New Zealand - Blogs http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blog.php New Zealand Immigration. NZ Immigration Information, help and advice. Help and advice to guide you with New Zealand Immigration. en Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:20:01 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.movetonz.org/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg New Zealand - Blogs http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blog.php 1st Blog! Holds nose and dives in!... http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/si-n/57-1st-blog-holds-nose-dives.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:43:50 GMT OK, how do you start these things?

I guess at the beginning!? Here goes.


I have been itching to leave England for a VERY long time, I have always had this want to travel and experience living abroad.

I haven't had the opportunity to focus on proper travel as there is always something that crops up to halt things.


We have plans to visit Paris and Germany this year. But once we hit the shores of NZ, we will be visiting more exotic locations. I can't wait!


My daughter is at an age now where she can appreciate and understand different cultures and landscapes. I think it will be a very exciting and life enriching experience for her.



We haven't decided on where in NZ to settle yet, as so many places appeal. The idea of being near the sea appeals very much though.



It would be great to swap info and chat with those who have moved over, and see what attracts our attention.



Siân.


Thanks for reading!


:Cheers: ]]> Siân http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/si-n/57-1st-blog-holds-nose-dives.html Impatience is not a virtue! http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/zummerzet_lou/56-impatience-not-virtue.html Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:40:05 GMT You'd think that after the last year of waiting for our New Zealand residency to come thought, I'd have learnt a little patience?

Nope!

This week I have been waiting on the verdict of 2 job interviews. Every morning I eagerly open the email account and nowt, and each evening I've sat waiting for my mobile phone to ring.

There are 2 potential jobs, one in Wellington and the other in Auckland. I've even come around to the fact that we might end up in Auckland as the job sounds like a fantastic opportunity .. that is, assuming I ever get offered it.

The Wellington job, is for a smaller company, but sounds as though it is just up my street AND it's not Auckland! I really want it, but am trying so hard not to get my hopes up, just to get them dashed.

So, am summoning up all my "hurry-up vibes" and willing these peeps to make their minds up.
Even if it's a "no", I need to know .. and now!!

Ho - hum .. off to busy myself with thoughts of packing, cleaning and leaving party organising .... ]]> zummerzet_lou http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/zummerzet_lou/56-impatience-not-virtue.html Almost 6 months now http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/meadow/55-almost-6-months-now.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:44:46 GMT and still loving it. :Yahoo!: A few things im going to write down here,as i do get the moments, when i panic and think,oh no what have we done. The pain of not seeing my parents and son actually does hurt sometimes. And then theres yesterday. Colin calls home to say he is going to be bit late as he is bringing home a car from work. A smashing big 4 wheel drive :Yes: So now i can use our car,instead of doing the 20 min walk to school everyday. Colin asked his boss for a van as i needed the car for the school as well as hopefully might be starting work soon. The boss told him to take the jeep. What a good man. Colin said he cant beleive how laid back he is,and easy going.And gets stuck into the work with the guys. I know Colins well settled here now,he seems so much more content than he did in Glasgow. And today it was great having the car and driving to school. I was turning round the corner when i caught a glimpse of the snow capped alps in my mirror. I actually got a fright :Titter: They were so white and huge. I done the crazy thing and head spun right round,then realised i had to go back and see this,as i thought it was my imagination. I turned around and drove back towards the spectacular breathtaking view in distance. Oh i wish i had the camera with me. I have told Nicole and her boyfriend to take a walk ,litterally round the corner from our house,or walk up to the sanddunes,with cameras and get snapping. Its amazing to be living in a picture postcard. I also love winter. The log burner fire is just excellent. Me and Colin will tonight,when wee Colin goes to bed,turn sofa round to face fire,get the big spare double quilt and light candles,and watch a scary film. Listening to wind howl outside. You canny beat this life :Clapping: So when the fears start creeping and the doubts arise,i am going to look back on this blog and think about,oh what have we done. We have just made one of the best decisions ever,and long may it last :Cheers: and still loving it. :Yahoo!:
A few things im going to write down here,as i do get the moments, when i panic and think,oh no what have we done.
The pain of not seeing my parents and son actually does hurt sometimes.
And then theres yesterday.
Colin calls home to say he is going to be bit late as he is bringing home a car from work.
A smashing big 4 wheel drive :Yes:
So now i can use our car,instead of doing the 20 min walk to school everyday.
Colin asked his boss for a van as i needed the car for the school as well as hopefully might be starting work soon.
The boss told him to take the jeep.
What a good man.
Colin said he cant beleive how laid back he is,and easy going.And gets stuck into the work with the guys.
I know Colins well settled here now,he seems so much more content than he did in Glasgow.
And today it was great having the car and driving to school.
I was turning round the corner when i caught a glimpse of the snow capped alps in my mirror.
I actually got a fright :Titter:
They were so white and huge. I done the crazy thing and head spun right round,then realised i had to go back and see this,as i thought it was my imagination.
I turned around and drove back towards the spectacular breathtaking view in distance.
Oh i wish i had the camera with me.
I have told Nicole and her boyfriend to take a walk ,litterally round the corner from our house,or walk up to the sanddunes,with cameras and get snapping.
Its amazing to be living in a picture postcard.
I also love winter.
The log burner fire is just excellent.
Me and Colin will tonight,when wee Colin goes to bed,turn sofa round to face fire,get the big spare double quilt and light candles,and watch a scary film.
Listening to wind howl outside.
You canny beat this life :Clapping:
So when the fears start creeping and the doubts arise,i am going to look back on this blog and think about,oh what have we done.
We have just made one of the best decisions ever,and long may it last :Cheers: ]]> Meadow http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/meadow/55-almost-6-months-now.html More Bee Fun http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/selchie/54-more-bee-fun.html Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:17:07 GMT June 19 Swarm Cells!
Things had been going along rather smoothly in the hives for a while, so I restrained myself from gushing to you all about how fuzzy and buzzy the bees were. The Russians are still lagging a bit in the comb and brood building department, but it sounds like they are still normal. I’d been comparing them to my overachieving Italians, who have four boxes to the Russians’ two.

But now the Italian vigor may present me with a snag. Upon my most recent inspection, I found several “swarm cells”, two of which had queen larvae in them. The bees will prepare to swarm when they think they are getting crowded, or are building fast enough to soon become crowded. So they build some special queen cells, and start breeding a few queens.

According to a beekeeping friend, I may need to split the hive to keep them from swarming. Oh boy, three hives! At this point I have two or three weeks’ grace, because I destroyed the occupied swarm cells. They have probably started some more, and the new queens will emerge 21 days later. I’ll have to split the hive before that, so that I don’t lose Boudicca in a swarm. At least I have some friends who will take her and her entourage for a few weeks. A split hive needs to be separated for a while so that the splitees don’t return to the old hive.

I might also be able to avoid a swarm by letting Boudicca continue laying eggs in the topmost box. Right now I have a screen, called a queen excluder, between boxes 3 and 4. Box 4 was supposed to be for honey (for me), but I might have to wait until box 5. I’m waiting for an answer from my friend on that question.

With all the reports in my local bee group of swarming, I suppose it’s natural that I would also have one. I suppose it’s a sign of a hive’s success. The sign of a beekeeper’s success might be to recognize the swarm plans and take preemptive action. Wish me luck!

June 26: Making a Split
Yesterday I had three bee lovin’ friends (Julia, Joy & Harvey) come to help me split Boudicca’s hive. We confirmed that there was at least one capped queen cell (a swarm cell), so a split was needed. It was so hard for me not to stick my hand in to help. We located Boudicca, and put her in a fresh hive box with frames of brood, food and workers. Then we whisked her off to my friends Holly & Harvey’s garden for a “vacation”. The old hive remained with the queen cell(s). Hopefully I’ll get a new queen who successfully mates. It’s all so exciting!

The split simulates a swarm, and hopefully eliminates the urge to do it again. In the wild, the old queen takes off with a portion of the workers and supplies, and resettles elsewhere. This is why Boudicca was removed rather than the queen cells.

The theory behind moving the new split far away is that otherwise the workers may drift back to the old hive, leaving the queen and brood to die of neglect. The minimum distance recommended is two miles, because it is outside the bee’s typical range, so they won’t find their way back to the old hive. The bees reorient to the new location and forget their own home. After about three weeks, they can be moved back to the old bee yard, where they’ll (mostly) stay where they’re supposed to. Hopefully Boudicca’s crew won’t have filled too many more bee boxes by then, because carrying them all together could be a bother!

I have heard of effective ways to move them a shorter distance, but H & H seemed eager to bee-sit. Maybe next time I’ll try it the close-by method, and compare the results.

It is inconvenient to split a hive or have one swarm at this time of year. The big nectar flow is beginning, and a split hive has fewer workers to forage for nectar. This means less honey in August. From what I’ve read, the way I split the hive could salvage the honey crop. The old hive has most of the work force, which is now less interested in swarming, so they can get on with the business of making honey. The nurse bees will also have little to do in the hive after Boudicca’s brood matures and before a new queen begins laying. That means they can also get out and bring in the nectar. However, there will later be that little gap in the workforce because of the egglaying hiatus.

If a new queen fails in the old hive, I can recombine Boudicca & Co. and all should be happy. Strange how easily they can lose the urge to swarm. The nectar flow certainly helps. I suppose everyone is too busy to pack their bags & leave again.

I am fighting a small case of Boudicca separation anxiety. I have grown very attached to my first queen. I hope she’s happy in her holiday villa, and comes home refreshed.

Although I’ve not been laboring during my “medical leave”, I certainly haven’t had a chance to be completely indolent. I spent most of Tuesday on line, reading up on splitting hives and moving on to other subjects apain. Yesterday was hive-split day, which included a visit to Julia’s bee yard to help her locate a queen she feared she didn’t have (she did have). Then another friend, Ian, came over with scans of his gorgeous artwork for me to print out. The files were huge, and took ages to resize and print. But I had fun with it, and even printed a few refrigerator magnets for him (and me!). If I can ever stop typing here, I can plug in a movie and be lazy. ]]> selchie http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/selchie/54-more-bee-fun.html The move has begun http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/ginabridget/53-move-has-begun.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:07:49 GMT We've just completed on the house today :Yahoo!: Yesterday we moved out of our house in Preston and moved over to the mother-in-laws house in Huddersfield, it's all starting to feel a bit more real now that we're living out of our luggage. We're going to be about 15kg over on our baggage for the flight, but hopefully our scales are out in our favour and we'll remedy that when we can use the scales at the airport. We're going to have to do a quick re-pack and anything over the limit is going to the post office with the MIL with a blank cheque....

After the palaver with getting my adverts into the local paper I managed to sell all my furniture, made several trips to the charity shops and gave away everything else. Our boxes were shipped last Friday and despite getting three extra boxes that I didn't think we'd use we've filled the lot. So hopefully soon they'll be on their way to Whangarei.

Have been doing all the banking today, putting the majority of the proceeds from the house into a 2 year bond cos the exchange rate is crap at the moment, and hopefully at the end of the two years the property market in NZ will be ready for us.

Going to attempt to transfer some money to a NZ bank account in a few days, not sure how much I trust the company doing the transfer....but hopefully we'll be OK, there is loads of good feedback on them and they do seem to be very competent.

I can't believe that we're flying out to NZ in 6 days, crikey, time has started to fly :Yes: ]]> Ginabridget http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/ginabridget/53-move-has-begun.html Good news at last!!! http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/nickydwuk/52-good-news-last.html Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:59:47 GMT At last it seems our boiler has been fixed. The engineer turned up nice and early yesterday and was able to see where the boiler was leaking from. It wasn't from the part that he had come to replace but thankfully he had a spare on his van of the faulty part. He replaced both anyway. He then discovered that the gas pressure was dangerously low and had to call out the emergency gas board. They came and sorted it so now we have a boiler that doesn't leak and a gas cooker that is working on full power again. :Yahoo!:

I've realised that my luck, good fortune or whatever you call it seems to come in spurts - I get a block of good luck and then some bad. I must be due some good luck now :Declare: ]]> nickydwuk http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/nickydwuk/52-good-news-last.html Something else to rave about..... http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/welshgirl/51-something-else-rave-about.html Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:06:56 GMT Remember my blog about Balloons Over Waikato - well, I'm excited about something else now! Last night, we went to the local observatory in Hamilton http://www.has.org.nz/index.html (bit of a basic site, but you get the idea). Never been to anything like it before, so was just expecting to hear a short talk and maybe see the moon and a few stars through a telescope - how wrong was I?! It was one of the most fascinating things I have ever been to in my life - we saw Mars, Jupiter & Saturn (and its moons!), different constellations including the Southern Cross, galaxies.... it was mind-blowing! Never thought of myself as a star-gazer before, although I've always been interested in space and the planets, but I think we're going to become members and make a regular thing of it. Kids who join get to make their own telescope, it's loads of fun for them. I tell ya what, it is bizarre just how much is above you that you don't think about on a day to day basis, but is just fascinating! I'd highly recommend giving it a go, if there's an observatory local to you - you will not believe your eyes when you see Saturn, its rings and its moons as clear as a bell right in front of your eyes :smiley4: ]]> Welshgirl http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/welshgirl/51-something-else-rave-about.html And so it continues........ http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/nickydwuk/50-so-continues.html Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:54:28 GMT Our boiler engineer was supposed to come today to replace the part that they 'think' is causing the leak. Lo & behold I got a phone call at 9am to say he wouldn't be coming as his van had broken down - could he come next week instead :angry:. I was very calm and didn't raise my voice too much and agreed as I had no choice. OH just keeps saying forget the whole thing as we are leaving soon but I don't really want to hand over the house with a leaky boiler. I do have some pride :Titter:

Just before I got this call, the surveyor turned up unannounced!! The wet patch on the ceiling (dry now) hadn't been painted, my son was still in bed and the house was a tip. I told him we weren't expecting him - I have spent the last few days trying to chase up with the agent when the surveyor was coming - it appears the buyer arranged this with his mortgage company but no one thought to inform me. Just as well I was off work. It may have worked in our favour as he couldn't give the place a really thorough going over as we hadn't cleared area's properly. Just wait and see now. ]]> nickydwuk http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/nickydwuk/50-so-continues.html Going around in circles http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/zummerzet_lou/49-going-around-circles.html Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:38:23 GMT It was nearly a year ago that Jon and I made that momumental decision to try and emigrate to New Zealand. After lots of frantic surfing, reading and researching we had not only decided to "go for it", but also that we loved the idea of living in Christchurch.

We sent off for new passports, and submitted out EOI, all the while gathering as much information as we could. Our cunning plan was to buy a campervan, tour and travel New Zealand and somehow magically get a job, and arrive at our final resting place.

Fast forward a few months, and the CVs were flying out. First to take a bite was a company in Auckland. Unfortunately, we hadn't sold our house by then so they didn't offer me a job as I couldn't promise to arrive within their timescales. To be honest, was a bit of a relief as we'd always said we hated the thought of Auckland.

Next bite, was a company in Hamilton. Great we thought .. get a job, 1hr ish from Auckland, but quieter, and accessible to everywhere. It all seemed so perfect (even more so as there are some fabulous people living there). Only dampner to our plan .. didn't get the job.

So, here we are now in pocession of our PR, and as soon as one plan is hatched, we dismiss it and move on to the next.

Get a Bach in Hamilton, and travel to interviews from there ... hmmm, only that I now have nterested parties in Auckland, Wellington and a couple in Christchurch.

Buy a campervan and travel .. can we find a campervan? and won't it be freezing in August? and we'll need a HUGE one for our luggage, 2 kids and dog!

Rent as we go ..but go where, and when, and will they take a dog?

and now I have a couple of companies wishing to talk to me in auckland ... that place we'd always tried to avoid, but it may mean a job, money in our pocket.

So, here I am, still wistfully thinking about Christchurch. We still think this may be our best bet ... but what about Wellington? Here we go again! ]]> zummerzet_lou http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/zummerzet_lou/49-going-around-circles.html Continuing Saga http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/nickydwuk/48-continuing-saga.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:40:32 GMT Boiler still leaking. Engineer called out again!!!! S*** law means that it stops leaking before he arrives. He can see where the water has been and thinks he knows the bit that needs replacing - REPLACING??? The boiler is 2 months old!!! :Angry_club: He needs to order the part and will make another appointment to install it. We are just getting used to things not working properly now that it is nothing new. The toilet has now sprung a leak and OH insists on trying to seal it himself - he knows absolutely nothing about plumbing so we may end up divorcing before we leave the UK :Head_banger: Boiler still leaking. Engineer called out again!!!! S*** law means that it stops leaking before he arrives. He can see where the water has been and thinks he knows the bit that needs replacing - REPLACING??? The boiler is 2 months old!!! :Angry_club: He needs to order the part and will make another appointment to install it.

We are just getting used to things not working properly now that it is nothing new. The toilet has now sprung a leak and OH insists on trying to seal it himself - he knows absolutely nothing about plumbing so we may end up divorcing before we leave the UK :Head_banger: ]]> nickydwuk http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/nickydwuk/48-continuing-saga.html Nothing is ever easy http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/ginabridget/47-nothing-ever-easy.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:30:35 GMT I've been trying to sell our furniture and other worldly belongings over the last week or so. I thought I was really prepared cos I emailed the local paper and got the lead-times for insertion of adverts, so was quite confident about getting my ads into last weeks paper, did it happen - NO. Apparently they had problems opening the photos for the ads, they let me know about these problems after the paper had gone to print. I took a deep breath and re-sent the photos and prepared myself for an onslaught of phone calls today. I've just got the paper had a look through and imagine my surprise when our ads once again had not made an appearance. I've rung the paper and spoken to them, they tried to claim that I'd never sent adverts in :Angry_club: so I calmly talked them through the email correspondence I've had with them including dates and time of emails and their replies to them....and they finish up by saying 'well we can only have so many ads in each week and yours didn't make it' :angry:. So I've lodged a formal complaint, apparently the first one they've ever received because nobody in the history of the planet has ever been unhappy with their service.

You know I really feel better just getting that out of my system. I'm going to have to go round all the supermarkets and fill in those little placard-thingees for items for sale. If in doubt I'll give it all to charity.

My boxes from the shippers were supposed to arrive yesterday along with an email supplying all the forms I need to fill in. The boxes didn't arrive and neither did the forms....have rung them and now the boxes are arriving on Friday and the email has been sent, albeit with my stuff apparently going from the UK to the USA??? So another phone call to them and I'm not at all sure that they'll pick the boxes up on the first attempt when we're leaving, so will need to get them collected a few days before we go.

The goods news is that the holiday-let I've been trying to arrange in NZ has finally been confirmed and the deposit is being paid on that this weekend.

Have failed to get double luggage allowance with Singapore Airlines because my hubby's visa doesn't state that he can stay in NZ indefinitely, it's a bloody Resident Visa, he's hardly going to use it just for the holiday is he! So now we're limited to 20kg each for me and the kids (cos we're using kiwi passports) and 25kg for my hubby (he gets the extra 5kg cos he's got a visa). So that's more stuff to go in the boxes that may or may-not be collected or even be going to NZ.

I've started to make all the phone calls canceling things like Child Benefit and Tax Credits, what a nightmare it is trying to speak to a real person in those places. Have got all the change of address forms for the bank accounts that we're keeping here, so I seem to be making some headway on moving down the endless list of things to do before we go.

I've arranged a big family dinner for 2 weeks before we leave, I'm not sure whether I'm looking forward to that or not. I really want to see everyone again and we always have a brilliant time, but not too sure about it being our last extended family dinner, our UK family at any rate.

Well I think that's enough of a whinge from me. Hopefully next time I write something here it can be some exciting news :Yes: ]]> Ginabridget http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/ginabridget/47-nothing-ever-easy.html Summer in the Arabian Gulf http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/motherbear/46-summer-arabian-gulf.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:27:51 GMT We are now hitting the height of the Omani summer. It isn’t particularly cold at any time of the year here, but the summer excels itself it bringing discomfort and a change of lifestyle that sees many people leaving for cooler climes or, for those who dare to or have to stay, taking up an indoor-based existence. In June, July and August there is a dramatic increase in humidity that sees us dripping wet within minutes of stepping outside . If we get a shift in the wind which takes the humidity away for the odd day or two, the temperatures then shoot up to around 50C. The excessive humidity (up to 95%) is partly caused by the start of the monsoon season in the south of Oman and also in India which isn’t that far away, so we’re hemmed in on 2 sides by hot, wet air. On days when the humidity is very high and there isn't much breeze, it’s difficult to breathe because the air is saturated with moisture and there is a particular smell that alerts us, as soon as we open the door, that it’s going to be a particularly bad day. Clothing becomes wet and sticks to us even when we’re inactive and, if we’re reckless enough to sit outside on, say, a plastic or wooden chair, that’s where WBS (Wet Bum Syndrome) comes into play. I think most of us have sported a dark, wet patch on our shorts, trousers or skirts at some time, but it’s such a common phenomenon that, luckily, no one takes any notice. On high humidity days, going outside after being in the a/c, our sunglasses steam up immediately which can be quite dangerous if we don’t either quickly wipe or remove them . Several times I’ve come out of a supermarket and fogged up just as I was teetering at the top of some steps. ]]> MotherBear http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/motherbear/46-summer-arabian-gulf.html New Chat Room http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/taffy/44-new-chat-room.html Fri, 30 May 2008 11:18:56 GMT The new chatroom has finally been installed! Hopefully we can all join in now on radio shows etc :smiley4: The new chatroom has finally been installed! Hopefully we can all join in now on radio shows etc :smiley4: ]]> Taffy http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/taffy/44-new-chat-room.html Bees Week 3 - Photos 3 http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/selchie/42-bees-week-3-photos-3.html Mon, 19 May 2008 01:33:22 GMT Just a few more piccies. Just a few more piccies.
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]]> selchie http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/selchie/42-bees-week-3-photos-3.html Bees Week 3 - Photos 2 http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/selchie/41-bees-week-3-photos-2.html Mon, 19 May 2008 01:31:32 GMT More bee excitement. More bee excitement.
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]]> selchie http://www.movetonz.org/forum/blogs/selchie/41-bees-week-3-photos-2.html