[lindreth]

After the farewell tour which encompassed 4000 miles of driving, 11 different flights and 25 stops we have finally arrived in Christchurch. We landed on Tuesday afternoon and stayed at Veronica's hostel which I can highly recommend. Veronica and Pete are great hosts and a mine of helpful information.
Wednesday we bought a car, Thursday we found a rental property and moved in yesterday. Monday we have a fridge and washing machine being delivered, will get our NZ licenses and IRD numbers and on Tuesday our container gets delivered. We should have phone and internet by Tuesday too. Next thing will be to find jobs I guess.
So far we are loving Christchurch. Everyone we interact with has been so helpful. When setting up our landline with Telecom they scrolled through available numbers until an easily remembered one came up. Never would get that service back in the US. Car salesman was very helpful and we were able to haggle down the cost of the fridge and the washing machine.
Can't wait to get all our things on Tuesday. Living out of a backpack for 10 weeks loses it's appeal after a while!

Cheers

Gareth

[benandclare]

Welcome to Christchurch :nice1

[Arwen]

After the farewell tour which encompassed 4000 miles of driving, 11 different flights and 25 stops we have finally arrived in Christchurch. We landed on Tuesday afternoon and stayed at Veronica's hostel which I can highly recommend. Veronica and Pete are great hosts and a mine of helpful information.
Wednesday we bought a car, Thursday we found a rental property and moved in yesterday. Monday we have a fridge and washing machine being delivered, will get our NZ licenses and IRD numbers and on Tuesday our container gets delivered. We should have phone and internet by Tuesday too. Next thing will be to find jobs I guess.
So far we are loving Christchurch. Everyone we interact with has been so helpful. When setting up our landline with Telecom they scrolled through available numbers until an easily remembered one came up. Never would get that service back in the US. Car salesman was very helpful and we were able to haggle down the cost of the fridge and the washing machine.
Can't wait to get all our things on Tuesday. Living out of a backpack for 10 weeks loses it's appeal after a while!

Cheers

Gareth

A warm welcome to New Zealand. :clap

Any chance of you being able to sit down and take a deep breath at some stage??? Sounds like you have been running around like a 'blue bottomed fly'!! :laugh

Another Mr V in the making me thinks!!! :D

[NikT]

Kia Ora.

Welcome to New Zealand.:nice1

Nick.:cheers

[Scotty69]

Welcome to NZ.
Sounds as though everything is going well.:nice1

[M-Squared]

Welcome to Aotearoa! Now relax... :)

[JandM]

Good to hear you're safely and happily there! Now, all the best for all the rest.:nice1

[Kalla]

glad to hear you're enjoying it so far!

:clap

[victoria24]

welcome home brother..

[tea drinker]

Glad to hear you have arrived safe and well :)

[magcats]

Wonderful news! I hope you continue to post your first few weeks of living in NZ. Do you mind sharing what company you used to ship your container? Thanks!!

[veronica]

let us know how you both get on.

[lindreth]

Thanks all. Today was a little more relaxed. We even remembered to eat lunch today:p
Magcats, we used Rainier to ship our container over. They packed it all at the other end for us and have been great so far. Of course the real test comes on Tuesday when we see what's broken. I'm feeling good that it will work out fine.

[JasonS]

glad you guys made it here safely!

laurel

[Farfields]

Welcome to Chch. Have you got bikes yet? The Port Hills are waiting for you.

[Red Devil]

... welcome to Canterbury :D

Good to hear all is going well... enjoy settling in :nice1

[b&k]

Welcome to New Zealand and to Christchurch. We have been in Chch about 6 weeks, so once you have caught your breath give us a PM if you fancy meeting up for a coffee or something.

You should also join the library (http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/) - internet use is free, you can plug in your own lap top and its a warm place to spend time looking for a job rather than heat your home if you are both at home for the time being...(you can also get hot water bottles for about $6 at the Warehouse or K-mart ;) ). My OH is working now, but I'm still looking and have found the websites Seek and trademe useful, the Council is also a big employer (see http://www.bfound.net/list.aspx?CoId=131&rq=3).

All the best, B and K

[lindreth]

farfields - we have bikes in our container. can't wait to get them back!! this looks like a fantastic bike town - bike lanes all the way from our townhouse directly into town. loads of people on bikes, despite the cold. it's great to see. We haven't explored the port hills yet, really looking forward to it.
b&k - we will definitely be joining the library. (I'm a huge fan of public libraries). didn't know about the free internet there- thank you for the tip!
will definitely be getting in touch for coffee or beer (we're just a couple blocks away from the speights ale house - :cheers woo hoo) once we get our things in order :-)

lindsay

[BkyMonster]

I'd highly recommend the library in Cashmere (South) for free wireless (http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Services/Wireless/) usage. Good places to sit with a cafe as well.

I'd also recommend getting a Metrocard (http://www.metroinfo.org.nz/) as generally the bus service is timely with a decent range (depending on the part of town) and the card makes it cheaper. Not bad for if you want to have a look around the CBD and don't want to drive or walk. :)

[SharpBlade]

Welcome to Chch. We love it too;
However, don't be fooled by the cycle lanes; I find most car drivers (and cyclists sometimes) just have no notion of road safety. Having said that, we use our bikes everyday.
I am sure you will enjoy the Port Hills. The view from summit road towards Lyttleton is just breathtaking;
Laura

[Jon-and-Lou]

Hello and welcome ... glad to hear you are enjoying christchurch.

Are you going to come and join Ben and Claire for the curry this Saturday in Rangiora?

[dusk]

Sounds like you've been a self-propelled whirlwind of activity down there :D
Good luck with the unpacking and the job hunt :)

[KiwiMel]

Hey there welcome to Christchurch!! Hope you settling in nicely and coping in this brrrrr cold conditions today. Ciao

[alancoll]

Just reading your opening post made me go and take a nap. Very organised!

:clap

[Red Devil]

Are you going to come and join Ben and Claire for the curry this Saturday in Rangiora?

... any advance on 18, do I hear 20... 20, ladies and gentleman do I hear 20 :D

Ben, if you're listening... maybe best to book an extra restaurant rather than extra tables :D

[M-Squared]

Jeepers! Rangiora won't know what's hit it :D :nice1

[lindreth]

Are you going to come and join Ben and Claire for the curry this Saturday in Rangiora?

Don't think we'll make this one, but please do count us in for the next one!:yes
lindsay

[Moorf]

Welcome to Canterbury :nice1 - staying with Pete and Veronica is a great start, too :yes

Moorf

[folubode]

Welcome! we've been here for six weeks and it's been great!