Living Like a Small Green Hairy Fruit

Our Ship's Come In...We Think

We were told by the removal people that our container would take about 9 weeks.  We waved it goodbye on 23 May 2007 having seen the customs seal put on (which we photographed just to be on the safe side) and being assured it was on its way to Birmingham and then down to Southampton.  Still we did wonder if it might just get detoured to the nearest local market ...

It was due to leave the UK on Sunday 27 May 2007, which was the same day we would land in NZ.  The agent gave us the name of the ship and we searched the internet until we found a site to track it.  But we could find no record of that ship having been near Southampton lately or anywhere on route to NZ.  The agent this end also gave us the ship's name - only it was a different one.  We did manage to track that but the dates due into Lyttleton didn't tally - it would have meant it would have only taken 5 weeks.

We were given a third ship's name and so started tracking that one.  And this time it seemed to be the right one.  We were confused but it all made sense once we had the actual container number and were able to trace that.  It had left Southampton on ship number 2, and gone to Hong Kong where it was offloaded onto ship number 3.  We still have no idea where anyone got the firs ship's name from as that does not appear to have featured in this at all!

We kept checking on the Lyttelton Port schedule and it actually came in, offloaded and left a day before the agent had advised us.  The agent sorted all the customs and MAF clearances.  And it had only taken in total 6 weeks! We were so pleased, as we were really missing our stuff - well some of it - we're still not too sure what to do with some of the stuff we brought over or where to store it ... can definitely feel a garage sale coming on though!

MAF wanted to inspect 55 boxes for the very reasonable (I use the term lightly) fee of $485!!! You don't get to haggle over this.  Its pay up or you don't get your stuff basically!

Tuesday 10 July 2007 our container arrives at our new address safe and sound:

And as you can tell from the photo the usually blue, sunny sky we keep raving about decided to cloud over and pour with rain.  Typical!

The custom security seal had been removed at the port that morning by the agent - which we were a bit dubious about but we knew exactly what was on the back of the container and how it was packed and we had photos, if needed, but as the 2 guys open the doors we could see all was as it should be.

The guys were from Grace Removals and they were so careful with the unloading.  One of them handed me all the sheets with the box numbers and brief description and made a makeshift table up in the garage to spread the sheets out on.  The ones MAF wanted to see where highlighted in pink and orange.  Mark spent the next hour or so helping them unload and it all got a bit manic.  As they took a box/item out of the container they would shout out the number for me to tick off on the sheets and I would shout back where in the house it was to go or whether it was for MAF.  This would have been great but for the fact there were the three of them shouting out numbers and going for a Guiness World Record in Container Emptying.  Invariably by the time I'd found the corresponding number and marked it off and shouted back where it should go I'd look up and it would be the other guy holding gardening equipment and wondering why I just shouted I wanted it put in the bathroom.

It all got done though.  Two very friendly women from MAF came at, I think, 11am.  We'd put all the stuff for them to one side (55 boxes / one side = the garage then).  They were really cool and everything was ok.  We didn't have to pay anything extra for cleaning and didn't have anything taken off us.  It was things like christmas decorations (checking for pine cones, dried flowers and seeds, oh and cobwebs and spiders and their eggs), the bikes, golf clubs, Mark's tools, etc.

The Grace Removal guys (can you tell I can't remember their names? ) were really helpful, they started unpacking all the major stuff in the house and cleaned out the rubbish.  As Mark had helped out they had half an hour to spare and offered to help put together the slat beds and other stuff but we were just so pleased to have all our stuff back and wanted to get on and see all our stuff again, I gave them $10 each (it was all I had!) to go and get some lunch.

We got the major stuff done.  All the white goods survived and were working. Mark changed a few plugs then went off to pick up the 4x4 as we'd also arranged to get it that day as Mark was off work.  By Friday just about everything was unpacked and it felt like home.  All the furniture and our stuff just fitted in nicely and it was such a relief that it had all got here ok and undamaged.

We remember just being amazed at how smoothly everything had gone. Six weeks and we had a home, a decent car, kids were settled in a school they loved, and now we had all our stuff back safe and sound.  It was just like it was meant to be. 

Stuff!

9:25 PM, Friday 10 August 2007 .. Posted by Wiz'n'Ton

It is just SO good to get your familiar stuff around you isn't it! Good on ya guys :0)