After our non-stop weekend away we returned to settle into our little beach front flat, which would hopefully be home for the next six months. It is basic with a very youth hostel feel in the bathroom and kitchen. It had the essentials - a dodgy looking oven, top loading washing machine, yellowed fridge and, of course, a chub...but unfortunately no furniture. We had already managed to acquire a bed from one of the nurses in work. It was around 10:30pm when we b...

It was Friday and after rapidly moving house for the third time in three weeks we were off...on a route drawn out by a Parkinson's sufferer (otherwise known as Garmin satnav). It plotted a route that took in possibly every corner New Zealand's highway system has to offer and all crammed neatly into a 6 hour trip. 'Gentle Annie' unfortunately did not live up to her name and left even the strongest stomached belching to relieve the nauseating motion sickness. Sta...

After one week we were forced to move out of our motel room and into the hospital accommodation. This was simple to say the least. Situated in the hospital grounds in near proximity to a house for criminals/drug addicts that were being re-introduced into the community. Lighting was minimal so it had a kind of eerie atmosphere. It came with a shower less powerful than the stream of urine from a man with prostate problems and a nice layer of grime over everything...

We were reliably informed on arrival that the best way to find anything we want to buy is to look in the Eastland Trader. This is a small paper booklet that comes out every Wednesday with adverts submitted by locals for anything and everything you may want to buy/sell/trade (Gisborne residents do not seem to trust the internet). For those readers in Kent this is essentially a mini version of the Wealden Advertiser...except you have to pay for it, and it's very ...

With only four wards and 120 beds, which are rarely full, we knew that work life would be pretty different. It is a somewhat strange mixture of some aspects that are much more basic than what we were used to and others that are more advanced. For example, ultrasounds and CT scans when required will be done within two hours and that's with an apology for the delay, where in the UK you can wait a couple of days for these. In contrast, if you need any imaging or b...