Packing up our container next week!!! Any hints or tips as to what to take or not to and packing tips welcome.

Will my new Sony TV work ok?

Cheers

Jonny

Have moved this into a thread of it's own, so that more people will see it.

Are you doing the packing yourself or will a company be doing it for you?

If a company is doing it for you, BEWARE - they will pack EVERYTHING. I advise that you & the family keep moving at all times .
We put all our pre-packed suitcases in the bathroom (Having cleared it of any bits & bobs we planned to take) & put a note on the door that it was a packing-free zone.

We started clearing stuff out months before of stuff we didn't want to take & took many trips to the local tip. We packed some stuff like my cross-stitch stuff, magazines etc. into cardboard & plastic boxes. Ikea was rather useful for this. Otherwise we left it upto the packers.

TV will work through a Sky box I believe.

It won't/can't tune to any terrestrial digital or analogue tv signals.

It will work fine as a display device for PC (iSky), or a Sky/MySky box or Freeview terrestrial or satellite box....

If that means they can't see NZ TV , then that is a blessing.

Mostly, you can bring everything....except pine cones

Keep a copy of the inventory with you for the other NZ end.

Make a list of everything that you feel you need to declare to MAF. That means cleaned bikes, walking boots, garden tools, work tools, etc.

Your shippers will have let you know what they feel you may or may not take.

What marine insurance are you using?

Cool thanks guys.

Shipping company doing the biz and got Def Letton Percival lined up for insurance.

Whats the go with converting UK plugs? Re wire them or use converters?

Feel like we've loads to do but pretty much sorted once packed up...

We changed the majority of them but still use converters for a couple of things eg. my epilator , camera battery charger.

I was seriously thinking of NOT insuring our stuff that will go in the shipping container and taking a chance. Our dining room table is 30 years old but good, solid wood and we have lots of personal items that could not be replaced anyway if the ship sunk!!

I assume you only get the present value of the furniture and not new for old (which I assume would cost a fortune). We do not have any of the original receipts for the furniture that we are taking, e.g. beds, chairs, normal household items.

Even when the Rina struck the Astrolab Reef in the Bay of Plenty last year some insurance companies were proving difficult to 'pay out'.

Has anybody else taken a chance and not bothered?

yes we never took out insurance, when we came back from UK, but we were lucky, as since then have found out you can be liable, for damage if ship sinks, i think you have to pay a percentage of damage, but each to there own if i came back i would have insurance

This is a great point, it's called "General Average".... if a ship sinks/has to be recovered then every shipper who has a consignment on board is responsible for a % of the costs of salvage.

Strange rule I know, but it exists and is worth taking into account as well as the thought of replacing your belongings.