I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed a relaxing New Year celebration.
For me, it has been a busy start to the year. My own holiday adventures took me to Westport for Christmas and then I continued my journey further up the country.
At Snells Beach, an hour north of Auckland, we braved torrential rain to welcome the New Year with friends.
From there, we embarked on the journey back down the country, picking up my friend visiting from the UK along the way and showing him all the beautiful sights of New Zealand.
Between you and me, I’m grateful to live in a small district because I need a break from all the driving.
Although we’re already a month into the year, it feels like it could easily be three.
Many councillors had only a short break, as we jumped right back into the chief executive recruitment process.
After a quick week of getting my feet back under the table, I packed my bags again for my very first sister-city trip to Tamworth, Australia.
I’ll save the details of the 40°C heat and the vibrant country music scene for another article, but it was a busy week of making connections, sharing ideas, and marking the start of an exciting project.
Stepping off the plane in Queenstown, I went straight into a long-term plan meeting last week and quickly brought myself up to speed on what I had missed.
That weekend was the Gore A&P Show, which marks the beginning of the February event season — a great time to catch up with so many familiar faces.
From the Southern Field Days at Waimumu to the Mataura rodeo and the Hokonui Moonshine Trail, we are truly spoiled for choice as a district at this time of year.
As to what this year will bring, well, who knows?
But without getting too sentimental, there’s a real sense of hope in the community.
There is hope that inflation and the cost of living will ease, hope that we can bridge our differences and hope that this year will outshine the last.
For us at the council, this is our year to make a significant difference and turn that hope into a reality.
- Opinion by Ben Bell
