Squamish

A final sign off from Canada....We are homeward bound after a wonderful 6 weeks away together. After a great weekend in Whistler, we spent the final 4 days of our trip in Squamish with our Bay of Plenty friends Alice and Shane (with Evie and Cooper) and Amy and Dave (with Rosie, Conor and Tessa).

Unfortunately our period of golden weather finally broke and we had our first days of rain. This didn't stop the tamariki from having an amazing time - riding, exploring in the forest and lake, pancake breakfasts, roasting marshmallows and playing endless Polly Pocket. We also had such a lovely time, with lots of catching up and group rides.

Kate and I loved riding together ...... but had to work for it, caring for 7 kids in return! The Squamish trails were superb and we rode each day. In honour of our newly born nephew Rupert we rode a trail of the same name - it was one of our favourite rides of the trip! Beautiful forest, lots of roots and rock slabs.

In other exciting news, we managed to pull off a house purchase while out of the country!  We are the proud owners of 6 Fairley Rd, Rotorua - previously owned by our good friends Simon and Lucy. A two minute bike ride from the Redwoods (NZ's mountain biking Mecca) it is a very exciting prospect given the current bike riding buzz we are all on! This purchase completes our trifecta of long distance/attending no open home house purchases!  We have both secured consultant jobs for the end of next year. Kate in Rotorua hospital ED and me as a Rural Hospital specialist in Taupo Hospital (half time, I will commute the one hour drive).

offer accepted!

No, we didn't find the Purple skunk, we didn't even see a black and white one! But the search has been amazing...and its a good excuse to have to come back again!
But for now, back to winter in Christchurch....