I'm gunna miss them!!!

The ups and downs continue, much to my dismay. One of the redeeming facts for me of having the other two NZ keepers pull out of the exchange deal was that we were no longer obliged to stay at their house, which was unsuitable for dogs. It was a shared arrangement in a suburban house with a cat. Therefore, we could now find a house where we could take the dogs with us! Smiles, happy times, how great is this?!? For me, this possibility really cancelled out the many other problems we were going to need to overcome in order to get to NZ. Do you know where this is heading yet? That's right........ taking the dogs..... is no longer an option. We knew it was going to cost a bit of money, but in fact it turned out it would cost us $4000! I was heartbroken, devastated, frustrated and despondent. Why was everything becoming so difficult now? What are we doing? How can all of this confusion and hurt end in anything worthwhile and enjoyable? Without the dogs joining us, things seemed less exciting and comfortable. With a heavy heart I knew an alternative had to be sorted and very soon. We still don't know what the final solution will be, but we do have a last back-up plan if nothing else arises. That last plan is to pay for a few fence modifications to my mothers house, as well as a bit of gardening around her yard. She already has a dog called Tibby which is just as energetic as our two and the three of them get along really well. We would also organise and pay for someone to come an walk the dogs a few times a week, if not more. That way she doesn't have to worry about trying to fit them into her busy schedule or being dragged around while walking the three dogs, all pulling in different directions. Settling on this plan made me feel much better, but nothing was going to be as perfect as taking them with us. If something amazing comes up for us in NZ while we are over there, and we do decide to stay longer, then we will fork out the money and bring them over to us.

Having sorted out an alternative, I can now see some of the positives of leaving the dogs here, at least initially anyway. We have nowhere to stay as yet in NZ, so they possibly would have been in a boarding kennel initially while we stayed in a cabin in a park or something similar. Not having to work around pets will give us a much greater flexibility in when and what we do as we try to get our feet firmly planted on NZ soil - finding a car, getting into a routine, finding a house etc. And of course, the dogs love being at mum's place with all of the visitors she gets, running around with her dog Tibby, they know her and the family, its in a country town close to the river and so on. It has to be a better arrangement for them, too.

So now I am beginning to hate roller coasters, but this one will come to an end soon. Now it is time to focus on packing and organising ourselves at this end. My remaining peacocks, turkey and pigeons will be going in the next few weeks, as will the two Emu's. The last few chooks will stay to the end before being taken to a friends place a few days before, likewise with the dogs to my mum's place. We have a few catch-ups with friends to work in to all this, as well as getting the house ready to rent out to some lucky person/people! Through all this though, I can still see this adventure as turning in to an opportunity to enjoy life.......beyond my imagination............

Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.

Ronald E. Osborn

Back on track!!!

Talk about an emotional roller coaster! I am getting more emotions out of this entire adventure and we haven't even left the country yet! Good news for us yesterday, no, FANTASTIC news for us. Yesterday morning I got a call from Hamilton Zoo offering one of us full time work until at least February, and the other casual work. Then, in February, after all the Xmas and New Year chaos and the summer rush, they will look at putting on 2 or 3 more staff and so something is bound to come up. Furthermore, they are going to try an help us get work at Auckland Zoo if we want to live somewhere between Auckland and Hamilton (1 and a 1/2 hours drive between the two zoos). Its all looking really good again and everything is how it should be. I had been carrying around this dull feeling inside ever since the other two pulled out of the deal. It's only today that I realise what an impact it had made on my psyche. I had already applied for a few other jobs around the country because we were determined to do something come November. Our minds had already made the big move from life as we know it, to something different and challenging beyond our comfort zones and familiar horizons. And, now we will be.......

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.

(Margaret Thatcher)

A change in mood and direction.

What a horrible week it has been. On Tuesday one of the keepers who were supposed to be exchanging jobs with us called Phil to say they have accepted full time jobs elsewhere and so the whole thing is off. This is despite them knowing about all the planning we have done, rehousing/selling our variety of pets, packing, tidying and not to mention, purchasing two one way tickets to New Zealand! We are too disappointed to be angry, but it is hard to think nice thoughts about these people anymore.

So what do we do from here? Things are still up in the air and we really haven't been able to get our heads around it all as yet. One possibility so far is going to Auckland Zoo instead. Hamilton Zoo was going to get in contact with them to fill them in on the events and maybe fast track a similar exchange with a couple of keepers there. This sounds ideal, but we are not too hopeful about this one as yet. Another option is to go as planned anyway, and get work when we are over there. We have the air tickets and the time off from our jobs here, it would be a waste not to use this opportunity. There regularly seems to be jobs going at the zoos over there so there is a good chance we will find work at some stage and just travel around in the meantime. Even if one of us got zoo work somewhere, the other will be able to get some other job in tourism or conservation.

It makes me feel better to remember that this recent challenge is keeping in line with the whole purpose of the journey, which was to go on an adventure and a learning experience. It had been a very smooth road up to this point, but we weren't expecting anything this challenging at this late stage of preparations. As opportunities arise, decisions made and plans unfold, you will be duly kept informed.

It is no disgrace to start all over. It is usually an opportunity.(George Matthew Adams)

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scattering the seeds.....

One of the hardest parts of this whole adventure, is dissecting the life that Phil and I have built together. When we first hooked up, there was nothing tying us together. Slowly, and without realising it, we started to build a bridge between our lives. This eventually became an existence where everything that effected one of us, had an impact on the other. EVERYTHING! We had friends in common, got pets together, bank accounts, a mortgage and so it went on. Then came the decision to change countries and what we needed to do to make this happen. Suddenly, there is this whole deconstructing of what we had built together.......finding new homes for our pets, clearing out the sheds of stuff, minimising the gardens, weeding out the book shelf and the list goes on. Everything is becoming 'smaller'. It's a little surreal. At the same time though, what an exciting time! We came together through adventure and travel. We stopped the travel part to see if we should be more serious about our relationship and our lives. We have done that, and now it is time to get that travel and adventurous element back in to our lives. This time though, it won't be as individuals but as a couple of mad guys on the look out for the next mountain to climb!