what to take?

[Rooikoppie]

We are planning on making the move to New Zealand from London and wondered if houses had built in cupboards or whether they were free standing? Do we take our tent or not? Do houses for sale/rent come with the stove as standard or do you have to supply your own? What white goods are expensive to buy in New Zealand? We have a leather lounge suite - is this going to be worth bringing or just too expensive to bother? What did other people take that proved to be absolutely useless in the end? I also have a one year old baby so what is baby equipment like in New Zeland? Sorry about all the questions, but as one thing comes to mind so does half a dozen others!

[MotherBear]

Hi Rooikoopie , that sounds rather like a Dutch South African name to me. :wink:

Anyway, let's get stuck into your questions......

We are planning on making the move to New Zealand from London and wondered if houses had built in cupboards or whether they were free standing?
A lot of houses appear to have built-in cupboards. What state they will be in is another matter, but if the house isn’t ancient or a doer-upper, you stand a good chance of some decent ones. I can't help but wonder if the cupboards are deliberately built-in due to the risk of free-standing wardrobes toppling over during an earthquake .

Do we take our tent or not?
If you’re shipping a container anyway and the tent can be thoroughly cleaned to pass MAF inspection, I’d say take it. Plenty of opportunities to go camping in NZ and enjoy the great outdoors but, if you then decide you don’t want to go any more, you could always sell it. I’m sure someone would snatch it off you.

Do houses for sale/rent come with the stove as standard or do you have to supply your own?
In my limited experience, they usually come as standard but, again, I wouldn’t like to comment on their condition. We were lucky with the one in the house we bought as it was clean and in good working order, despite being fairly old. Many kitchens also come complete with dishwasher, too.

What white goods are expensive to buy in New Zealand?
They aren’t cheap unless you buy questionable quality goods, but you can bargain with shopkeepers to get a special deal if you buy several items at the same time. Also look out for frequent sales where you can pick up some bargains. If you’re prepared to be patient and do the leg work searching for special offers you’ll probably do OK out of it.

We have a leather lounge suite - is this going to be worth bringing or just too expensive to bother?
As before, if you’re using a container to ship your stuff and the suite is in good condition, bring it by all means. You might as well fill the container.

What did other people take that proved to be absolutely useless in the end?
Glenda started a thread a while ago about shipping useless items . Basically I think there is such a good secondhand market in NZ that, if you have space in your container, even if some items turn out to be ‘surplus to requirement’ when you get there, there will always be someone who will buy them off you.

I also have a one year old baby so what is baby equipment like in New Zeland?
I’ll pass on this one, being well past my child-rearing days. Hopefully some of the other younger members can assist with relevant info.

Sorry about all the questions, but as one thing comes to mind so does half a dozen others!
Don’t worry about asking whatever comes into your head. If folks didn’t ask questions, there would be little point in running the forum . Speaking of which, a big to MoveToNZ. Great to see you here .

[Rooikoppie]

Thanks mother bear.

Yes, you are right it is a south african name. I am south african living in London for the past 12 years and getting fed up with the lifestyle - hence the change. I used to have red hair but that has gone really dark due to the lack of sunlight here!

My husband and I decided to do some travelling in 1994 and ended up staying and having my first child. I now have three gorgeous girls and we hope to bring them to New Zealand to join my sister and her family when they emigrate from south africa in July.

Dont suppose you know whats involved in cleaning a tent and what the costs are? Might not be worth it if its going to cost a lot.

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Rooikoppie

Yes, you are right it is a south african name. I used to have red hair but that has gone really dark due to the lack of sunlight here!

Ah, of course, Rooikoopie - red head? I used to do a lot of charity work with Dutch women and thought I could see something in that name.

Originally Posted by Rooikoppie

Dont suppose you know whats involved in cleaning a tent and what the costs are? Might not be worth it if its going to cost a lot.

Really you just need to make sure there's no soil or bits of plant etc. sticking to the tent. MAF want to see that there's nothing on there that would be likely to introduce nasties into NZ, which would be detrimental to the existing flora and fauna of the country. Some people steam clean items, others just wash them if they aren't that dirty. Anything that has been in contact with the great outdoors needs to be treated in this way.

[LilAmy]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

Just on another topic before I get going, where in SA did you live? I spent my younger years in Natal, Pietermaritsburg (cant spell it) for 7 yrs before moving to Scotland then to NZ!! Loads of South Africans in NZ, we've met quite a few actually.

Right onto the tent saga. Friends of ours brought their 4man tent across, cleaned it all up spik 'n' span and it still got taken by MAF to get cleaned. When they worked out the price of MAF cleaning it, it would have been cheaper to eBay the tent before coming across and then buying a brand new one here.

You will use a tent loads here as there are so many lovely places to camp out in. We recently went to a beach place near Opotiki in BOP and camped in a free campsite. No loos, no lights just back to the wilderness, it was great!!

As for rentals, most places usually have the stove, fridge and sometimes a washingmachine if you are going unfurnished for renting otherwise fully furnished include all three but FF are rare to come by in NZ as most people rent out their homes as unfurnished.

Good luck with everything!

[Taffy]

Hi,

MAF will insist on the tent being cleaned again when you get here, no matter what you do to it! They are very particular about camping gear.

So, I guess value of the tent would be the deciding factor!!

Good luck

[LilAmy]

Hi,

Just on the tent thing again, do they clean your tent as well if you fly in from Oz? Stu and I are thinking of buying a tent when we get back from our UK trip in the UK and taking it over to Oz as well and returning with it after our stint there but dont want to be hit with the MAF cost will they want it cleaned if we're just coming from Oz?

[Taffy]

Hi,

Yes, it would have the same treatment from Oz too. Anything is a biosecurity risk from abroad.

Makes you wonder why they let me in, but thats another story....

[Welshgirl]

Originally Posted by Taffy

Makes you wonder why they let me in, but thats another story....

That's you sleeping on the couch then Taffy, you biosecurity risk you.....

[MotherBear]

Ex...ter...min...ate, ex...ter...min..ate.