[upnorthkyosa]

Hi Everyone

My wife and I have been thinking about living overseas for as long as we've been married. Our plans were put on hold when we had kids, but during that time we've done alot of research on places we want to go. Throughout all of this time, New Zealand has always been at the top of our list. As of now, we have reseached and explored thousands of sites on the net and plenty of stuff in print. Our amazon.com bill is huge!

And now, we are finally ready for our exploratory trip. We are planning to come over in August and check things out. Our preliminary itinerary is basically going to take us through most of the basic urban areas in NZ...we are teachers and this is most likely where we will find work. As of now, as far as transportation goes, we are looking at getting the NZ rail pass and touring the country that way. Although, we are still exploring the backpacking and driving options.

With that being said, I'd like to ask a favor of this community. Nicole and I really want to meet people who live there and people who moved there. We would love to get your perspective of things...especially regarding education...in order to really try and sample the culture of the place in which we are committing to relocate. If anyone can help us out in that regard, we would love it.

This trip isn't totally about work, however. We are going over to play also and we are also planning to take in the sites as we go. And since I'm an avid fisherman, I'm thinking I may even book a charter on Lake Tapau...not sure yet.

The bottom line is that WE ARE COMING OVER IN AUGUST AND WE ARE SO EXCITED TO THIS PLACE THAT SOUNDS SO WONDERFUL!!!

Six months seems like such a long time!

[tigerlily]

Congrats on the trip! Sounds like it will be lots of fun. You might not get to see everything if you are only doing trains, but the scenery will be nice on the way! Not sure if you are looking at doing S. Island too- but I found the train stop in Welly and then ferry, which meets the train at Picton to all be done well, and it's just a matter of walking across a street as I remember.

[upnorthkyosa]

As we plan for our trip, we are looking at the fact that nothing is set in stone right now. Our plan is to sample of some of NZ's adventures and really look deeper at some of the places that we may end up living...being teachers. With that being said, alot of our focus is going to be on the top three cities in terms of population and we will probably just pass through many of the rural areas. This is too bad, because I love the small country towns, I lived in one for a time, and I would love to meet people there too. It's just a time issue. My parents have agreed to take our children for two weeks while we go and do this and I just don't want to push it any longer then that.

Anyway, we are really looking to meet people who have lived in NZ or who have moved there. With that in mind, we are looking to stay at homestays and maybe even a farmstay. If you have any recommendations, let us know. Or if any of you would like to hook up for an afternoon to do something, let us know.

I know its the middle of winter, but there still has to be some cool stuff to do...

[Babette & Andy]

Hi John & Nicole
Exciting times ahead for you! Where to go, what to see, so much to see and do. Agree going to the Taupo area is a must. We went for a week at the beginning of February and were blown away by it's beauty. But then again, whereever you go, North or South, East or West you will have 'similar' amazing areas to explore.

I'd say, try not to do it all in your first trip. With you planning to move over this way, there will be plenty of other occasions to explore different areas. You do need to do some research to areas you may want to live in. I believe there is a shortage of teachers in most areas of NZ. Checking the various job sites would give you an indication of this.

Should you be around AKL for a bit, more than happy to meet up, maybe with a larger group of AKL forummembers. Also, depending on what age group you guys teach, I have 3 British & 1 Kiwi friend in the teaching profession. (3 at primary & 1 at intermediate level).

Enjoy the planning!

Babette

[Andy-Dee]

There are a number of forumites doing recce's in March / April - will happily post my experiences good and bad on our return.

[Debbie P.]

I know its the middle of winter, but there still has to be some cool stuff to do...

We went in August, and although there were a few rain sodden days, it didn't stop us from doing lots of outdoor things. Just make sure you take a thick coat if you go to the SI, unlike me :wah Auckland and Napier were t-shirt weather, Taupo & Rotorua damp and cold, Welly never stopped raining, Nelson varied between sunny and tipping down hour by hour... I think you get the picture!