Jet Setter..!

I landed in Auckland on the 20th of January, 2012. I won't say the journey was long, but let's just say I had time to learn War and Peace backwards (in Latvian..) and solve the growing debt crisis in Greece..my Gaaaaawd that was a long journey, folks. Three days travel time and nearly 20,000 miles traveled.

The itinerary was Ottawa to Toronto (2 hour stopover),Toronto to Vancouver (overnight layover, spent on a bench, 6 hrs) Vancouver to San Francisco (4 hour flight, 12 hour layover), San Francisco to Auckland (17 hrs), Auckland to Waiouru ( by bus, 6 hrs). The plane landed at 5 a.m local time on a Saturday morning. Nothing was open.

The journey by bus was quite the trip; I sat beside a Maori family who was making their way to the south island for a visit to their Grandmother's house. Nice people, though the baby could have used a diaper change (or three) on the way down! It would be the first of many encounters over the next few weeks with the native population of New Zealand, many of which I will report on in the upcoming days.

I am ensconced at Waiouru military camp, a primary training facility for the NZDF or New Zealand Defence Force. The area that I work out of is called Pye Range, a converted sub calibre range for the Scorpion AFV. In the first few photos to kick off this blog, I will show you my quarters and working area. The days are long and the work is plentiful.



Room - work/study area

 New Zealand is the land of the long white cloud, and as you will see, quite different in many ways to home ( and in many ways quite similar).



Bed and vanity sink



The only one on my floor



Fire station from Pye Range car park



Our office and stores building

                                      

Self explanatory...



Road to Combat School - Quarter Master Stores

Next Post..what I do and who I do it with...