G'day from New Plymouth!

[Alison]

Well we are finally back online after discovering our shipping goods havent even left England yet (Grrrr) we gave in and bought a laptop and luckily for us where we are staying our hosts have wireless broadband which they are happy for us to use.

Well we are into our 4th week in New Zealand and have to say am enjoying it and can really see this country becoming 'home'. We have bought a house but cannot move in till the end of August as the lady we are buying it from (an english couple hehe) is heavily pregnant and has problems moving too much do to an issue with her pregnancy so is due to have a C section 20th August and they just need a bit more time to pack up and sort things out, so as we really liked the house we thought what the heck, so only 4 weeks to go today wheee!!!!

OH started his job last week and is enjoying it, totally different from what he used to do, so it is a big learning curve but that is good as it gets the brain working again after 18 years in the same job hehe. Son started school this week and after being ever so nervous the first day he is enjoying it and starting to settle in well, so I am hopeful that given a few weeks he will be fine and be making friends. I am the bored one at the mo as with 4 weeks till we mover in I dont have much to do for now so am reading lots and now surfing the internet as well.

NP I am coming to feel at home in, the first week I just felt like I was walking round with a big sign on my back saying 'pom' but now I am finding my way around and getting used to the differences between UK and NZ. And as for the scenery round here WOW and just WOW, I mean of course we have the mountain which I still just stop and stare everytime I see it (which aint too often as is mainly covered in cloud at the moment ) and when we drove up to the visitor centre on a clear day we had it is just amazing! and the views are spectacular being able to see over to the central plateau and mt Ruapehu etc WOW!!!

Anyway I will post more but am happy to be here at last!

Take care all

Ali
x

[Glenda]

Hi Alison,

Great to hear from you, and that you are liking NZ!

You are in your fourth week in NZ and your container hasn't left the UK? That's a bit tough.

I was just wondering, as you are at a loose end, whether you have thought of asking the woman at the house you are buying if she could do with some help packing/cleaning. Not only could it prevent any more delays but she could be a mine of information about the area, and a useful person to know. 'Collecting' people/contacts is a useful way to help settling down. I'm sure she would remember what it is like being a newcomer to NZ. I would not even think of suggesting such a thing in the UK, but have only a slight hesitation in doing so here. Of course, you know the situation better than me!

Your views sound great. Have never been to New Plymouth but hope to get an Air New Zealand - grabaseat one day for a look around.

[MotherBear]

Good grief, Alison. I didn't realise you'd already made the move, although I had missed you on here. I've obviously not been paying enough attention in class.

Pleased to hear all is well with you in NP, apart from the shipping, which is extremely annoying. I don't think we've got anyone else in that neck of the woods so I'm sure we'll appreciate any information on the area.

Congratulations on buying the house. You'll feel much more settled when you're in your own place with your own things around you. I just hope they can get that shipping shifted pretty quickly.

Keep in touch.

[Welshgirl]

Blimey Alison, I didn't realise you were here already either

Welcome to Aotearoa in any case, and I hope your shipping problem resolves itself soon

Glad you are loving it and we look forward to hearing more of your adventures

P.S. Good idea from Glenda there, get into a bit of Kiwi community spirit!

[ebianca]

Good to hear you arrived safely and have settled in well. How annoying about the container though.

Great new's about finding a house! Shame that you have to wait to move in though but i'm sure it will fly by with all the exploring that needs to be done.

Anyway keep us informed about your adventures.

Beth

[KiwiHopeful]

What a month July turned out to be for M2NZ members ... congrats, Allison. Good luck getting settled in.

[Alison]

Doh, would you believe it, we got our laptop and had internet access for a couple of days and then where we were staying lost their internet connection due to some workmen managing to muck it up hehe.

Just over 2 weeks to go now till the house is ours wheeeeeee. I visit Tara weekly as she is heavily pregnant and cant get out much so I go round for a cup of tea and a gossip and we have been round for dinner as well to meet her OH, and they are going to introduce us to some of their friends as well, the couple they bought the house of are still friends of theirs and took them under their wing when they where first in NZ and finding their way about.

My son is settling into school, he still has sad days when thinking about friends/family he has left behind but I am confident that given a few months he will feel well and truly settled, he already loves the kiwi way of kids not having to wear shoes at school hehe.

Here is a really freaky story, before we moved out we where told by my husbands family that my OH mothers, brothers, wife, sisters family had recently moved out to NZ in January, when asked where we where told Whalers gate which is a suburb of NP so we thought what a coincidence and where given their address and thought to look them up at some point. Anyway the first Sunday we where in NP we where out looking at open homes and where in one and talking to the real estate lady who mentioned that another english family where looking as well, that they had a new type house already but wanted to buy something older and do it up, 5 minutes later a family walk in and the lady says oh this is the family I was talking about. We got talking to them as you do and we started chatting and as they said things myself and my OH thought their circumstances sounded familiar and asked if they where related to Val and Eric (my OH aunt and uncle) and guess what! They where!!! Could you have believed it that of all the open homes in NP, of all the days and all the minutes in the day we happened to be in the exact same home as them!!! We where all totally gobsmacked and chatted till we where thrown out by the estate agent who had to go to another house hehe. We went round there for dinner that night and have kept in contact since and go round to visit etc ...... Anyway thats my silly story, just still amazes me when I think about it hehe and just wanted to share it with you guys

Ali
x

[MotherBear]

Great story, Ali. Lady Fate can be very helpful at times, cant she?

You seem to have a nice little group of friends building up there so that's a good start. Lovely to hear you're settling well.

Keep us posted.