[George&Dave]

So Ive got medical Supplies, Cooking pans, Batteries......Sports gear?

Anything else?

[marcia]

Chocolate! Proper cadburys!! :D

[PeteS]

Washing machine, dishwasher, tumble drier.

[Andy-Dee]

Radiators

[Derv]

Several years' supply of underwear from M&S.

[WellyBrit]

Molton Brown smellies.

Clarks shoes for kids, in as many sizes and styles as possible - any you don't use you can sell on trademe for a huge profit!

Steve

[peebles16]

Molton Brown smellies.

Clarks shoes for kids, in as many sizes and styles as possible - any you don't use you can sell on trademe for a huge profit!

Steve


Yep if you've got kids bring decent shoes I've just spent $90 dollars buying new ones for our nearly 4 year old and could only find his width size in one tiny shop in Christchurch :roll Also for me I would have brought more clothes for the kids too as quality not great here in NZ and my boys seem to be growing at some rate :yes

Karenx

[pinkpiggy]

Several years' supply of underwear from M&S.

Have to agree - can't seem to find any decent underwear at reasonable prices here. :no

[Kirst&Kev]

Washing machine, dishwasher, tumble drier.

Are you serious?? I just sold our washer/dryer and fridge/freezer to the buyers of our house...:(

Does NZ have IKEA yet? Or just the Warehouse still? When I used to live there (10 yrs ago) the Warehouse was just full of cheap and tacky stuff...is it better now? I am an IKEA fan to give you an idea of the level of 'quality' I am looking for!!

[IanW99]

Are you serious?? I just sold our washer/dryer and fridge/freezer to the buyers of our house...:(

Does NZ have IKEA yet? Or just the Warehouse still? When I used to live there (10 yrs ago) the Warehouse was just full of cheap and tacky stuff...is it better now? I am an IKEA fan to give you an idea of the level of 'quality' I am looking for!!

Depends on the type of washer or dryer you want in NZ, there are plenty of top loaders for instance but not many front loaders. For dryers there aren't many condenser dryers. So this a) reduces your choices and b) means that they cost more than the equivalent in the UK.

There is still no IKEA in NZ, and yes much of the Warehouse still has a lot of tacky stuff in it, can't comment on if it has improved?

Ian

[JandM]

much of the Warehouse still has a lot of tacky stuff in itYes, but there are some good things to be had if you keep your eyes open. (Depends what you're looking for at any particular time, of course.)

[Kirst&Kev]

I'm a bit confused regarding buying new goods to bring to NZ. If they are still in their packaging, will we have to pay GST upon arriving in NZ? And if so, should we take it out of the packaging and have our shipping co pack it in their packaging so it looks as though it's not new?
All I'm talking about is an office desk, chair, two bookcases from IKEA and a new set of pots and pans.
Sorry if I am being dense with this! :exit

[AndyR]

Several years' supply of underwear from M&S.

haha not likely! I went in the other day and they have some weird double overlaid waistbanded rubbish on them! refuse to buy them!

[wwwdot]

I am an IKEA fan to give you an idea of the level of 'quality' I am looking for!!

We just visited IKEA to buy lots of nice clothes hangers (it just looks so nice when all the hangers are the same...:roll) and cheap wine/champagne/cocktail and cognac glasses (oooh, just need a special reason to spend 100 GBP on XO cognac:nice1).

The glasses seem good value and good value is just what I need considering the rate I keep breaking them (errr, why can't dishwasher makers put in wine glass racks or something...:uhoh)

[nippa&pippa]

I'm a bit confused regarding buying new goods to bring to NZ. If they are still in their packaging, will we have to pay GST upon arriving in NZ? And if so, should we take it out of the packaging and have our shipping co pack it in their packaging so it looks as though it's not new?
All I'm talking about is an office desk, chair, two bookcases from IKEA and a new set of pots and pans.
Sorry if I am being dense with this! :exit

Read this ;) and look at my post and peebles16's to get ideas as well as others
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19090

[Kirst&Kev]

Read this ;) and look at my post and peebles16's to get ideas as well as others
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19090

Ah! Right ok thank you for that (cough).

:exit

[peebles16]

We brought duvets too - lot of them :) The quality here in NZ just doesn't do it for me not heavy enough for NZ winters IMO and they are expensive :yes

Karenx

[JandM]

We brought duvets too - lot of them :) The quality here in NZ just doesn't do it for me not heavy enough for NZ winters IMO and they are expensive :yes

Karenx

When I first saw a kiwi duvet, I thought it had somehow got taken out of its proper casing!

When staying with our Kiwi relatives by marriage, we were surprised to find that they all make up the beds with a top sheet as well as a duvet in its cover, which feels very different, and heavier. (I don't like it as much as having the duvet 'free' so it will tuck round you if you want.)

[thewoodies]

oh no mum does that still (its a 70s thing! i think) the sheet gets all crumpled - horrible

[marcia]

I don't have a sheet under the duvet in summer, but in Winter (cos no central heating!!!!!!!) I have a sheet, a blanket, the duvet, then a mink effect 'jobby' on top!! And i still need a hottie to warm my feet up before I can get to sleep!!


sorry a bit off topic there! :o

[JandM]

I don't have a sheet under the duvet in summer, but in Winter (cos no central heating!!!!!!!) I have a sheet, a blanket, the duvet, then a mink effect 'jobby' on top!! And i still need a hottie to warm my feet up before I can get to sleep!!


sorry a bit off topic there! :oVery understandable - you sound like me when we visited last August!

its a 70s thing! i thinkThe 70s is when we got our first duvets in the UK, which I wanted after I'd slept under them in Germany, but I never came across the idea of putting a sheet with them. Maybe in a different part of the UK?

[YouMeAndThree]

Very understandable - you sound like me when we visited last August!

The 70s is when we got our first duvets in the UK, which I wanted after I'd slept under them in Germany, but I never came across the idea of putting a sheet with them. Maybe in a different part of the UK?

My Mum does it too! We live down south, does that make a difference? I got my first new bed (always hand-me-downs before) and duvet in 1975 :D. I think I've still got my duvet cover somewhere ......... along with matching valance, bottom sheet and top sheet! :laugh

Lx

[JandM]

We live down south, does that make a difference?No, it's not that - I'm only in Dorset.:D

[KerryS]

I've always made the bed with a top sheet under the duvet as well. Means you can throw off the duvet in summer and just sleep in under the sheet.
My duvet was purchased here, and it's the warmest one I've ever had - it's made by Fairydown and is filled with goose down. It's so cosy and warm I haven't even used the electric blanket this year!

[JandM]

And where were you from before, Kerry? (Still wondering about the [possible] great UK regional difference of sheet or not.)

[KerryS]

And where were you from before, Kerry? (Still wondering about the [possible] great UK regional difference of sheet or not.)

London and Hampshire. So not too far from Dorset either.

[sweet pea]

London and Hampshire. So not too far from Dorset either.


we never had sheets under the quilt and were from manchester but when my brother got married we stayed at his wifes parents ( in colchester) and they had sheets, i think it may be a south thing, but she was a nurse so im thinking it may be nurses that are used to making hospital beds up as all the hospitals have sheets underneath

[Joolzr]

My mum does the top sheet thing too and she is in Northumberland. I find it annoying that they only seem to sell sheet sets here so you cant just buy a fitted sheet- unless I've missed a shop? Also the duvet covers often seem to be silky material, not cotton which I suspect is cos of the top sheet thing? Anyone any ideas on this?

Julie

[Jo Jo]

I bought some lovely fitted sheets from nest (http://www.nest.co.nz/Default.aspx): gorgeous cotton, with good thread count, and the price compared very favourably with the UK. I've also seen that Farmers have good, high quality bedlinen (400 thread count), and you can buy fitted sheets on their own there, too.

As an aside, I brought quite a lot of good quality bed linen with me from the UK, but I think there is a lot of good quality bed linen here at much better prices. One thing I've noticed is that fitted sheets seem to be much more generously proportioned here - they seem to be quite a bit deeper than the UK equivalents. I have a UK king size bed, and an NZ queen size bed, which are roughly the same size (I think the NZ queen size might be a couple of centimetres wider, but the depth of the mattresses is the same). I find that my UK king size sheets ride up at the sides on both beds, but the NZ queen size sheets tuck underneath the mattresses on both beds. Sorry, I've digressed....

[Pollyanna]

Several years' supply of underwear from M&S.

Defnitely do this! I would also reccommend bringing -

10 years worth of Boots merchandise if you like that sort of thing.

Bisto granules - there are no decent equivalents here.

Cadburys!

Books - they're a lot more expensive here.

I would also buy lots of stuff from Ikea, there doesn't really seem to be anywhere to get cheap furniture.

:raebanana

[Jo Jo]

One thing I wish I'd stocked up on before coming here is jeans. If you there is a style of jeans that you really like, stock up on them.

[Caroline and Dave]

Hand towels.

The hand towels over here are really small so we stocked up on hand towels in our container but we can't access them until the house is finished. We bought one over in our suitcase and it is considerably larger than the NZ ones.

[Jacqi B]

Chocolate! Proper cadburys!! :D
Can you do that? what other foodstuffs are you allowed to take in? Can you put, for example, tea bags and the like in withthe stuff you are shipping out? I thought NZ were 'funny' about letting you take food in?

[KerryS]

Can you do that? what other foodstuffs are you allowed to take in? Can you put, for example, tea bags and the like in withthe stuff you are shipping out? I thought NZ were 'funny' about letting you take food in?

You can bring foodstuffs as long as they are declared and as long as they meet MAF regulations - basically, no honey, no dairy, no meat, no fruit, no veg. Manufactured and processed food is generally ok. Lollies, tea bags etc are fine, but you must declare them or risk a fine.

[Jo Jo]

Lollies, tea bags etc are fine,

Do you mean sweets, Kerry? You've been here too long... :laugh

[KerryS]

Do you mean sweets, Kerry? You've been here too long... :laugh

Oops - I didn't even notice I'd done that. It's automatic on some words now - jandal, chilly bin (although I don't even know the English word for that as I never had one there)...

[Jacqi B]

Oops - I didn't even notice I'd done that. It's automatic on some words now - jandal, chilly bin (although I don't even know the English word for that as I never had one there)...
I think we just call them coolbags or coolboxes (depending on whether they are soft or hard sided).

The first time I heard the word chillybin was when I was staying with my Kiwi brother on my first trip to NZ. We were getting ready for a day out and he said something about the chillybin. I looked puzzled and said I didn't know what that was.
He said "oh, you call them Eskies".
"Do we?" I asked "what's an Eskie?"
He said "well that's what the Aussies call them, I thought you did as well"
then he showed me a coolbox.

[nippa&pippa]

One thing I wish I'd stocked up on before coming here is jeans. If you there is a style of jeans that you really like, stock up on them.

agree :yes I am struggling to find jean in my size...32 plus inches long for women :D I managed to find few but they are over $200 each :exit so forgot it!

I have been tried to get jeans from NEXT sale via internet but failed :wah

[Jacqi B]

So Ive got medical Supplies, Cooking pans, Batteries......Sports gear?

Anything else?
just going back through this thread so I can make a list for myself.
Batteries? why? are they different in NZ or just expensive?
what is the availability of rechargables?