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Biplanes, sky swings, yacht races & jet boats: it’s all in a locum day’s work

Early this year, Dr. Kathryn Starkey and Molly Evans left Australia and headed for their fifth locum assignment, this time on the South Island of New Zealand. After settling into their new digs, they sent this:

Starkey on locum in New ZealandDear All,

In mid-February, two friends from Invercargill meandered with us to Queenstown to gather our friend, Patti, from New York. On the way, we stopped at a local “fly-in” rally of vintage planes. We flew in a 1930’s Fox Moth biplane which was the original Air New Zealand plane for service to the South Island. The Fox Moth has an interesting design, because the pilot’s seat was behind us, which gave us an unobstructed view of the fabulous weather and scenery. After a safe landing, our drive continued through the Central Otaga Valley – the land of stone fruit orchards and wonderful wineries – where we managed to squeeze in a wine tasting.

Mt. Aspiring National ParkLater we traveled to Mt. Aspiring National Park to hike a portion of the Routeburn track. The track is one of New Zealand’s nine great walks and is very scenic and popular. Along the way we were delighted by the variety of landscapes – meticulously maintained by the Department of Conservation – that included snowcapped mountain peaks, sheer rock faces, pristine, turquoise lakes, and cascading waterfalls. After our tramp, we drove to the Gibbston Valley to have a fabulous lunch at the Gibbston Valley Winery.

Ledge Swinging in New ZealandWe spent two fun-filled days in Queensland, dubbed the “Adventure Capital of New Zealand.” There Patti and Molly, two aged adrenaline junkies, ventured up the gondola to the “Ledge Sky Swing”, which is positioned 300 meters high above town. The next day, went jet boating on the Dart River and finished up with a walk through Mt. Aspiring National Park. Whew!

Dr. Starkey on America's Cup yachtFinally, before placing our friends on a plane for home, we went sailing on a former America’s Cup yacht on Lake Wakatipu. We welcome visitors and love showing off our “home away from home”.

Cheers,

Kathy and Molly

Dr. Kathryn Starkey, an OB/GYN, and her partner, Molly Evans, have wanderlust in their veins. Their locum adventures have taken them to New Zealand’s North Island, the Caymans, Western Australia (twice) and now the Kiwi South Island. For more of Dr. Starkey and Molly’s amazing tales from Down Under, keep coming back. Or better yet, subscribe to this blog!