[Familyofmonkeys]

I am interested to find out what shipping companies people have used, and any good/bad experiences. Not too bothered about the cost at the moment, but am more concerned about delays to shipments or other problems...which could be quite a hassle with 2 pre-schoolers and baby. I can't imagine how hard it would be without alot of their stuff e.g. high chairs/baby rockers/toys etc for very long.

Also, how long in advance of your move did you book the shippers?

[markynz]

Hi - we had our stuff packed by John Masons on 19th August..and are still waiting for it as of 2 months later. We have a due date of Nov 8th and then it will be with MAF for up to 2 weeks. Then the moving company will have to deliver it from Christchurch ( to Nelson ), so we kind of expect it towards the end of November. Not great really is it ?

However, I must add that the reason for this is probably due to us having a shared container, which I think delayed the sailing by up to 5 or 6 weeks.
Therefore, if its speed you're after, do not take a shared container, whoever you go with.

For your info, we had quotes from JM, PSS and Anglo Pacific and JM was the cheapest. They also did a decent job of packing. I only hope that it all arrives ok - and before christmas !

[tigerlily]

Hey monkeys,
Have you thought of other options for those essentials? We have preschool age twins, and I have thought of sending my husband for a quick trip out to organize a house, get the basic equipment in place (buy used or cheap), etc. Or he could just go on ahead and then I could ask another family member (my mom or mother in law) to fly with the kids and myself.

Another plan we thought of was to ship our belongings, and then have a couple of good long visits with the family before flying out. Maybe taking a road trip to visit everyone or stopping over in Hawaii on the way. I've seen containers take a couple of months to get to their destination, and that does seem long to be in sleeping bags on the floor. Then again, sometimes the kids love that kind of adventure.

Just another idea, it could help with some of the stress.

[kiwidebs]

I know there was a discussion on here once about whether it was better to send your stuff ahead (have it waiting for you at your destination when you arrive) and borrow from friends and family for the interim in your familiar environment, or struggle without in your new environment.


We used PSS - they were excellent. Our stuff arrived 6 weeks after leaving our place. It arrived in NZ the day before we did. We had to put it into storage here as we stayed with family for the first two months in NZ.

Debs

[sidabrine]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when we were packing, we were told that we have to be in the country (NZ) when the shipment arrives, because of those quarantine issues with MAF. So packing up your stuff, getting an estimate of arrival time and trying to sync your move here to be about the same time as your container arrives could be a good option.

Remember that it will take at least a week or 2 to find your new home, so it may make more sense to come a bit earlier?

Or you could try to find a furnished temporary accommodation for the 2 months while your stuff is being shipped?

[jubjub]

If you have a sole use container its quicker, we were told 6-8 weeks by crown, and it was spot on...

If you share then you need to wait for container to be full, and that will delay your things.

Other thing to bear in mind, you can hire pretty much everything from cots/toys & buggies to sofa & microwaves. If you are going to be in Auckland I can give you a list of places to get things from. It does add to the overall cost of moving, or you could buy 2nd hand off trademe and sell them again once your stuff arrives.

[Familyofmonkeys]

Unfortunately none of our family members are willing to put us up (or even babysit) with the children as their houses have too much breakable stuff, so we will probably hold onto our stuff until a couple of days before we eventually go. We then plan stay in a travel inn or similar as their rooms have very little the children can really damage.

I like the idea of hiring stuff....when hubby finds a job, and we know were will will end up will have to investigate this further. London expo was really good...made some good work contacts so there should be job in the pipeline.

I am assuming we will end up in a motel when we first arrive, until we can arrange a place to live.

[Lupin]

Crown are coming to pack up our things 7 days before we fly and then we'll be in Oz for a fortnight and a motel in NZ for a fortnight.

[marcia]

Our packers are coming 2 weeks before we go - so we'll be camping in our house!!

We aren't taking our bed (want a water bed since i had a bounce on Julie & Steve's - Zardell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) The boys will be sleeping on air beds borrowed from my parents, we are leaving our duvets and buying new ones so we will have them, and pillows too.

I have put aside all the odd bits and pieces of crockery and my oldest battered pans. The cooker, freezer and washing machine are staying, fridge and dishwasher are inbuilt so no choice really with them.

We have one settee that is definatly on its last legs, we are borrowing a small tv from my parents and keeping the PS2 to take with us in the cases along with a selection of games and DVD's.

We are going to ask if we can borrow our neighbours plastic garden chairs and table - we never eat on our knees and can imagine the indigestion if we try! :(

All the toys that are really a bit young for Emerson, and a load of well battered (loved!!) books, have been put on one side for the last few weeks out of sight and we are hoping they will keep him entertained till we go. They are then going to a friend who is expecting.

So it will be fun and games for the last couple of weeks, and anything we haven't got or need we'll beg, borrow or steal :p off family and friends for a couple of weeks!!

[tigerlily]

Marcia- that is a great idea about the old toys and books! I'll have to put that one on my list.

I think we are leaning toward finding a holiday rental for when we first arrive since it would be furnished and allow us to cook instead of every meal out with the kids.

[Toronto_Kiwi]

We used AMJ Campbell from Toronto and their partner here in Auckland is Transworld. They packed up our house on Sept 27th. Our air freight arrived yesterday and our sea shipment is supposed to arrive Oct 28th and be available to us three days later (!). This was kind of a shock to me as I'd expected to wait a few more weeks for our stuff and now I have to look for a rental for Nov 1 (my OH's company arranged temporary housing for us which has been great).
I can confirm that MAF doesn't want your stuff to arrive before you actually get to New Zealand - otherwise our air freight could have been waiting for us. Transworld has been excellent so far: thorough and great about keeping in touch regarding expected timelines. Should anyone be moving from Canada in the future I can also recommend AMJ Campbell.

[Danny & Julie]

We have been in NZ for 3 months now and our goods were delivered 2 weeks ago. We used PSS and I don't recommend them at all. We've had nothing but bad service. :(
The packing lads were great but it went down hill from there. Our goods arrived in NZ on 20/8/06 but we weren't told of this despite contacting PSS with our new contact address, email & phone no. I phoned PSS because I was fed up of waiting for them to respond to my emails (the emails were read). I was told my goods were in NZ and had been sat there an almost a month!! And I had to contact NZ van lines.
The next surprise was a bill for $800.00 because we shipped more than was quoted. We were quoted for a shared container and were told that the estimate was very generous and we did down size a lot.
After many ignored emails & useless phone calls to PSS. I was ticked off and emailed about 10 people at PSS telling them about our bad experience. Almost magically we got a response and suddenly we only owed $300.00.
Just a word of warning that they put in a cheap quote because they under quote and then hold you to ransom until you pay.
I feel if it wasn't for the fact I complained so much our goods would still be sat in Auckland. We are still in the middle of the complaint with them. I can't fault NZ van lines they were great and we were only charges $145 MAF fees which we paid on delivery after seeing the MAF invoice.
So those of you doing a shared container watch out.