Still here!!
 

No we haven't fallen off the edge of the world, we've just not had any regular connection.

Well life is good so far ( although someone forgot to switch the tap off last night & its still bl**dy raining this morning!!) The girls have started school & are mastering the monkey bars rapidly:eek:

We're moving into a rental tomorrow so been busy buying beds etc & hiring washers & hoovers. Rentals are very scarce in this area if you want something bigger:huh: so if you're looking for an investment rental people this is THE area but get in quick cos land prices and house prices are rising rapidly in Blenheim.:cool:

Problems????? Nothing major Advice??? Sort as much as you can from the UK, saves loads of time esp. schools, banks & motels and if time is on your side let your container go way before you do, having to buy things like ironing boards and can openers soon add up ( esp. when the £ v$ is rubbish!!)

Hope you like the view!!

Re: Still here!!
 

Dont forget to tell me if you want anything, you could have used my ironing board your in NZ now girl, to much fun to have time to iron!!!! Get that jug on the weekend and please call me if you need anything!!
LOL

Re: Still here!!
 

Great to hear from you hun! Glad you're loving it and you've got the kiddies settling in :thumbsup: Not much longer for us now, providing the house sale carries on going as it is! Carl's got his final date for finishing work now and i've sorted shippers/medical records/police clearances/ etc - all timed to perfection :rofl:

Keep us updated hun and take care xx

Michelle & crew x

Re: Still here!!
 

Glad to hear that things are moving along for you. You need to PM me so I know the latest without trawling thru 3 weeks worth of postings :eek:

Are you still going to Wellington? On a clear day we can see North Island from the beach in the picture.

If I can be of any help then sing out hun ;)

Sarah x

Re: Still here!!
 

Good to hear you are getting organised - it will soon seem like you have been here forever :thumbup:
And isn't it strange posting at the same time as the 'Kiwis' rather than catching them now and again? :thumbup:

Re: Still here!!
 

Truly bizarre although this particular 'kiwi' is off to bed soon, got a very busy day tomorrow. I find this Saturday early closing thing a bit strange at the mo, suppose it's just getting into the routine of it all:ohmy:

Re: Still here!!
 

I still have moments when I can't quite believe we live here :thumbup:
Paying the bills soon sorts that out though!
Hope your busy Saturday goes to plan :thumbup:
Bye now!

Re: Still here!!
 

Glad to hear you finally got there and are getting settled! We're now on a four week countdown and are busy selling the last bits of stuff we won't need, had x-rays & medicals, done tax forms, visa application, found good home for dog, filled out stacks of paperwork for various different reasons, booked container, exchanging on house sale early next week, then book flights, leaving party sorted, booked motel in Cch, sorted hire car, cancelled DD and SO... going from ecstatic to worried sick and back again in a matter of moments!!! Is there anything we've missed? Any of your usual good advice?
Hope you have the time of your lives and it all works out great for you!
Mandie x

Re: Still here!!
 

About bloody time too :p

Hope everythings going to plan :thumbup:

Re: Still here!!
 

Sorry I haven't posted for a while people but we're getting sorted now.;)

The story so far.........Gosh I can't believe it's a month tomorrow since we left the UK. Singapore was our stopover, which was much needed; I really admire those of you who can cope with flying straight through, maybe if someone darted me I would cope but otherwise forget it. We met up with Helinuk and her lovely hubby at Changi ( don't worry Helen the pictures safe!!) they were really lovely and very patient with my DS dragging them off to look at the planes every 2 minutes. I'm sorry we didn't get to spend any longer with them but hey there's always time.

We arrived in NZ on the 10th April, flew into ChCh, and drove straight up to Blenheim (1st tip, book your hire car in plenty of time, we tried to do ours a week before leaving the UK and struggled to find something big enough, there's 5 of us and 4 big, 3 little suitcases!!) It was great to be back on Kiwi soil and I got my 1st bottle of L&P for 2 years!:thumbsup:


Blenheim after a month is even better than it was a month ago and I keep looking out of my window at the Wither Hills and grinning to myself, I can't actually believe we are living here.

We're in a rental at the mo, which I'm reliably told by one of Kev's colleagues is about 60 years old. Despite the fact that its weatherboard, it's actually quite warm ( the woodburner, 4 oil filled radiators and a dehumidifer might have something to do with that!!) It's on quiet a big section which is fab for the kids. Eventually we would like to build our own but just happy finding our feet at the mo and TBH waiting for the exchange rate to improve.

The kids are loving school, which is about 15 mins from here ( around the corner from Beachcombers house) I love the drive to school out past the vineyards, especially when the sun is shining, we have the hills to one side of us and the Richmond Ranges (Blenheim's umbrella) to the other side. At the moment the vines are turning colour and the fields look stunning. School is mixed with years doubling up, which actually works very well. Most schools in Blenheim have uniform but the girls' doesn't. They get to go barefeet around school which they love and they are learning the New Zealand National Anthem with help from their classmates. They operate the buddy system over here too and my youngest has a maori girl as a buddy which is great for her whist trying to learn the language cos she gets help pronouncing it all properly.


Gonna go for now but will add some more tomorrow. We're off out tonight so need to make a start on getting ready.

Re: Still here!!
 

Wow! You guys are going great guns and have settled pretty quickly. Blenheim sounds lovely, and the Autumn colours are really starting to come through here in ChCh, so we are appreciating them too. Seems so weird to have autumn here when back home folks are just starting to talk about BBQ's and the like!

Good luck with the rest of the settling procedure, and I hope that being here in NZ gives you more reasons to smile every day that you enjoy here. :thumbsup: