According to Greg Wilkinson, it was serendipity that brought Viv and him together in the early 90’s, serendipity that brought them to Cromwell, and that same old thing that is now moving them to Peel Forest, for their next adventure.
The couple met in Antarctica, both having a year on the ice – Greg for a second mission as a janitor at McMurdo, and Viv as general duties at Scott Base.
Viv, a North Island girl, came back to New Zealand wanting a change of region, and on the advice of a friend she drove her Mazda van, with worldly possessions including her massage table, into Cromwell in 1994, and set up her business as a therapist.
Greg following in 1995. He studied Outdoor Education, and then journalism, and since then has worked for insurance and, for the last few years, for Mt Difficulty Wines. Viv has looked after our collective wellbeing with massage, yoga and care.
“This has been a wonderful place to start a family, raise a family and to be part of a community where you can make a contribution,” says Greg.
The move to Peel Forest was, once again serendipity. Viv and Greg took a walk in the forest, discovered an open home and ‘it found us’.
They are looking forward to the next ‘age and stage’. Greg calls it ‘deliberately disrupting our own lives’.
Friend and running partner Glen Christiansen, at a farewell in Forage Cafe, says,
“Thanks for the great work you have both done in the community – in Lions, on school boards, on Central Lakes Trust, in establishing the Bike Park, and more.”
In Peel Forest, the couple are currently engaged in wilding pine control, and native planting.
Viv urged the gathering, “Please call in at Peel Forest sometime.”
