I don't really have a lot of exciting news but I just thought I'd write a quick update for those of you I've not spoken too, so you know I'm still alive! I've now finished in Nelson hospital and although they were really lovely, I'm glad to have finished. Loads of surgeries kept getting cancelled and other than practice all the new skills I've acquired, there weren't really many more new skills that I could practice, without it being a bit too unsafe for the p...

Abel Tasman and Nelson I've failed quite spectacularly to keep things up to date over the past week and now it's hard to remember what i've actually been doing with my life! Saturday (25th June) we spent the day in Nelson - went to the local market in the morning which sells lots of jewellery, clothing, preserves and not much fruit/veg. We tried one of the wraps recommended to us by one of the anaesthetists. I had a Turkish chicken wrap which was absolutely m...

Morning surgical lists start at 0815. I arrive most mornings at 0810 and there are only 2 people in the theatre department. Both Brits, both anaesthetists, both drinking coffee and eating muffins and both wondering where all the surgeons are. Most of the hospital staff have also done some form of physical exercise before arriving to work - ranging from dog walking to a swim and run! Surgeries generally kick off about 0845, so already running 30 mins late. Th...

We left Wellington at the crack of dawn (once again - starting to get sick of these early mornings and trying desperately to catch up on sleep on various modes of transport). We got the ferry back to Picton and then a 90min bus journey to Nelson, sat next to the smelliest man in the world. Seriously, some boys need to learn to either shower properly or at least discover shower in a can. I ended up wrapping my scarf around me like a Muslim, just so I didn't hav...