Hi Dave and
welcome to our merry little band.
You seem to be lining all your rubber duckies up nicely and it's good to see you have a plan forming. I think quite a number of people decide to give NZ a go because they are afraid of the "What if.." syndrome creeping up in later years if they don't go through with it.
Have you got thoughts on what visa type you will apply for when you get to NZ? You should be OK if you're in IT, especially in a city like Wellington. Hopefully they will bite your hand off to employ you.
Good luck, anyway, and keep us posted.