February 2020 | YOU AND YOUR LIFESTYLE
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Left – Liz McMillan having an after-school catch-up with children Floyd and Estella. Below – Floyd McMillan, 14.
culture.” She attended a school with a roll of 1000 girls, light years away from rural Hawarden, but she thrived on the experience, loved the country and the culture and has returned several times over the years. And she’s heading back to Japan in October for a 30-year reunion with her classmates. “Japan is in my heart really. The people are a lot of fun. It’s so different to what I’m used to, but I like that.” She’s also taken children Floyd, 14, and Estella, 12, over there. Back in New Zealand, Liz completed a two-year Japanese course at Christchurch Polytech. That course and her experience living in Japan would open career doors. Over several years she worked with the Mount Cook Line as a tour guide with Japanese, initially based in Christchurch but later in Queenstown “It was a great job. Mt Cook owned the skifields, an airline and buses, so I got a ski pass and buses home. It was the perfect job. I ended as manager of the inbound office at 24, the first non-Japanese to get the job, and it was a great time to be in Queenstown. It was just starting to take off.”
Her urge to travel remained centre at Christchurch’s QEII. and after four years she signed Time ticked by and in 2005 son off and took off – no plans, just a Floyd arrived, followed two years backpack and an airline ticket to later by his sister Estella. And that South America. meant a change of focus for Liz. The change was also the catShe trained as a playcentre alyst for her move to Methven. supervisor and when Estella was Before heading overseas she just four months old she was secured a ski express job with Mt elected to the Methven CommuHutt Skifield and for the next four nity Board. years she alternated winters at “I’d been here three Mt Hutt and off seasons overseas or four years when I or in the Mt Cook National Park stood for the board. as a hiking guide. I remember I was Liz’s life is a travelogue – India, walking to playcentre Nepal, North America, South and a friend said America, Japan, China, Mongolia. she’d just put her The countries mounted up and husband’s nomiso did the experiences; some of nation in for the them hair-raising in retrospect. board and I told “Sometimes when I look her I’d like to back I wonder how I didn’t get do that too,” murdered somewhere. You do she said. so much without thinking when Liz went on you’re young, but you do keep to serve nine your wits about you.” years on the The September 11, 2001, board, six of those terrorist attacks on New York’s as its chair. World Trade Center prompted During that time Liz to think about returning she became Methhome. Decision made, she ven’s underwear enrolled in a sports expert, taking on massage course with the Intimo lingerie the Canterbury Natufranchise. ral Medicine School. “This opened up Graduation saw her a whole new world relocate to Methreally. It made a ven, joining dozens huge difference of friends she’d as I had regular made over her years money coming in. of working in the ski It’s such a good industry. organisation to She divided her time be in, there’s so between Methven’s much personal Sports Massage development Centre and the training.” sports mascontinued over page sage
Estella McMillan and Milo.
Liz’s kitchen garden means there are always fresh herbs on hand.