Thanks for the welcome everyone.

I love living in NZ - I only planned to be here for 2 or 3 years, so after more than 20, there's not been anything to tempt me anywhere else. it's a very compact place and you are never more than an hour or twos drive away from stunning coastline, mountains, ski fields, lakes... whatever you want.

The weather is very UK like - moderate most of the time with occasional sunshine and snow.  One of the best things is that they don't put salt on the roads in winter, so old vehicles can be in surprisingly good condition.

Tom - there are a lot of sheep - about 6 for every person I believe, but not that many around the Wellington area - I think I saw more in Cardiff!

Cheers,