The world reopens

We've just witnessed the sun setting on the final day of 2022.  What a year it's been.  Tomorrow we venture out into Milford Sound before heading to Doubtful Sound and then on to Mount Cook. After three years of pandemic-induced isolation, it's wonderful to be back on the road exploring the wider world again. 

In the months ahead we have plenty of travel scheduled. In mid-January, we return to Europe for the first time since January 2020. We'll spend time in London and Germany reconnecting with key suppliers for our wholesale company. We're stopping in Singapore for a long weekend on the way over to help reset our body clocks.  

The stopover is much needed as we’ll literally go straight into our first business meeting after landing at 6:00am.  We kick off our time in the UK with a breakfast meeting near Heathrow Airport. We’re meeting a new strategic service provider. We'll then head into the city to attend the annual British Toy Fair. 

Once we've finished business in London, it's off to York for a quick weekend excursion before flying to Nuremberg. We'll be in Germany for a week filled with back-to-back meetings as we catch up with suppliers at Spielwarenmesse, the toy industry's largest international trade show.

March sees us flying the entire Artiwood team to Melbourne where we're exhibiting at the Australian Toy Fair.  It's been three years since this key industry event was staged.  A week later I'll then fly to Wellington for an extended weekend to attend a business networking event.  This will be my first time in New Zealand's capital city in more than four years.

A few weeks after that Garry and I head off to Tasmania for an extended Easter vacation. We're taking my brother and sister-in-law on a circuit around the Apple Isle. We're scheduled an itinerary filled with many of our favourite spots including Cradle Mountain.  However, Garry and I also get to enjoy a few new sights along the way.

It's nice to be back on the road again after being stuck at home for several years.