Forgot to add. Lake Taupo is probably the clearest fresh water you will ever swim in (if it’s calm). It’s a tad ‘fresh’ but so clear you could paint a black line to follow on the pebbles below.
Mrs FP and I got engaged on the shores of Lake Taupo, lovely spot 
Aww
Thanks all! think its just fear that makes me doubt, other times I’m super excited, comes and goes haha.
Thanks @FatPom, will PM in due course, but as suggested by others I’m hoping to work as a junior doctor. Think it’s a TSS 482 visa I need. I keep hearing it’s getting harder and harder, and yet everyone I know who has tried to go has managed it without difficulty so we shall see 
We were only planning on going for 1-2 years (although keeping open mind on staying longer if possible) so if we couldn’t get proper visas then WHV would be ok.
At least my gf isn’t on here to get ideas!
Plan on going to NZ and then on to Aus and staying there. So hence Nirvana is probably out. Will look at hiring as then not stuck with the bike afterwards/needing to buy bike boxes etc. But would also be nice to not need to buy a bike once we settle, if it’s worth carting round for a few months first. Imaging a campervan will be cramped enough with our bags without an extra bike as well!
Found one bike hire company in Auckland, pretty cheap and good road bikes. Wonder i would be allowed to stick on some aerobars.
@Amanda Thanks. Already entered Staffs so clearly trying for it and see what happens! Think will take the place if offered, as you say is a one off chance. Flights booked, 2 weeks before Taupo to prepare!
@Chriswim Ahh! Perfect!
No worries mate. Jnr Dr on a TSS should be ok but depends on post grad experience and points. Shortage of points might push you into state sponsorship territory as they usually insist on working in regional areas (read, the places Aussie Drs won’t touch with a barge pole) so be careful about what you are being offered.
482 is essentially the old 457 but it was open to such rampant abuse that they shut the door on it. Be a bit wary of people saying it’s easy, it’s not. They might be over there on such things as an old 457 or a 482. Everyone thinks that once they are there ‘it will get sorted out’ to stay perm. That used to be the case but those days are long gone.
Not trying to put you off but it’s a minefield these days and plenty of stories of families having to pack up/sell up because they couldn’t switch to perm. You’ve got more than half a chance being a Dr though.
Me and all my family are Aussie citizens but TBH, I’d have buckleys chance of qualifying these days with the skills I did qualify with. Mrs FP is a fully qualified CPA and those with the UK CIMA aren’t even being looked at with anything below 80pts. 10yrs ago that was 60-65.
Happy to help any way I can 
Until you have your own of course, then you tend to live separate lives if your kids are not the same age. My parents live 1/2 a mile from my brother and barely see them. Modern life init.
That’s pretty much my exact plan @jeffb .
It seems inevitable that i’m going to have to buy some nexts, though i don’t know how io’m going to manage that! We’ve just agreed to, very reluctantly, bin off this year’s summer holiday as we have too much debt outstanding from the extension (first sensible decision we’ve made in a long time!), so i think blowing £200 on a pair of trainers to run 3 times in is going to be a tough sell! May need to initiate some creative accounting!
Get them and send them back…three times 
I would never do such a thing (that’s pretty much in the back of my mind!)
Though there may be tonnes of pairs on ebay for cheap next month when they get banned! 
It’s interesting reading what you’ve said. My mate who emigrated 8 years ago (now a citizen) was still trying to convince me to move out when I was with him in Sydney the other week, and was saying it would be easy. His gf moved out in the last 2 years and apparently fairly easily got sponsorship (she was in the process of moving jobs when we were visiting and they were sorting all the sponsorship transfer details, despite the company she was moving to not normally being willing to offer sponsorship). And then there’s my school friend who is heading out there imminently. He didn’t even go to Uni, and it’s still been fairly straightforward from what I understand.
Not saying you aren’t correct, it’s just different to what I have inferred from people I know out there or moving.
Where would you rather live @FatPom ?
I camped all the way around NZ. There were four of us in an MPV the equivalent of a picasso, with two tents, luggage, inflatable mattresses, etc. A campervan that you were sleeping in as well probably would be more space constrained for a bike box, but with the setup we had, a similar sized car would easily hold a bike box with seats down in the back, plus all luggage, with just 2 people. You might be able to get a campervan that you can attach a roofbox to? Some bike boxes are capable of being attached to those.
I guess it’s each to their own and all that, but my wife and i had always planned on moving to Oz after Uni. We travelled there for a couple of months on our round the world trip and that was enough for me to decide i didn’t want to live there. It’s a nice place, don’t get me wrong. But the attraction (in real life) had significantly waned, especially when the other negatives (family etc) were weighed in.
But that’s just us of course!
Hey, I only lived there for 29yrs, so what would I know. 
You’ve actually illustrated my point, if your mate’s g/f needed to transfer sponsorship then she’s there temporarily. there is pathway but it’s hard and changes every couple of mths.
I’ve spent a considerable amount of years in Oz and out of it being very active a member on a site that advised expats how to move to Oz (and back again). I’m not an expert but have been fairly close to the changes.
The CSOL and SOL are changing almost bi-monthly now and 8yrs is an eternity ago.
But everyone says it’s easy, so it must be. I’ll leave you all to a smooth and painless transition to your new lives.
As I said, I wasn’t saying you were not correct. It just surprised me to hear you talking about the difficulties when I had people effectively saying “come on over, it’s easy”. I don’t want to move, for similar reasons as GB mentioned, so I’ve never really looked into the specifics. I’d just assumed what I was being told was loosely accurate, which by the sounds of it is quite a long way from reality.
It’s interesting to hear
Get asked that all the time. I can make a list of all the great and crap things about living in the UK and the list is just as long for Oz (or Korea or the US where I’ve also lived). It’s just that they are different things on the list.
I’ve been very happy in the UK but we’ve stayed too long and now we have Little One, a planned long term exit is required. I think a lot of bad things happened to me in Oz (divorce, severe financial hardship that followed, burgled twice and Mrs FP was mugged). But on the whole, it was very good living there.
I don’t think either Mrs FP or I are much bothered where we live but the adventurers in us have been curtailed by having our daughter.
As a family, long term and approaching high school and particularly uni age, I think oz is better for Little One. Having said that, we have a decent life here also.
I don’t want to grow really old here I think, so probably Oz tips the balance but it’s close.
It used to be mate and to be honest, if I hadn’t been so active on the help forum I would have said the same. But it’s a landscape of constant goal post changing.
To be clear, it can be relatively easy for a person who has skills on the two lists to get there. But it’s getting bloody hard to stay there.
One thing people don’t realise is just how damned expensive it is there now. Particularly tax wise and medical insurance.
We have a family at the school who have ‘come back’ (she’s from Perth area, he’s British). They have so much ‘outdoor living’ kit it’s mind boggling! All those ‘eskies’ for cold beer in the Outback to name but one. But it alludes to a life where you can be outdoors a lot more than here.