Up until leaving New Zealand recently, Stu Haynes was an AOPA NZ Executive member from New Plymouth, and was also a founding member of the AOPA NZ Charitable Trust. His family’s live was turned upside down by the abrupt cancellation of the ferry replacement project and he went looking for opportunities further afield. Here’s a brief but enlightening update from Stu …
With my work in New Zealand’s infrastructure pipeline drying up thanks to short-term political thinking, we made the call to swap gumboots for sand shoes and head for Abu Dhabi—a city absolutely humming with billions of dirham in construction projects. Clean, safe, and welcoming for expats, it seemed like the perfect place for a new adventure.
After a series of spirited family meetings (read: bribes and failed sales pitches), our three kids (20, 18, and 15) opted to stay put in NZ, so my wife and I packed our bags, waved goodbye, packed the dog and made the move to the UAE.
Like any great plan, a few curveballs came our way. Between the unpredictability of working with a startup company and corporate contract wrangling, things didn’t always go to script. We also copped a couple of tough hits—losing my mum, and our daughter’s nasty horse-riding accident back home—which reminded us where our priorities really lie.
The call of whanau is bringing us back to NZ over July/August. I’m going to be working FIFO out of Papua New Guinea to New Plymouth and my wife’s back with her previous awesome employer. Despite my best intentions, I didn’t log a single flight hour in Abu Dhabi, so I can’t wait to fuel up the Cherokee 6 and get airborne again soon!
Happy to send future updates from PNG—watch this space!
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