Sophie_Wellington

Hi Everyone,

I have only posted on here once and couldn't remember my password doh. So I've reset and intend to come on here a lot more regularly now.

Just to introduce myself, me and my partner are moving to Welly in September with our pet dog and two cats. Neither of us have a job *gulps* but have been told by agents we shouldn't have a hard time finding work in our professions.

What I wanted to offer was, we have the 'blueprint' on how to move from the northwest of the UK should be made to Welly now with pets - loads and loads of useful information it's taken us days and days to pull together. If anyone is interested I could pull together the info in a word document and let you have it - we've shopped around for the best prices, the best companies to use, the logistics of it all - everything! So if anyone wants it, please let me know - can I post documents on here? Unlike some other cheeky expats we will NOT be charging, this info is free so we can save other people the stress of the move.

For dog owners, I've also got details of a pet-friendly beachhouse in Waikanae (believe me it took months to find!). It might take some time to get together so lets have a show of interest before I go pulling it together (!) I also have maps & lists from every Wellington council of their offleash exercise and prhibited areas (some are in word, others in PDF format). If you want them send me your mail and I'll mail them direct.

Questions
Now just a couple of questions of my own I wondered if people could help me with. Will my UK dog's microchip be recognised over there?

Also, can someone recommend a good bug-spraying company In W'gton that deals with the nasties (roaches, white tails / any spider whatsoever infact / ants)?

The reason I ask is I did something silly the other night, and watched a programme called 'Australia's Deadliest Destinations' - they covered white tail spiders in it Anyway there were these women from Oz who had been bitten by them and they had to have skin grafts it was gross. I was thinking maybe this is just another case of TV melo-dramatising things so looked it up on the net, and low and behold an official 'medical' study said these cases (the term used was necrotism I think euk) were NOT proven to be whitetail cases. It said most bites just hurt like hell and go red for a couple of days. What it also said tho, was most people are bitten in bed or putting their clothes on (eeeeugh!) Can anyone clarify this for me - I mean I know that stupid documentary put the frighteners on me, but even if they're not that dangerous I don't want the buggers biting me in the nuddy :scared: lol.

Also, can you tell me where these critters like to hang out (i.e. I've heard they live in bushy areas, but how about if I live near the beach, are they everywhere?). A realistic outlook would be nice, I think I've put enough frighteners on myself watching that silly TV show ho ho ho.

One final thing - is there anything else that's actually 'dangerous' there? I've heard of WETAs and praying mantis, but they're not that bothersome if left alone are they? Can you live a 'relaxed' life in NZ when you're scared of bugs?

Anyway, thanks in advance to all of you who respond, and I look forward to getting to know a few peeps on here.

Dawn

Fidan

Hi and welcome back,

Your "blueprint" sounds fantastic! We are definitely interested. I will PM you.

ukkiwi

White tails normally hide behind cars sun visors - dropping onto your lap or face when you pull the visor down.....

Sophie_Wellington

That's funny, never heard that one before Would be interested in a realistic perspective on the subject

Sophie_Wellington

Hi Fiona,

I can't figure out how to send you the file, so have posted it here for all to see. If anyone's got any questions, just give me a shout. I'll post an update on it once we've done the big move

Fidan

Thank you so much for that. It looks full of really useful info. It's really good of you to share it with us!

pleccy2000

Sophie,

Here is all you need on those spiders!

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheet...led_spider.htm

Most people havn't even seen on, let alone been bitten.

I am also going to Wellington (In October). Not sure where to live though. Have you been before?

Sophie_Wellington

Hi Fiona, you're very welcome, anything I can do to help I know what it's like

Hey Pleccy, not been before either, just throwing caution to the wind he he. If you have a pet, it looks like Lyall / Houghton Bay areas are good for the beachy lifestyle close to the CBD. We don't want to go in the Hutt direction, just a personal choice. I've heard some unfavourable reports on Porirua (if you look at the above document, there's a table in there based on the National Census, this will at least give you an idea where you fancy in Wellington based on the sorts of people that occupy each suburb).

We land in September (!!!!), so I'll give you a shout once I've looked around on foot I think the best thing you can do though is try not to do too much from the UK - as soon as you're there you can do it all in a day or two.

Liz & Co

I've just downloaded - it looks good, thank you.

I am am due to arrive in Wellington at the end of September with my three sons. Once I am settled my husband will send out our dog and travel over with our daughter (around Christmas time).

We are not quite sure where we want to be in NZ yet so I hope to travel about and make a decision on where to base ourselves before the dog arrives.

I'll maybe see you out dog walking - we have an orange and white English Pointer.

Fireman Al

What a fantastic link....thank you very much.

Al.

pixi-dust

Hi Dawn,

your dogs chip will be recognised here, now. You need to register him with the council when you arrive (and you'll be given a registration tag that he has to wear) you put the chip info onto that form. It used to be that you had to fill in a form and send it to Australia cos thats where all the records were kept - but I dont know if you still have to do this ( the chipping regulations have just changed in NZ) - but maybe, as it is the change of address thing for the chipping people. Might be worth finding out.

For the bug people I cant help cos Im far away - but we just asked when we arrived and get one recommended. It was a great thing to have done. Be aware that loads of creepie crawlies will come out of the woodwork for hours after ( if its not been done before or for ages) nothing is bad though - except the white tails! We had a lot of them ranging from small to quite big, I just kept away from them surprisingly we had a huge one on our kitchen worktop a few days ago - I have no idea where it came from.
On the bug front, our house is old and the bug man reckoned it had never been done - when we moved in there were spiders and things everywhere and I have to admit to being a bit freaked by them all. But its amazing what you get used to - after the spraying we hardly have anything and its almost a year so it will need done again, however the bugs just dont bother me anymore. Worms dont now either and I used to hate them!

waynepfry

Great info , thanks
jane

Joshlin

Hi there
I was freaked by the idea of the white tails before we got here - particularly not knowing what they looked like - I used to check the bed, shake my dressing gown and slippers etc etc. Then we had about 5 wandering around (could have been the same one a few times cos didn't kill them, just put them out). Was advised that they don't spin their own webs, they sit in other spiders webs, pretend to be a fly and then eat the spider - so make sure you're free of other webs and that helps.
The thing that I found reassuring was that they are pretty slow movers - very easy to spot and therefore catch and remove
be warned when spraying - a couple of our friends suffered allergic reactions cos they went back into the house too soon.
Vicki

mumomonty

Hello Sophie, You've given me an idea for a new thread for people bringing animals with them.
Anyway, the white tails. Don't worry yourself overly. We've a few in our woodshed and one did bite me. It was like a sting then I thought I had a piece of wood in my wrist but no twas a white tail. Now I have a lump on it and it still stings but the point is, I'm okay with them and so too are many people.
As for other critters, it's safe here don't worry yourself. I lived in Oz previously and you have to be wary for many many more things there for yourself and animals here including snakes and paralysis ticks. It's better for animals here.

Sophie_Wellington

Hi Everyone,,

I'm only too happy to share on the info front, I've picked up lots of useful info on here so just giving back. I keep thinking of more things to include and will put an updated document on here after we've moved.

Re the white tails, it sounds like people have mixed experiences of them. Just a couple of questions - I'm very allergic to chemicals - can I still have the house sprayed or do they use harsh stuff? Also, to those of you who have had problems with whitetails - have you had any AFTER you've sprayed, or was this in untreated houses? I know I might sound like a big girl's blouse, but I don't care, YES I'm scared of insects.

Thanks so much for telling me they move slowly, that's of some comfort I had it in my head they would run across the floor at me lmao. No big cockroach problems then either I take it? As long as nothing is in my house or car I can totally cope. Plus the pets will be around the hosue in the day - I assume if white tails bite cats / dogs they wouldn't react too bad either then?

I think if / when I see them I will freak out - I will not be able to remove them tho, I can't even move a British house spider lol :scared: I bought something called a 'spider catcher', and am hoping my OH will catch them, it's got like a grabbing handle on the end of a pole and when you pull it it closed around the spider Are they easy to kill with a shoe or something?!

I had an idea of what's missing in NZ for pet owners - one single site with all the dog-friendly stuff on it. I want to start up a website like one in the UK for pet owners - called "Doggie Pubs". Anyway, the idea is that pet owners everywhere would be able to logon and search by area (for free) for dog-friendly places, whether that's pubs, hotels, B&Bs, camping parks, holiday accommodation or long term rentals. The reward I would get is to find out where I can holiday with my dog / take her for lunch etc. The only thing is that it would be reliant on other pets owners filling in their own local facilities for it to work. Do you think people would be up for this? I don't see why I should have to buy that book that's available every year - do you know it only contains the ones that PAY to advertise in it?! So therefore you don't have the full picture by any means. Might be something to think about once I've landed / settled in, creating more work for myself lol.

We're staying in a beach-house in Waikanae (Welly) for our first weeks, it's not been sprayed for spiders so wish me luck he he he. I am forward-ordering a Woolworths shop to be there on the day we arrive - can anyone recommend the best supermarket spray that will rid the property of roaches, white-tails, ants etc? Also, will this be ok with a dog? I'm sure I'll get used to this like everyone on here, don't want to live my life paranoid...thinking of hypnotism cos it's a real phobia