Am i ready...?

So where am i up to? Am i ready to leave?? What have i been doing?

Well so far i have sorted out all the important bits. My flight was booked months ago, i secured my visa for the year then too and got insurance to cover me too. So what else is needed?? Having never kicked off to the other side of the world before for so long, i really didn't know the answer to this question....

I started checking on the net, reading in books, talking to people who had been away and thinking about the kind of things i figured would need to be sorted.
So, as per usual for me, i wrote a list of things to be done and checked off before leaving, and looking at the list today, i must admit that i have cruised through most if it. Of the things that are not yet fully sorted, most of them are out of my hands at current and either i'm waiting on email or snailmail confirmation and then i'm pretty much set.

The small matter of packing and what to take to the other side of the world for a year has not yet been thought about to much, i'll deal with that a couple of days before flying i reckon....

So what else have i got up to? Yesterday i had an awesome day down in London where i went to the Bank of New Zealand to see Jason, a kiwi from Auckland who lives over here working for the bank, who set me up with my bank accounts, one of the last big things i needed to sort out before i leave. After sorting out the bank i went to the Tate Modern Gallery for a bit of wander around then met my cousins for few beers and a meal. To see london yesterday was a completely different experience compared with previous visits. I think my mindset has completely changed, and i was in London for a very different purpose than usual but it all came together to show me a new place which was exciting, interesting, stimulating and new. Armed with this, i felt like it was a warm up or test for dissapearing over to NZ, and it reassured me that i am making the right decision. It also gave me a little bit of head time to think about why i'm going to NZ... And the question still eludes me a touch. Seeing my cousins last night, i put this question to them and asked for their thoughts. It developed into a really interesting and intense discussion, pushing the realms of my comfort zone as i toyed with ideas to just bum it about, meeting people as i go, or to stop somewhere as a base for a while, meet people and get to know them, then branch out from where i end up settling for a bit on trips away with the people that i have met. Last week i would have told you that i was 100% set to be the traveller, buy a camper van and travel for a whole year. But yesterday, i seemed to have a bit of an epiphany, a realisation that i might want to stay somewhere for a while and get to know the area, the people, the culture, make friends and have experinces utilising local knowledge rather than just following the guidebook routes. Also as i am heading out on my own, it could be quite a lonely year just meeting people in passing, having an experience with them and then saying goodbye. I have also been in contact with an outdoor education centre on the north island with whom i am in the final talks of setting up a placement with. I have to make a decision soon on when i am to arrive with them and how long to stay for. Origionally i was thinking of doing a few weeks but now i am tempted to stop for a couple of months...really find out how they run things, get to know the guys there, have access to some great opportunities and see the outdoor industry in a new light, the way NZ run it. I think this can only be a good thing for professional development, but do i want to spend a year away working?? No, not the whole year, but i think some stablility after a couple of months there will be good for me. After that i can head off and see the things i am still yet to visit, and 6 months is plenty of time, especially if i can be fortunate enough to extend my visa to the 23 month allowance that is possible once i enter the country. I guess i've just hit a bit of a dilema in the last 24hours, maybe its cold feet as the trip is so close, maybe its more than that but my gut is telling me something that i think my head is trying to convince me is not true....

Give me another night to think on it and i reckon i'll have come to a decision on it all.... I trust myself with that

Leaving...

So it is a little under two weeks since i left Stoke to move back to St.Albans for the few weeks before heading out to NZ for the year.
Leaving Stoke was not what i expected at all. In all honesty i didn't know what to expect, how i would feel, how i would react, how others would react, and just generally what i would do. My final week culminated in a fantastic weekend where i went out on "Peak Attack" on the saturday with a few good friends and bagged 5 climbing routes from all over the Peak District that i had been wanting to do since first laying eyes on them over 4 years ago. I had always been saving them for a special day, putting them off as i wanted them to be just right, and i'm so glad i did.
My final night on the sunday was spent with a few beers with the greatest bunch of guys i've met over the last 4years and become really good friends with. A few pints were sunk, and i even got bought a bunch of flowers by Becca. Having never ever been bought flowers before, i did not know what to do, it was amazing, and totally unexpected! A mignight stroll round looking at the stars and heading to the adventure playground in the local park topped off a great night and everyone made their ways home. Lying in bed that night, i did not sleep much, i just lay thinking about where i had come from, what i had done, where i was going to and what i will do. Life felt really and trully awesome, i was so happy and even though leaving is a little hard, it was the right decision at the right time and i am so glad i made it.

Arriving back in St.Albans was a little odd too. I have generally only visited very briefly over the last few years, sometimes only being here for hours at a time before dissapearing again to some far off adventure or heading back to Stoke for work. This time however, i was to be here for 3 weeks, unheard of in recent times! Since deciding to head to NZ, i have really chilled out and slowed down, so i took a very relaxed approach to coming home. I've been out to see friends, visited family, relaxed on my own and begun to prepare ready to leave the country. I have a list of things to do but i am not stressing myslef to rush through, even ticking one or two off it per day is enough to know that i am getting ever more ready and prepared to go. It's funny that the little things i didn't consider might need sorting have reared themsleves, but nothing has caused a major stress at all. Checking the calendar today, it is now less than two weeks until i leave, which usually i would be panicking about, but it actually does seem like plenty of time to get things together, see those people who mean alot to me and then pack a bag and head off. I'm so excited to be arriving in New Zealand and all the possibilities that lay before me, it going to rock!

Final month...

Well since leaving work last week i embarked on my final week before i dissapear to the other side of the world. It has been packed with awesome trips, great climbing, some pensive moments, but most importantly the people that mean the most to me.

I have a very varied range of friendship groups in Stoke and it is important to me to ensure that i see them before i leave. Much of my life revolves around the outdoors, and many of the friends i have made here share my love. When thinking about how to spend my last month with the people i shall miss, heading out and enjoying the outdoors seems to be a no brainer. i have climbed in Yorkshire, the Peak district, North Wales and even been forced inside due to the rain on a couple of occassions, and although i do love climbing, these trips would have been wholly un-enjoyable without the company that i was with. We have bivvied on mountains and re-visited our favourite cafes and shops for one last time. It seems the most fitting way to remember the people and places that i shall miss so much by getting out and making the most. The happiness it brings us all to be out there is what drives us on and makes each day so special...

Final week of work...

Well i'm down to my final week of work here in the UK before i take myself a month to get everything together, see the people who mean a lot to me and whom i will miss whilst i'm gone, get out on the final few climbs that are on my must do list, and then head back to St.A to spend sometime with Mum and see my old mates who i've only managed to see oh so briefly over the last 4years. Stoke really took me. Moving up here for uni was the biggest and best decison i made but it provided me with so much opportunity that i was always away from home, away from St.A, and away from those who i grew up with. I am so happy to be heading back though to see them all again before i go. I've spoken to a few of them, and even got one who is talking of coming to NZ for a new year party to remember!
My last month of work has been a little odd in terms of home life as i have been living at a friends so not really got a set up there as it's so brief so planning for NZ has kinda taken a back seat but i've felt no need to push the planning, i'll be back in St.A soon and it'll be much more relaxed there so i can take days when i'm not working to get everything together and psyche myself for the biggest trip i've ever been on.

I've been looking at so many picture books, magazines, internet articles about NZ that i just can't wait to get out there, buy my van and get going!

Where to go...

One of the guys at work has been out to NZ a bunch of times over the last few years so i sat with him for a few hours after work and went through a load of photos of his, looked at places to go, things to see and how to do it. i'd already looked into getting hold of a van kitted out with a bed so i could live in this for a couple of months whilst i mooch around, and Mike said this was in his opinion the best way to do it. He's visited the northernmost tip, right down to the southern extremities, been as far east and as far west too. He's covered so much in between too so i count him to be very reliable. Mike is also very well connected out there so he has contacted the guys he knows to see if they can hook me up with some work, or point me in the right direction to find some. he knows a fair few guys who are either into the outdoors, work at outdoor ed centres, or work as freelance instructors and guides. He is also pretty sure he can set me up with a guide for Mt |Cook which is definately one of my goals whilst i'm out there.
Mike is also thinking of a career change so has aksed me to keep my eyes peeled for any jobs that may interest him whilst i'm there. Mike has done so much for me both here through work, and in helping me out with my plans for NZ that it'd be great to be able to find something for him that could get him out to NZ again so he can spend some time in a country that he trully loves, and also he will get to see Liam, his godson who from the way Mike talks about him, Mike is incredibly proud of him and would live to be over there to see him grow up.
I'm getting a lot closer to going now but have not really made any more progress with plans, but i'm not fussed. I'm still staying with the plan of not making a concrete plan. I'm going to take each day as it comes, live it to the max and relish every moment in a country i have been dying to see for years...

Breaking the news...

After handing in my notice at work i told my colleagues today that i was going to be leaving. The reaction was mixed to say the least, but it was at least positive throughout. Most of the guys were really stoked for me, chuffed i was making the break when i could and getting out there. Many said that they wished they had done something similar when they could, before life became committed and confusing. So far i only told one of the girls as most were not in today but Dawn said she would be really sad to see me go. I've always loved Dawn, totally like a cool aunty who you can have a right laugh with blaming my loud farts on in the staffroom, listen to stories of juvenile partying, but is also there looking out for me at all times, i shall definitely miss Dawn. In fact i will miss everyone at work. Like any workplace, it is not perfect and not without some issues, but in my opinion they are in the minority and it has provided me with an awesome two and a half years of fun times, allowed me to access some really great people and made me some very good friends.
A fair few of the guys have either visited NZ at some point or have family out there so i was bombarded with contacts and offers of houses to stay at and work to undertake when i arrive so I'm in no doubt now that this should be the best decision i ever make. I'd love to do some work in the outdoor industry out there so i can build me knowledge, experience and skills to be able to apply to future work, but i would also really like to try something completely new out there, get involved in some access and conservation work in some of the national parks out there, putting something back into a country that i think will give me far more than it can ever know.

Times a' changing....

Well today has been pretty eventful in the run up to New Zealand. I handed in my notice to work so have got a set date to be leaving that which will be a shame but also the start of something new and exciting. My final day will be the 29th September, leaving me the whole of October to sort myself out and get ready to fly out.
I've also sorted out a house for the next 5/6weeks here in Stoke and shall be moving in on the 9th September. My current house contract runs out on Saturday which will be the 5th, leaving me a few days with no fixed abode. This situation a year ago would never have happened, i used to be so stressed over knowing exactly what was going on and needed plans to be finalised well in advance so nothing was left to chance. Now, a year on i don't need that. I'm happy to just work it out as and when. I've chilled out immensely to a point that i know i am ready to take on life in another country on the other side of the world. I imagine i shall be dealing with a situation like this quite regularly when i get to a new place, not knowing anyone, not knowing what the plan is, taking and making opportunities as and when, free to make and break decisions as i please.

Already i can feel that making this break away has changed me as a person. When asking a close friend the other day if he thought i had changed since deciding to move to NZ, he answered with an unequivocal "yes, but for the better". He said i was happier now, and much more relaxed. This was reassuring to hear as i felt the same but was a little worried that people were viewing this new found happiness and relaxed nature as not caring anymore due to the fact i was leaving the UK behind.

I was out rock climbing a couple of days ago with some friends who i don't always spend a huge amount of time with but have been doing so much more recently and i had a talk with them about just how happy i was with life at the moment and they agreed too. I felt immensely lucky to have been out where we were, with people that i care alot about and who enjoyed my company, i was smiling from ear to ear thinking about where i came from to be here today, and what it meant to be heading away to hopefully find some more people in this world who are ahppy to be in my company, who will share my views, beliefs and morals, people who are friends waiting to be found...