Kerry and David
8th October 2008, 12:58 PM
We have been here four weeks today, can't believe it has gone so quickly.
When we first arrived we stayed in Orewa which we loved as there is plenty to do for all of us. However we prefered the Primary school in Red Beach (for when little un starts next year ) so moved in to a rental at Red Beach, which is still only a mile to Orewa, has sea views and is just a 10 minute walk to the beach.
The rental was one that my husband found before we arrived and although I didn't like it to begin with, it has grown on me.
When we took it over it was filthy dirty but we have got on top of that, we have also had some minor maintenance issues but the agent is sorting them.
We were very limited on rental choice because of having the dog and although we offered to pay higher deposits, the answer was still no!
I think it will be fine until we sell our UK house in hopefully 12 months time.
The dog arrived all safe and sound and settled so quickly. No sign of jetlag, she was ready for a walk along the beach within a couple of hours of arriving home!
We have enrolled our 11 year old in to school and he starts at Orewa College on Monday. The 16 year old doesn't want to go back to school over here as he had finished his GCSE before arriving he isn't keen to put a uniform back on. However he doesnt know what he wants to do work wise. Out of all of us he is struggling the most.
We have had some wonderful days out at the local National Parks - Mahurangi, Shakespear, Long Bay, Waitakere, the great thing is that it only costs us a picnic, no paying car parks! The views and walks really have been spectacular.
Have set up internet connection, phone lines, sky which was all easy and brought a car last week - a Nissan Tino which has six seats and a good boot for the dog. It was an interesting experience shopping for cars - some of the garages forecourts really were filled with a load of junk - scratches, dents etc etc, we soon got a feel for who we felt comfortable buying from!!
I'm getting used to having to shop around for the food shop - I'm so used to popping in to one store for it all. Over here I do the supermarket for the basics, the the fruit and veg shop and then the butchers.
What do I miss - friends and family of course! My clean, warm house and M&S foodhall (and my M&S discount card!)
BUT I love so much about NZ - the helpful people ( very laid back, sometimes a bit too much when trying to get things done!), the outdoor lifestyle, walks along the beach, the space and the weather hasn't been too bad either!
Looking forward to getting our stuff from the UK. It was packed up on the 14th August and won't get in to Auckland until the 10th November - was not impressed and have kicked up a bit of a fuss!
My next job is to set up a veggie patch in the garden.
Life is pretty good:)
When we first arrived we stayed in Orewa which we loved as there is plenty to do for all of us. However we prefered the Primary school in Red Beach (for when little un starts next year ) so moved in to a rental at Red Beach, which is still only a mile to Orewa, has sea views and is just a 10 minute walk to the beach.
The rental was one that my husband found before we arrived and although I didn't like it to begin with, it has grown on me.
When we took it over it was filthy dirty but we have got on top of that, we have also had some minor maintenance issues but the agent is sorting them.
We were very limited on rental choice because of having the dog and although we offered to pay higher deposits, the answer was still no!
I think it will be fine until we sell our UK house in hopefully 12 months time.
The dog arrived all safe and sound and settled so quickly. No sign of jetlag, she was ready for a walk along the beach within a couple of hours of arriving home!
We have enrolled our 11 year old in to school and he starts at Orewa College on Monday. The 16 year old doesn't want to go back to school over here as he had finished his GCSE before arriving he isn't keen to put a uniform back on. However he doesnt know what he wants to do work wise. Out of all of us he is struggling the most.
We have had some wonderful days out at the local National Parks - Mahurangi, Shakespear, Long Bay, Waitakere, the great thing is that it only costs us a picnic, no paying car parks! The views and walks really have been spectacular.
Have set up internet connection, phone lines, sky which was all easy and brought a car last week - a Nissan Tino which has six seats and a good boot for the dog. It was an interesting experience shopping for cars - some of the garages forecourts really were filled with a load of junk - scratches, dents etc etc, we soon got a feel for who we felt comfortable buying from!!
I'm getting used to having to shop around for the food shop - I'm so used to popping in to one store for it all. Over here I do the supermarket for the basics, the the fruit and veg shop and then the butchers.
What do I miss - friends and family of course! My clean, warm house and M&S foodhall (and my M&S discount card!)
BUT I love so much about NZ - the helpful people ( very laid back, sometimes a bit too much when trying to get things done!), the outdoor lifestyle, walks along the beach, the space and the weather hasn't been too bad either!
Looking forward to getting our stuff from the UK. It was packed up on the 14th August and won't get in to Auckland until the 10th November - was not impressed and have kicked up a bit of a fuss!
My next job is to set up a veggie patch in the garden.
Life is pretty good:)