Short up-date
 

Alreeeeeeet folks!! We're on route, and what a bloody trip this is turning into!!

Left Newcastle at 9am Friday, delayed.

From Heathrow to LA, delayed.

Sat on the plane in LA for 3 hrs on the runway while they tried to fix the bloody thing - no luck. Turffed us into a hotel at 5am Saturday morning - I think? Lost track of time!

Anyway, stuck in LA for a few days, the wife and boy look fine, they've come prepared, shorts, T shirt, sun glasses. Me - jeans n jumper n coat!!

I've left them on Manhatten beach, I'm in a boozer for the next two days!!!

Bring on the Guinness!!!:rofl::rofl:

I'll tell you my container story at a later date, it's worth the wait!!

Re: Short up-date
 

Hooray have a great journey over. Sun is shining here and it's a goregous day :thumbsup: so I'm going to get off the internet and go enjoy it.

Re: Short up-date
 

well, if there's gonna be delays may as well make it the biggest delay ever! What a load of poop!

Hope the rest of the journey is better!

Re: Short up-date
 

:eek: Oh no! nightmare for you :fingerscrossed: last leg of trip goes better.

Container story :unsure:

Good luck

Dewb

Re: Short up-date
 

Oh well sure it will all be worth it, if you need an update on how the toon are doing I can keep you informed. Being a Stoke fan I like to help out when possible :D

Re: Short up-date
 

Grotty trip will make the arrival even better ai?
Good luck with the rest of the flights x

Re: Short up-date
 

You must be here now! welcome to NZ mate.:)

Re: Short up-date
 

OMG you must be related to BD Clayton (member on here) - his journey is memorable as well :rofl:

Re: Short up-date
 

Only you :eek:

Re: Short up-date
 

Are you here yet? Or still enjoying life in LA;) Think of it as a little holiday before the hard work begins.

Hope the rest of the journey and the move go according to plan:thumbup:
Good luck with the new job, When do you start?

Re: Short up-date
 

Oh you poor things, what a start!:eek:

Hopefully the next leg will be better!:fingerscrossed:

Re: Short up-date
 

Hello again, sorry for the late replies but I've bought a Vodaphone sim card and I get no coverage what so ever at the rental we are stopping in.Â

Ok, you'll have to excuse any typos as I'm using my phone and my big fart fungers don't quit hit the cirrect bittons!! Lol

I'll do a proper update in the correct section once we get sorted, but for the time being this thread will do for my  brief "container" episode.Â

Packers came on the Wednesday and wrapped my whole house in shiney brown paper, next day they returned along with the container on the back of a waggon and loaded the lot in around 4hrs.

We were left with nothing - just the clothes on our backs and five suitcases, that's it to our name for the next 3 months or so.Â

Anyway, we decided to call up my parents, borrow their Hoover and give the old place one final going over. We got all done by around 3:30 and headed back to my parents to get cleaned up etc, it was at this point the wife dropped the bombshell - "Do you have the kiwi $$$$'s?"

"Erm, no. You put it in a shoe box in the wardrobe, didn't you pick it up?"

"Erm, no!"

So, there's only almost £5k in a shoe box, inside another brown box along with another 50 odd boxes that all look the same winging it's way down the A1 on route to Hull that we can't get our hands on for almost 3 months!

"Ok, stay cool, no panic. The banks don't close for another hour or so, I'll rush down, get some cash out and buy some more."

Well, this all sounds simple in theory, until you realise that we had to order in our $$$$'s as it's not exactly high on the list of currencies held by travel agents in Newcastle. So, I rush to the bank and tell yhem' my story, no problem the say, how much do you need?

Can I have maybe £2000 to keep us going for a few weeks just till we get sorted - nee botha they say, enter your pin here.Â

Doh, wrong first time. Doh, wrong second time. Double doh, wrong third time! Card blocked and new pin being posted out to our house - WTF!!!?

I just had a complete memory blank, no idea what to do now. Banks closing in about 30 mins and we fly next morning.Â

We begged and borrowed as much as we could lay our hands on and went to every travel agent in Newcastle next morning to snap up every dollar we could buy.

So, here's my problem. Do I call the shipping company and let them know their driver is carrying our cash, do I call MAF or whoever in Auckland to tell them there's something hidden in a shoe box and it's no it's not a pair of muddy old trainers or do I just ride it out and hope we have a good Christmas!!??

All part of the fun eh, well that's what I keep telling myself anyway!!

Re: Short up-date
 

Jesus!
Thats more stressfull and eventful than a season of Newcastle United!

Hope you find your $$ - Dont you have to fill an itinerary for your container? if so, maybe mentioning the 5k will help as if they find it and its not on your list, they might say its not yours

Or maybe the bank where you got it from have the codes on the notes? Then you can prove its yours as they should match up

I just finished my packing now for tomorrow - so stressful, and i'm usually mr cool

Cant wait to be in NZ - this part is the most stressful, actually getting there!

Re: Short up-date
 

Ye gads that sounds horrific. Money in a shoe box, sailing across the sea!

Well done on getting your hands on some more dollars though....

I'm intrigued as to what other comedy situations you've managed to get yourself in on the way out here? Hope it all goes smoothly from now on!

Re: Short up-date
 

i hope things turn out alot better for you mate, try not to worry to much just think in 3month time you will ave a lumpa to spend.

Re: Short up-date
 

Hope the blasted box turns up amongst the other boxes......
Sounds like a heck of a treasure hunt !

Re: Short up-date
 

Jeez Toon Nut what you like :eek: do you just not like the easy life :unsure:

Dewb

Re: Short up-date
 

:eek::unsure::eek:

Ditto what Ray & Debbie says!! :thumbsup:

Re: Short up-date
 

You better be careful 'cause if it's not on the manifest you signed it doesn't exist. If it's missing when you get to NZ you won't be able to claim for it, so you'll have to watch them like a hawk when they're unloading. Good luck!

Re: Short up-date
 

And City beat Newcastle 2 -1. :thumbsup:

At least you'll get over the jet-lag quicker.

It's only money;)









I'll get me coat.

Re: Short up-date
 

5K pounds or dollars?

http://http://www.customs.govt.nz/travellers/Arriving+in+New+Zealand/Prohibited+and+Restricted+Imports/Money.htm

I would tell all of them anyway if I were you:thumbup:

Re: Short up-date
 

So can we be there to watch them unload our container then? Obviously it's not on the itinerary list as we didn't know it was in the container till after the event. I just assumed I wouldn't see the contents of my container again untill it hit Hamilton. I do know we have to clear the wifes scooter at customs, I'm wondering if I should mention something to them there and then or maybe even give them a call in advance?

I think it's because it's inside a big brown box marked shoes that concerns me, if it said something like pots n pans then I don't think they'll pay much attention to it.

It's NZD by the way, hence the reason I has to rush around buying it up an hour before we got to the airport.

Re: Short up-date
 

Have you now arrived in NZ ? When we arrive we will rent a furnished place until our furniture turns up. Then we might rent an unfurnished place so we can take possession of all our stuff. I don't want to feel pressured to buy a house in the time it takes for our cargo to arrive.

Would you mention to NZ customs what happened with your money ? If they find it prior to your explanation it might come over as a good story. (Sorry don't mean to sound sceptical.) There might be a fine to pay for undeclared cash. Customs might want to look in the shoe box to inspect any leather goods and any possible disease risk (no offence to your wife). Can you remember where and how you purchased the dollars ?

Re: Short up-date
 

I honestly wouldnt worry about it eddie, when our boxes arrived they didnt open any.

Re: Short up-date
 

:thumbsup: way to go Eddie, lol, so glad you all got there safe, (told you i'd enjoy reading your threads), but I'm a worrier so I would have to inform them, cos, if they just happened to open that box spontaneously, found that money:ohmy: well......................... LOL

Re: Short up-date
 

I think theres a danger here of assuming that kiwis are as dishonest as the average brit.
If the average brit was as honset as a kiwi i think a lot of us might still be in the uk

Re: Short up-date
 

oh mate you post had me :rofl: but also full of sympathy! I am sure all will work out fine :thumbsup:

If you are in Hamilton Labour Day weekend let me know as we will be down there too catching up with folk. A beer or three may not go amiss after the journey you've had :thumbsup:

Re: Short up-date
 

Same! not one box opened.:)

Re: Short up-date
 

I think the average kiwi is as dishonest as the average brit. However I would prefer to say it the other way round, "that the average Kiwi is as honest as the average Brit" - as most people in both countries are fundamentally honest.

I don't think that Brits are any more dishonest than their counterparts in the rest of the world (with the possible exception of Bhutan!)

I don't think the relative honesty of the populations of the two countries is the reason for most British expats emigrating to NZ, it certainly had no bearing on my emigration.

Re: Short up-date
 

They would have a hell of a good party;)

& they could light it up with our 2 sets of Christmas lights while they play with my router & jig saw (all mysteriously vanished between our house in England & house here & were in boxes they had opened):blink:

Re: Short up-date
 

Ok woodlea thats nice.
back to the thread eh!!

Re: Short up-date
 

Whatever :rolleyes:

Re: Short up-date
 

Your journey story made me laugh. The missing $5K did not :(

I think it's a bit of a dilemma. I had every shoe box opened both times we entered NZ. Here's something to think about- have you got sole use of the container? If so I think you can get it delivered to your house unopened and a MAF inspection done at home. We did this second time we entered NZ because we didn't want the shippers to fleece us. Shippers tried to fob us off and say the inspection had to be done at port but MAF were ace and said we could request it done at home. Shippers had a list of all the boxes MAF wanted to see that they unloaded and placed in an area of the shed. Later on MAF guy turned up and looked at the boxes. If you can arrange this you can ensure the money doesn't go "missing".

I'm worried about your money! :unsure:

Re: Short up-date
 

OMG sorry Toon to go a bit off topic but just been given a pile of hooey by NZ Van Lines and had to pay $60 for the privilege of them moving our stuff out of the container to a MAF facility to check. I'm a gona ring MAF and see if I can get it at home. Great advice thanks :)

Re: Short up-date
 

Good ol' NZ Van Lines :p

Re: Short up-date
 

Me too - telling them it is there, is giving them a challenge to find it before you do and then deny all knowledge...in both countries.
Sad to say this but you don't actually know for sure it made the container do you? What if the packer took the lid off the shoe box?:fingerscrossed:

Re: Short up-date
 

I've realised that it might be best for them to find it after all. It'll probably be sods law that they do then you don't have to have a panic stricken search going through all the boxes frantically searching for the money.

We're all just hoping that it turns up irrespective of who finds it !

Re: Short up-date
 

Well all this is certainly helping Eddie feel much better isnt it :thumbdown:
What some are suggesting on here is that our packers have a good old rumage
through all our stuff once it leaves our homes in the uk.
So hands up, who's boxes arrived opened with lots of small pocketable valuables missing
or jewelry boxes that arrived empty or small hierlooms removed from their wrapping.
I dont remember seeing any thread on here listing all the stuff that been nicked
by the thieving scum the packing companies employ. Maybe i'm looking in the wrong section

FFS as if he aint got enough on his plate already.

One thing it does highlight is the low moral standard of people on here. Just because you'd steal it
doesnt meen everybody else would.

Re: Short up-date
 

Can't be bothered after all.

Re: Short up-date
 

Well if packers are so honest why do removal companies within NZ say they will not carry cash or jewellery? I wish I had been the packer :rofl: t'wd have been safe with me and with Bourbon-Biscuit.