Numptyhead

Apologizes first, that this update has taken so long to post. I got it already to post yesterday then BE went down for us over here. We have been here a whole days and life has been a complete whirl…..wonderful and exciting but still a tad mental.

The flight wasn’t actually too bad via LA. After the negative posts about the holding pen and immigration in LA we were dreading it but it was fine and before we knew it we were back on the flight, ready to watch the array of 420 hours of entertainment including 80 movies. Bearing in mind my last few flights had been via Ryanair, the seating in economy felt luxurious with all the leg room. I think Air New Zealand are brill. We didn’t have to pay for anything which in my book always makes me happy!

We landed at 7am and collecting bags and going through customs was a breeze. They are really serious about the possible biohazards coming into the country and there were security with sniffer dogs all over the place. I quickly chucked the lovely red apples from the LA stopover in the bin. Our bags then had to go through xray checks again. I was a tad concerned about the extra fags, tobacco and tea bags in the suitcases but no worries. We walked out of the airport to sunshine and light and it felt so good although we were completely knackered.

We had hell of a palaver getting the puggies, but no-one’s fault really. We had to wait until 8.40am to be picked up by our hire car company which was about a 15min drive away. We used A2B and they were great. The car is a big old thing but drives lovely and only $32 a day. By the time we got the car and returned to the airport, customs were getting concerned that we hadn’t picked the dogs up and were ringing around. We paid one desk $78, then somewhere else off the airport site, then back to the cargo centre to another desk and pay $34, then a bit of a wait to pick the pugs up. They were fine but very confused and we finally got onto the road to our new life about 11am. Make sure you have lots of water for them and something to put it in!

The drive south (Pacific Highway) was gorgeous. Having done lots of research on sim cards etc, we knew that we wanted to purchase 2 degree cards (9cents to text international) but everywhere we stopped along the way was sold out. We finally got them in Whakatane which is where we have come to live. The cards are $2 which is then credited and we purchased $50 top ups each. Easy peasy. Too tired to use them like, but at least it was sorted.

We stopped at a beach (not far from Am loolah’s area) and just couldn’t resist getting the puggies out to run. OMG…….a beautiful stretch of beach with white sand. As the puggies chased away all the cute birds on the beach, we sat on the sand and tried to take it all in. It was stunning. By this time it was about 3pm and there wasn’t a soul in site. The whole beach was ours.

We stopped at some shops not far from the hospital and saw a Pack n Save (NZ speak is Peck n Save). I’ve heard someone say it 4 times now and I still don’t recognize what they are saying. The lingo is gonna take me longer to get my head around than OH or DD, who just kill themselves laughing when I don’t understand. Anyway that was the least of my concerns that night. We popped into the supermarket which can only be described as a downtown area of Whakatane. Called the Kopeo. The name is actually much longer that this but its all I can pronounce at the moment. Not knowing Whakkers we thought this was the hub of the town and there were loads of people with no shoes on in the store. Kids and adults, that is. Some were wearing only white socks which must be because they get cold feet or something, and I would imagine that they just end up chucking the socks away, coz they ain’t ever gonna be white again! A bit later, just before the shop closed, OH we had to pop back to the shop and there were folk getting out of their cars with Pj’s on and going into the store. No slippers…obviously.
Later that night as we fell into bed, I said to hubby that the drive down had been wonderful but that I wasn’t sure about Whakatane itself. It seemed a bit limited on the shop front and in all a bit on the scruffy side. He agreed and we fell asleep for 12 hours.

The next day we had a pre-arranged appointment at the Bank and to our complete relief found the rest of the town. Phew! The migrant banking advisor was wonderful (Yorkshire lass been here 8 years) and before we knew it we had Eftpos cards and the rest to all come in the post. When I went up to the counter with my new eftpos card, the teller said “Did she give you a peg”? Oh ******* hell….here we go again…after she repeated herself a third time, I knew I was never gonna get what she was asking me. She then pointed to a piggybank…”Oh a pig” I said…extremely relieved that that particular situation was over. She was so lovely and welcoming and seemed genuinely delighted that we had picked her town to live in. She then started talking about a wush list…..but I soon picked up she was talking about a wishlist…phew

More later…..incidentally we have purchased a dongle (Numptyhead laughs in the face of technology!) so in order to save on download stuff I write offline then post. When we have our proper rental place we will get full broadband.

Since I wrote this yesterday, we have arranged a house rental overlooking the sea and we have just bought an Izuzu Bighorn. Biggest bloody thing in the world but OH has fallen in love. We move into the house on the 27th Nov. We are so very happy xx

MnB

Good on you Maria!!
Glad you could let the rest of BE know how you're doing!!
lol B x

Am Loolah

Ahhh, how wonderful! I'm sorry I've not replied to your PM yet - I will when I catch up! So glad you are settling in and that the sun has made a special appearance just for you! When do you start work?

RobDon

Welcome to NZ!
Nice to hear your settling in so well.
Hope NZ is everything you hope it to be.

weejie

Great to hear from you,glad you are all settling in. Keep us updated

Phyl x

Numptyhead

Hi Hun

I start work tomorrow.... Lily has just come back from her first day at school and she loved it. Can't stop her talking.....loads of lush boys there too....Oh God..its all downhill now xx. Just about to take her out to show her our new house in Matata. We don't move in until the 27th but they just gave me a key so we can show her around and we have to return it tomorrow....so trusting.
xx

Plook

Well done Maria, it really sounds like you have taken to it and adjusted perfectly. I knew you'd love it; NZ is paradise! Now we have to work on me............

"They knowed you were coming"

The Boy

Dewb09

Hey Maria great to hear you have arrived & are starting to get settled well in NZ. Keep the updates coming as they are always so good to read good & bad.

Good luck to you all

Dewb

Psychopandy

Thanks for that Numpty

I have been so dissillusioned lately- i can hardly read any of the threads - i only read yours 'cos i wanted to know how you are getting on.
Everytime i log on it seems no one has a good word to say and if someone says smething good - someone else tells them they are wrong!!!. When i am already teetering on the edge this is not the sort of stuff i need at all.

I have a good idea what we are in for (good and bad) im not expecting paradise but reading your thread has left me feeling somewhat uplifted - and for that, i thank you, from the bottom of my heart

Keep us updated - glad the pugs are settling well - my youngest still has that christmas photo on his computer as his wallpaper. another couple of weeks and it will look like it should be there x

SarahB

Haha.... loved reading your update!!

I remembered when I first spoke to people here there were just some words I could not understand.... I met this lady down at the stables "my name is Pem" she said.... PEM?? PEM? I kept repeating "Yeah Pem, thats right" she said... finally it clicked in my blonde brain that she was Pam!! lol... and they say I speak funny!!

You'll be pleased to know that my now 6 year old lad whos been at school for a year now speaks Kiwi!! Tom and Jirry... and Aye after every sentence... and yet in Kindy one year ago they couldnt understand his English accent!!

Well, good look for the future anyway... and I agree the beaches here are to die for.... hope it all goes well for you!

Cheers!! Sarah B

RobDon

I would like to think the update thread shows mostly positive experiences!!
The negative experiences would hopefully remain in the minority.

bevissa65

Thats so sad, we all have our own reasons for moving to the other side of the world. Remember what your reasons are and go for it. If you come here with your eyes wide open you will see what you want to see. Sure, there is crap in every country but this place is really beautiful, the beaches and the wide, wide sky are fab. In our very limited experience the people are friendly and helpful. We have spent hours chatting to people just because they have been interested in us!! Haven't found that in the UK for a lot of years. Yes, we have found it expensive and yes, we miss the people we left behind but the way things are at the moment I would not go back. Go for it Bevissa xx

spankysparkle

another happy ending, Numpty.
i'm so pleased for you and the family (and the pugs!!) and it sounds like you will be very happy in NZ.
looking forward to more updates and pics please - of the new house once you've moved in.

MnB

Just spoken to Numptyhead.....she asked me to send her apologies that she hasn't replied to any of your good wishes or questions yet..... but she will be back on line (proper like!) after 27th Nov when she has moved into her new house!
B x

Jo-Chris

What a great update!
Wishing you the best of luck in your new life x