Here at Last

[FingersCrossed]

Are we there yet?.........Hooray we're here!!

Everything seems to happened sooo fast!

Flew Emirates (great airline) got 40kgs weight allowance each and made full use of it. Flew from Glasgow to Dubai, got courtesy family room overnighti in Dubai then flew from there to Melbourne to re-fuel then off to Auckland. We stayed 1 night in Auckland and hired a car (well 7-seat thingy) to drive to Tauranga. Mike had never driven an automatic and nearly gave us all whiplash when he hit the brakes [smiley=icon_lol.gif]

Stayed in Bennets Motor Inn in Tauranga which was lovely, cheap, clean and friendly our rooms had its own mineral spa pool in it so was a hard job coaxing the 3 kids out of it ! We toured about a few rentals and have finally settled on a lovely bach about 20k's outside Tauranga called Omokoroa, it's stunning! Have registered kids in school and they start next week. School has a huge adventure playground and a swimming pool so the kids are made up.

The worst part was saying goodbye to our loved ones, absolutely heart wrenching but the good thing is that web-cams and cheap phone calls to the UK make things easier.

Early days but we are pigs in muck, Tauranga is beautiful, Omokoroa is stunning! Have been in touch with Maggiemoo and that has been fab as you do feel strange being a bit of a 'billy no mates'.

Lots of things making me laugh, on tv adverts kiwi's say 'dub dub dub' instead of www when quoting websites and my 12 yr old and I got lots of strange looks outside our local supermarket Countdown as we were rolling about laughing at a sign saying 'trundler park' for trolleys!! Sheesh, need to get out more............

Getting our broadband in soon, can't wait as this dial up is frustrating but will be in touch.
Carolynne

[SteveyC]

heeeyyy cool post. Good to hear you've settled so fast. Look forward to hearing more.

[MotherBear]

You sound wonderful, Fingerscrossed. So pleased that your first impressions are such good ones and that you've met up with Maggie. Like Stevey, I'm looking forward to hearing more from you. *Good luck with the rest of it.

[Maggiemoo]

Yep, they're settling in well - can't believe how much they've achieved in such a short space of time, they really hit the ground running [smiley=icon_lol.gif]

As Carolynne said it's nice to know someone else here - think the coffee and cake shops of Tauranga and the Mount will be getting good business from us over the next few months!! [smiley=icon_lol.gif] All I need to do is get both the kids in childcare!!

Maggie x

[DawnMarron]

Good to know all is going well. Tell y' what though, I know we're heading for Welly but with all this talk of how fantastic Tauranga is I'm really tempted to give it a go!

[Debd]

All the best to Carolynne and family, sounds exciting!!
Debra

[FingersCrossed]

Hi again folks!

Met up with Maggiemoo the other day at Bayfair shopping mall over at the Mount, we had a real giggle and a bit of retail therapy (well I helped Mags spend her money he he). The shops are totally different from the UK and it's wierd not seeing all the familiar shops, but kinda nice too!

We took a run in the car to Hamilton yesterday, took bleedin ages! Even I started joining in the kids cries of 'are we there yet......I need a weewee!' The drive was stunning though! Hamilton is pretty huge in comparison to Tauranga and since it was drizzling rain, I did what any girlie would do..........went shopping!! Mike took the girls to see 'Cars' as a treat as they have been so good with all the upheaval recently.

I liked Cambridge, it had a bit more of a rural feel, me being a country lass!

Meeting the moos for lunch today in town, really looking forward to it.
Dawn, come to Tauranga, you won't be dissapointed, Maggie and I need more pals to coffee with!! I've posted a couple of pics of my girls on Mount Maunganui, even on a chilly winters day you can see how lovely it is.

We've bought a couple of cars now, Mike has a Nissan 4x4 diesel thingy and I have a Honda Odyssey 7 seat, ideal for ferrying my little grots about! Kids start school and kindy tomorrow and Mike starts his new job so perhaps tomorrow I'll start to feel like we're no longer on holiday!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings, I have 3 little questions before I close......

1.Why do things look near on the map but when ya drive them they are totally ages away?

2. Does the water really swirl the other way when going down't plughole (keep looking but not convinced)! ;)

3. What the hell are those dead furry things on the roadside, they certainly aint rabbits, foxes or pheasants
ps. note to self to get a life

Carolynne

[Welshgirl]

Hi Carolynne,

1. Don't know but it's not fair
2. I believe it's true, I've wasted much of my life watching the water go down too and I'm convinced it does go down the opposite way!
3. Possibly possums?......

HTH :icon_biggrin:

[Glenda]

3. What the hell are those dead furry things on the roadside, they certainly aint rabbits, foxes or pheasants

If you don't know what they are, you'll have to pull up and have a good look at one. Even though there are thousands of the beggars, it will probably be the only time you will see one - dead alongside the road. (For those who really don't know what we are talking about ... possums!).

BTW, great to hear how much you are enjoying life.

[Pulsarblu]

If you don't know what they are, you'll have to pull up and have a good look at one. ? ?[smiley=icon_eek.gif] [smiley=icon_wink.gif] ? Even though there are thousands of the beggars, it will probably be the only time you will see one - dead alongside the road. ?(For those who really don't know what we are talking about ... possums!).

BTW, great to hear how much you are enjoying life.

[smiley=icon_biggrin.gif]

The possum is high on cuteness, and equally high in nuisance value. Australian brush tailed possum was introduced into New Zealand in 1837 to establish a fur trade.

In its native land the possum is up against dingoes, bush fires and less palatable vegetation, but in New Zealand conditions are so favourable it often breeds twice in one year. It is estimated that the New Zealand possum population now tops 70 million and chomps its way through seven million tonnes of vegetation per year.

Copied from the Department of Conservatioin website



Fossil opossum

The remains of this opossum were preserved in the asphalt of a road surface near Taupo in 1992. Geologists cut out the section of road and it is now on display at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. Tar is an effective preservative, and spectacular fossils have been pulled out of tar pits around the world. This 1992 fossil illustrates that fossils are not only relics of the distant past but are forming all the time.