Jack The Lad

So you have just travelled 12,000 miles and are completely knackered, stressed and looking forwards to your new life in NZ.

But what were your very first impressions of NZ?

Had you even landed before it made an impression on you?

Jack The Lad

For Charlie it was..............

Well we hadnt even landed before NZ had made an impression on her. She had a window seat and all I could hear was "Wow", "God", "Look at that" ...... she loved the look of the place before we had even touched down

For me it was waiting to clear immigration. There were these old boys dressed in what looked like Boy Scout uniforms dishing out "Welcome to NZ" magazines and having a good old chin wag and a laugh with us load of monkey's.

Now what happens when you land at Gatwick?

Nothing like that I know

pixi-dust

that was me!! You fly over this really green coastal bit - I wish I knew where it was - anyone? and I was just leaning right over, nose to the window, going wow! wow!

After we landed we literally went to the garage and bought a car! ( still going strong) We had a car within 2 hours of landing! mad or what! then we slept for a day and a half! So I cant really remember anything else.

Jack The Lad

I thought it would be up around Kaipara Harbour area?

Enfield

I liked the way they gave you one final chance to get ya duty free booze before you left the the airport - I thought now theses guys have got their priorities right, I think I am going to like it here - and I do ha ha

phil01

We arrived at night in wintertime so saw nothing from the plane, spent hours q'ing in customs, felt interrogated and unwelcome by the time we got through customs, got the handluggage sniffed out by the sniffer dogs making me feel extremely guilty (hadn't done anything but felt guilty anyway) apparently as I had had food in the bag previously the dog sniffed it out! We had booked what looked like a nice hotel on the internet which when we arrived had the original decor from the 70's, brown and orange swirly patterns on wallpaper and carpets, damp and dark so first impressions I WAANA GO HOME! But after a beautiful drive up from Auckland to Northland fell happily in love with the stunning scenery.

Batty

I didn't have PR when we got here and I KNOW the woman at Customs KNEW that we weren't just here for a holiday so I was terrified that they'd say I couldn't come in MIL and SIL were waiting in Arrivals for us so it was really a feeling of coming home We were both blown away by the weather - not literally It was the end of June with wall to wall blue skies and it was only in the evening time that we got a smell of winter.

Bad impressions - I hated Auckland This wasn't a CITY - just a collection of buildings. We hated that we couldn't drive 'through' it and out the other side without having to drive for an hour and a half! It was culture shock and thankfully, it didn't last very long and now we think Auckland is just beautiful I sometimes think back to that time and I'm amazed at the feelings and thoughts I had. It's a tricky ol' business, this emigrating

sky

First impressions were how lovely and warm it was outside Auckland airport and we went for a sit outside whilst waiting for our connecting flight to Ch.ch. and I text loads of family and friends to let them know we had landed in NZ.
First impressions of Ch.ch was that it was like a cosy lounge and had a very friendly comfortable feeling in the airport.
The weather was lousy though, cold and rainy and I immediately felt like turning around and going back to Auckland! The drive to our motel was pretty dire too and all the houses looked tatty and crowded together.
I hated the city and that's why we don't live in it anymore, the whole idea of moving out here was to have space around us so it just didn't do anything for me.
I like to go back and get a fix every now and again but it seems really busy to me now

angpaul

Hi.we are thinking of CHCH but could you please tell me more about where you live now.
Thanks
Angie

Jack The Lad

That first day we got to NZ (Jan 4th) we went for a walk around Auckland. I was amazed at how clean it was. No white dots (chewing gum) or litter covering the streets nothng. Imaculate.

We also went to Albert Park and all the smells of the flowers hit us. Those smells stayed with us all that week up in Northland. On the second week (Tauranga) we didnt notice them

Wiz'n'Ton

Great thread Jack. For me? I think the first impressions I had on arriving in Christchurch were the roadside business signs. They were everywhere, and for everything. It all looked rather busy, cluttered and very non-british. Don't even notice them now!

StevieB

First impressions: what a big clear sky. There was something different about the sky and I couldn't pin it down. On reflection, it is the clarity of the light. As we drove away from the airport we noticed the 'american style' lorries. We thought they were all going to be like that that but as it turns out, only some are. I wanted to be impressed and see differences and lots of little things did just that. I think the fact it was spring made everything seem fresh and verdant but even now, NZ is green and lush apart from my lawn! Some things never change
Karen B, not StevieB

Loxley

Our first impression was of the people.
Within 10 minutes of speaking with one of the cabin crew and telling her that we had a room booked for our first night only she had offered us her house for 4 days while she and hubby went to Aus. What a fantastic house it was in Devenport.

wmoore

You spend 45 minutes waiting at the baggage carousel with 800+ people from 4 flights No wait, that was Heathrow

SarahB

We got here in June, I remember thinking how mild it was considering it was winter.

We stayed in the middle of Auckland with OH's boss for 2 weeks. I hated being in the centre of the city, not me at all. I was impressed with the weather for winter, it was beautiful and warm too (2005), and also liked the way people could leave things outside in their gardens without them getting pinched.

But overall, I hated the city and could not wait to move some way out of Auckland, it wasnt what I had expected at all.