Through the ringer
When Liz Cook first arrived in the Top End in 2013, she had one broken arm and was carting six-month-old son Blake in the other, while two-year-old Charlie trailed behind. The trio was finally joining Liz’s husband, Willie, who had taken a contract flying for North Australian Helicopters five months earlier. He’d been forced to find a new job after their dairy grazing farm in New Zealand’s Central Otago was sold by the bank when a client defaulted on a large payment.
The sweltering heat, red dust and isolation were a far cry from the lush green hills, relatively close quarters and chilly temperatures they were used to, but Liz was determined to make a go of their new life Down Under.
