has not been able to get onto the NZ medical register and Dan was refused a work permit- however opportunities like this may come but once in a lifetime, so we stayed to enjoy and travel this fantastic country, meet its unfailingly friendly and helpful people and have some remarkable experiences. We have all fallen in love with the dramatic landscapes, diversity of wildlife and constant awareness of the awesome power of nature be it wind, rain, sea, earthquake or volcano. We hope to be able to share some of this with you in the following pages.