April 6, 2002
It was the first time I visited Careys Bay and realised this was where I wanted my family to live.
It was April 2002. We were on our big South Island trip.
We had already seen a double rainbow in Kaikoura, got stuck on the Akaroa road in snow, and been amazed by the azure blue of Lake Tekapo.
We were visiting my husband's sister in Port Chalmers and while they were fishing, I drove round the bay and discovered this beautiful little fishing village.
It was a lovely sunny day with a bit of a fresh breeze, birds calling and lovely old houses and buildings all around.
I thought: 'What a beautiful place to live'.
Back in Auckland, we sold our baches and land at Muriwai and began internet surfing.
First discovered a boat shed at Back Beach; put in a tender; successful - YAY.
Next, bought a little cottage in Careys Bay, sight unseen, even though the architect brother-in-law advised against it.
Our family swelled with another child - four altogether - so we had to buy a larger villa up the hill.
Finally moved there during Christmas 2005.
From that one moment taking in the sights of Careys Bay, eight years on I now take in the beautiful view down the Otago Harbour from our deck.
And I reflect on what I have.
There is the community involvement. I am vice-president of the Careys Bay Residents' Association and we have been actively making submissions to the Otago Regional Council to ensure Port Otago protects what is unique and peaceful about Careys Bay in its drive for expansion, and I have just been involved in organising a very successful Port Chalmers seafood festival, with 6500 people attending.
There is the lifestyle. Our kids love coming home on the little school bus that drops them off at the bottom of our hill after attending Port Chalmers School all day.
It is a 10-minute drive into town, not a one-hour tussle through the traffic like it was in Auckland.
There is seafood galore. We can zoom down to Te Ngaru, wade out at low tide and dig down for a feed of cockles.
We have heaps of eclectic and interesting friends involved in music, the arts, the local industry, politics and unions.
And, best of all, we have a beautiful, restored historic hotel that is our local just down the bottom of the hill - the hub of the community, offering great company with all the local characters.
Jo Taylor is a Dunedin unionist.
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