The Land of the Long White Cloud

Monday - Auckland

At last..... we finally arrived in New Zealand.  Final destination on my travels but the most important of all.  This is where we want to live the dream.......

Arranged accommodation via the airport services and got a great deal at a Mercure down the bottom of Queen Street near the station.  So shattered but because of the 3 hour time difference it felt weird so we went for a walk at 2am along the deserted streets and found a 24 hour cafe.

Tuesday - Auckland

Didn't waste any time - bought NZ sim card, opened bank account and went off to buy a car. Checked out the auction place that was recommended to us and picked up a catalogue,  Easy peasy we thought.

In evening, met up with new friend Darryl (from internet forum group) and had a very pleasant evening down at the Viaduct.

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Wednesday - Auckland

Woke up early to get to the auction to fight off the crowds and test drive our choice of cars.  I fell in love with a maroom Honda Civic which was in excellent condition and really keenly priced.  Suddenly the auctioneers withdrew the car before the auction started and I was quite disappointed.  Didn't really like anything else but kept looking and test driving.  Then the car was put back into the auction and we took it to the independent mechanical inspectors for a quick check over.  Lots of people were also interested in this car - I had picked a goodun!  Whilst it was on the ramps, a big Maori chap got went to the car, slammed the bonnet shut (breaking the  holdup arm thingy) and got in and drove it off the ramps and round the test track!  I was a bit aghast but kept cool.  I was too scared to do the bidding so got one of the auction guys to do it for me and sure enough, we won the car at a good price.  Paid the money and drove it round to the nearest garage to get new tyres and a WOF (MOT) done  on it.  Went back to the hotel happy.

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Thursday - Auckland

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME :-) Tom got up early and went off to get me fresh croissant and hot chocolate so that we could have breakfast in bed whilst I opened my cards.  Then the phone rang - it was the tyre garage telling us there were problems and could we get there quickly.

The guys at the garage had done the tyres etc but were about to fix the horn when they discovered a can of worms - the odometer had been tampered with and worst of all, the air bags had been disconnected.

We went back to the auction house to tell them the saga and to cut a long story short, they were excellent and very sympathetic.  They allowed us to unravel the sale, pay the garage for the work done, choose a new car and pay the reserve price without going through the auction process, got it tested at an independent garage and waive the other associated fees.  So for an extra couple of hundred dollars, I came away with a 1997 Silver Toyota Windom 3litre engine!!!!  From one extreme to the other!!!  Its great and has lots of gizmos and gadgets and is sooo lovely to drive.

The day was very stressful to say the least and we came back to the hotel thoroughly drained.

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Friday - Auckland

Collected my new bank card, planned our route and finally got out of Auckland! Our Tiki Tour started in the Bay of Islands.  Spent the night in Paihia, watching a beautiful sunset over the bay.  There are 144 islands here, some tiny and some a fair size.  I came here on my first visit to NZ and Tom was as impressed as I was.

Saturday - Bay of Islands/Kataia

Early morning kick start with a trip on the fast boat - the Mack Attack - which took us around the bay and through the famous 'hole in the rock'.  Saw some dolphins and seals on our trip.  Stepped off in the township of Russell and enjoyed a posh 'fush and chups' lunch overlooking the bay.  Took the ferry back to Paihia and then drove up to Waitangi to go to the Treaty House and grounds.  Very interesting and informative and an added bonus was an informal Maori singsong there.

Drove to Kaitai where we spent the night.

Sunday - Cape Reinga/Dargaville

Drove up to see 90 mile beach but decided that my new car wasn't equipped to drive along the beach highway so we went back onto the main road and continued up to the most northerly point of NZ - Cape Reinga - which has a famous lighthouse.  It was extremely windy and we were blown all over the place just walking to the lighthouse.

Our drive to Dargaville took us via the beautiful bay in Oponomi where we stopped for a while to admire the view, especially as it was late afternoon and the sun was glinting on the sea.  Our next stop was to visit the 'Lord of the Forest' - Tane Mahuta, which is the biggest Kauri tree and most revered by the Maoris.  Very big and imposing.

Ended the day in Dargaville at a fancy motel.

Monday - Dargaville/Hamilton

Only stopped for petrol and comfort breaks but at least we arrived in Hamilton early enough to be able to relax.  Found the local Pak n Save and stocked up with food for dinner and breakfast.

Tuesday - Hamilton/Palmerston North

Packed up ready to move on again and stopped at the Robinson Sports Museum (as recommended by the Scott family and the motel host).  Interesting (nay, read that as 'quirky' museum) but good nevertheless. It seemed to be a collection of every possible sports memorabilia collected by a family and housed in their garage in the back garden!  There was also a microbrewery on site and a mock pub (Bully Point) which was full of funny signs and everything drink related possible.

Continued on our merry way to Palmerston North.  Ok, so Palmy isn't generally on the tourist route but my rellies live there and we couldn't pass by without popping in to say hello.  Checked into a motel, grabbed a bite to eat and headed off to say Hi to Marita, Colin and their girls.  I didn't count on the mad cat they have - just one look from me and he screeched and ran out of the room - amazing effect I seem to have on animals and small children!!!

Wednesday - PN/Wellington

Woke up to heavy rain so we set off to Welly hoping it would clear.  It didn't stop till we reached Southward Classic Car Museum at Paraparamu.  We needed to stretch our legs and as Tom has an interest in classic cars, it was well worth the visit.  I was pleased to see two London cabs - bet they charged a huge fare for going south of the river!!!

Arrived in Wellington to beautiful blue skies and sunshine.  Tom didn't believe that this was supposed to be the windy city of NZ.  Found a motel (the worst we stayed in - why the heck they didn't have a sink in the 'kitchenette' and the bathroom basin wasn't big enough for us to get the kettle under, I'll never know!!) but the owners were friendly enough and Kev, the manager offered to do our laundry for us (I think he was a bit pervy, but at least we got clean clothes again).  Spent the afternoon doing the touristy things like going up the cable car to see the magnificent views; walking along the harbour and generally getting a feel for the place.

View from somewhere beautiful (begins with an O, so a prize to the person who can identify location!)
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Thursday - Wellington

Tom called his contact in Welly regarding a job he is interested in and was asked to go in for an interview in the afternoon.  This limited our morning activities so we just went to Te Papa for a couple of hours.  The interview seemed promising and we hope Tom can have a second interview before he goes home next week. Had a nice evening meal in a restaurant with amazing views and then drove around the city.

Friday - Wellington/Tauranga

Yup, a 10 hour drive all the way up to the Bay of Plenty.  Worst part of the drive was the fact that I got stopped for speeding just outside Taupo.  It was a 'fair cop' tho and he was very friendly and good humoured as he wrote my ticket out (121 km/h in a 100km/h zone) and he said that the fine was only worth about 2 pounds sterling - actually it cost $170NZ dollars!!!  Lesson learned, I handed the car keys back to Tom as I couldn't be trusted to keep to the speed limit.  Found a lovely motel in Tauranga on 15th Avenue, dumped our stuff and then went down to 'The Strand' where the nighlife is.  Found a good pub serving Guiness so Tom was happy again. Actually he said that he liked Tauranga most of all the places we have visited so far as it has a great atmosphere.

At the Sports Museum (Hamilton), inside Bully's Pub. See the sign over Tom's head :-)
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Saturday - Tauranga

Woke up and decided that we didn't want to keep packing up our stuff and moving every day, so changed the booking to a week rather than the one night.  Only problem was, that due to the Labour holiday weekend, we had to move into a different (non-spa) room for 2 nights.  We decided it was worth it so moved across the car park.  Whilst moving our stuff, I had a panic attack cos I couldn't find Tal's PSP that I had bought her in Hong Kong.  I was getting very upset and pulled my suitcase to pieces, but still couldn't find it.

Met up with Mike, Jo. Adam and Laura and spent a lovely day with them including climbing the Mount and dinner on The Strand. We also looked at the art exhibition -there is always something interesting going on in Tauranga.

Back at the Motel, I continued pulling my belongings to pieces and heaved such a sigh of relief when I found her PSP in the same bag as my kissing pandas from China - have no idea why or when I put it there!!! So Tal, don't worry, your PSP is safe.

Sunday - Tauranga

Decided to go house hunting!  Well, looking at suburbs anyway and take advantage of the 'open homes' they have here at the weekends.  Basically, anybody can just turn up at a house that is being shown by the agent between certain times.  We ended up in Papamoa and had a guided tour of a $1.6 million dollar house with amazing sea views.  The agents were very interested in us (Pommies with huge bank balances!!!! NOT!!) and gave us details of more properties in this price bracket.  We agreed to look at an apartment with them and played their game, allowing them to think we were mega rich.  They showed us a $2million dollar apartment near the Mount, directly facing the sea.  Definitely not worth the money but they were happy showing us around.

At the top of Mount Maunganui - Tom, me, Mike and kids
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We managed to escape and went off to another suburb, Matua.  Tom and I felt good about the area and on our drive round, we found some lovely streets and houses. Suddenly, we stumbled upon a section of land for sale. It was a piece of someone's garden that they had sectioned off and the views were unobstructed and directly looking out over the water to the Mount.  It was fantastic and Tom and I spent all evening talking about buying it and having a house built on it.  We were soooooooo excited and decided to call the agent the following day. We celebrated our find with a Chinese takeaway!

Monday - Tauranga

Labour day (like Bank Holiday)

Moved back across the car park to our favourite Spa unit. Tom called the agent as I wouldn't be able to stay calm.  I couldn't believe it when he came off the phone - we had guessed the price might be somewhere between $200-$300 but infact it was being marketed at.....................$1.5million dollars!!!!!!  We were both a tad disappointed but decided we were in the mood for looking for land, so off we went to Omakaroa and Bethlehem.  Omakaroa was interesting in the fact that there was a new development going on with sections for sale, high on a hill with amazing views towards the Mount.  Luckily the sales office was open and Tom went off to have a chat with the saleslady and get a brochure with plot details.  I guess it was no surprise to find that all the best plots, with the best views, had already been sold.  We drove off, disappointed again.  Drove around Bethlehem but didn't get so excited and decided to stop house/land hunting.

Back to the pub on the Strand for Guiness and a great fish supper.

Tuesday - Tauranga

Time to venture out of town, so we headed off to Rotorua.  Spent a nice day visiting the museum, blue bath house, lake etc and taking in the smells!!! Back to the motel in Tauranga. Finally realised that the blue cable hidden in the TV cabinet was infact an internet connection so spent the evening updating blog and generally getting good use out of my new laptop at last!!!

One of the islands (we called it the sleeping lion) on the way to Cathedral Cove
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Wednesday - Tauranga

Early start as we set off to see the Lady Knox Geyser do her thing by erupting at 10.15am at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal wonderland between Rotorua and Taupo.  (I let Tom do the driving as I am probably on the 'wanted for speeding in Taupo police hit list'.)  The park there was pretty amazing with all kinds of volcanic craters and lakes etc. and we spent a good 3 hours there before heading back into Rotorua.  The weather was amazing and the skies blue and cloudless as we took the cable car up Mount Ngongotaha.  Had lunch in the cafe up there and watched the brave kids and adults driving their Luge (sort of go cart thing) down the windy paths and then being brought back to the top by ski chair lifts.

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Thursday - Tauranga

Lazy kinda day, starting with breakfast on The Strand in the beauiful sunshine again.  Spent a few hours shopping (Tom is very patient as I try on everthing with the usual question "does my bum look big in this"?).  Drove up to Mills Reef winery near Bethlehem and had a lovely lunch and wine tasting session there.  I was very restrained as I was driving but it was good for Tom to try lots of different varieties and we bought a bottle of their delicious Pinot Gris and a bottle of Port. Back to the Motel where we met up with Mike, Jo and the kids for a drive out to Maketu for a stroll along the beach and fish and chip supper.  Weather had turned quite windy so we didn't stay out too long but came back via The Strand where we had coffee and dessert in one of the restuarants there.

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Friday - Tauranga/Hahei

Our plan was to drive up the Coromandel Peninsular and stop on the way down to Auckland at Thames for the night.  We arrived at Hahei beach around lunchtime and fell in love with the beach and the area so we had lunch in the lovely cafe there and found accommodation in a B&B (lovely house) up in the hill. Rob - you were right - Hahei is an amazing place!! Parked the car back at the beach car park and set off for the 90 minute walk to Cathedral Cove.  Adam had warned us to take lots of water, so armed with sunscreen, hats, water, fleeces, and a whole host of other 'essentials', we set off for the treck.  The views were amazing and we went through forest, up and down the paths, taking in the various coves along the way.  Tom was feeling adventurous at Stingray cove so he left me sheltering on a huge rock as he climbed over boulders to explore the sandy cove.  We finally made it to Cathedral Cove and spent a while there taking in the amazing views, unhindered by other tourists. Found the local pub served good food so we enjoyed our dinner there and then went back to the B&B to enjoy our bottle of wine that we bought in the winery. The house owner had gone out and hadn't locked the house or closed any of the windows - what an amazing feeling that property is still safe when left unattended in this day and age!

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Saturday - Hahei/Tauranga

After having our breakfast served to us on the 'dick' in the blazing sunshine, we packed up our stuff and headed off  back to the beach for another look before being  bitten to pieces by sand flies!  Drove a few KMs round to Hot Water beach where , if you get  the  right place at the right time, you can dig a hole and it fills with hot water  (hence the name of the place!).  We didn't bother tho.

Set off for our drive to Auckland airport  via Thames where we stopped for lunch. Arrived at the airport by 4pm as planned, for Tom's flight back to the UK (via LA).  It was strange for me to drive back alone.  Arrived back at  'our motel' in Tauranga where I had arranged a good deal before we left on Friday! (the photo is not out of focus because I was crying, its cos the camera switched off before completing the shot!)

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Sunday - Tauranga

Spent most of the day hooked up to the internet working out my strategy for job hunting.  Found some good leads on the internet and organised my CV into something sounding quite interesting and good (is that really me???)

Supper was filled pasta with pesto sauce.  I didn't even tasted it!  The beer however, was quite good.

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Monday - Tauranga

Ready for the off.... laptop set up, phone ready, paper and pen to hand.  Made some calls and got very positive responses from agencies in Wellington.  Sent them my cv (good to speak first as they are then ready to receive the amazing work of fiction).  Most replied very quickly to say they were interested and can I make an appointmen for next week when I am in Wellington.  One of the calls I made was to an company in Auckland that weren't actually advertising any vacancies but I liked their website and decided to ask for advice.  After an hour on the phone to the Pommie owner, I was offered a meeting in Auckland and a room to stay in when I get up there next month!  They asked me to send my cv whilst we were chatting on the phone and seemed very excited and positive when they received it.   This looks the most promising but I am keeping all my options open

Did some shopping in the afternoon for interview clothes/shoes.  Was harangued by a girl selling nail kits.  I had nothing else to do but chat and it turned out she was called Galit and comes from Israel, so we had a nice chat and I tried out some of my hebrew on her.  I gave in to her sales pitch and bought the nail kit so at least my nails will look lovely for my interviews.  Declined the tubs of body scrub, hand lotion, body lotion, foot lotion etc etc etc..... Tried to find black cotton in the shopping mall as I knew I would have to shorten my trousers (don't worry mum, you won't be out of a job permanently).  Couldn't find any but as I was leaving the mall, I saw a dry cleaners that offered alterations.  So for $10 I allowed them to alter my new trousers.

Went for a drink in the evening with a friend and saw Galit the Israeli nail stuff salesgirl in the pub!

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Tuesday - Tauranga

Another day in paradise?  Actually I'm starting to get bored cos I need routine .  Made lots of calls and got good responses.  To date I have 2 definite interviews with agencies PLUS the clients; 2 agency meetings without clients; one very interested party in Auckland who wants to expand her training business; and various other irons in the fire.  Spoke to Tal and Tom on the phone which cheered me up then I dragged myself out for lunch and people watching at the beach, then a touch more shopping.  Went driving to explore new areas.  Tom and I really like Tauranga but we have better work opportunities in Wellington so I'm sure that's where we will settle. Evening spent eating baked beans on toast, drinking JD and coke,  with my laptop for company.  I sound like Billy No Mates!

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Wednesday - Tauranga Still here!  Decided to stop moping around and emailed someone from the NZ forum that I know lives in the area.  He called me back and invited me for dinner with him and his wife.  People are lovely and friendly here. Went to the beach for lunch again and then spent some time at the hot salt water pools.  I had a private spa pool as the main pools were full of school kids.  This reminded me of being in the floatation tank except this was a big room and there was no peace due to the noise of the kids, but I was alone in a big tub of warm salty water.

The evening was lovely- James and Lindy were perfect hosts and we had lots to chat about.  They fed and watered me and had my new favourite white wine (Pinot Gris).  How did I repay their kindness? By leaving my sunglasses there and an oil slick on their brand new driveway!

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Thursday - Tauranga

More phone calls re jobs, more meetings set up for next week, some social meetings set up too.  Weather had changed for the worse so I didn't go people watching at the beach but instead got my excitement from doing laundry!  Received texts from my hosts from last night to tell me about the oil leak and sunglasses, so that made me feel bad.  Spent ages on Facebook chatting to one of my LU friends and we were both miserable at the start but managed to cheer each other up so that was good.  Evening excitement was the fact that I discovered Skype - ok so I know its been available for ages now, but I never really investigated it before.  Once I downloaded the software, paid my money, I was like a kid with a new toy.  I rang my parents which totally surprised them, rang Tom and disturbed his morning ablutions, then tried to ring other family members without success :-(

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Friday - Tauranga

Spent a pleasant few hours with another rellie - Ann and her partner Warwick - in Rotorua.  Had lunch in a cafe overlooking the lake, then did a bit of shopping before coming back for a quick wash and brush up before my evening activities.  I went 10pin bowling with Mike and kids and we had a lovely time, with Mike only just winning (poor performance due to his war wounds!) then went to The Strand for food and drink. Used skype again and surprised Tal on her mobile whilst she was walking to the station.

BLACK FEET - this is a warning to everyone NOT to buy black flipflops!  I've been wearing my pair for 3 months now and have worn through the top layer to the yukky rubber underneath and I only realised that when I noticed how black my feet had gone.  Took me ages to scrub em clean!!! Not sure that anybody wanted to know that, but I thought I would share.

CONTACT - go on, make my day, add me to facebook and/or Skype!!!!

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Saturday - Tauranga to Napier

Time to leave 'home'!  Packed up and said my goodbyes by 10am ready to hit the road.  Destination Napier but taking the long route via Whakatane (pronounced Fuk-a-tar-nee) and Gisborne.  Whilst Tom was here, he did most of the mountain driving and now I'm on my own again I have to do it.  Boy are there a lot of mountain roads here!  I kept singing "she'll be coming round the mountain..."   Had to watch my speed a few times but doubt there were too many cops around those mountain areas with their one horse towns dotted around.  Big disadvantage of driving alone is that I had to concentrate on the road (duh!) and not really able to enjoy the scenery.  The view that I did manage to see and admire was Ohope Beach which suddenly appeared in my eyeline as I came 'over the hill' from Whakatane.  Didn't have time to stop so I carried on to my planned lunch stop of Gisborne.   This is NZ most easterly city and has lots of wineries.  It is situated in Poverty Bay (funny name for a wealthy area but when James Cook landed there he decided the area had nothing to offer!)  Had a leisurely (read 'very slow service') lunch at a winery overlooking the wharf.

After scaring myself by nearly running out of petrol (not many petrol stations in these parts), and desperately needing the toilet, I was happy to arrive at the small town of Wairoa in Hawkes Bay.  Time was getting on so I just drove through town for a look without getting out of the car.

Finally arrived in Napier at around 6.30pm and drove round looking for somewhere to stay.  Too much choice so I chose a chain that we had stayed at before and was happy when they had a vacancy with internet access for an extra $5.  Too tired to leave the room so I had some Pot Noodles (learned to eat these nasty things in China on those horrible train journeys) and the last of my Jack Daniels, spent time on the internet, skyping family, and then gave in to tiredness with the TV still on!

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Sunday - Napier

Awoken by the sealpups 'barking' in the marina behind the motel!  Packed up my stuff and left the car at the motel whilst I went off to explore the town.  Joined a walking trip to look at all the beautiful art deco buildings and try to understand some of the history.  This town was destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent fire in 1931 and was rebuilt in 2 years using all the different art deco styles.  I took lots of pix so these are just a few samples. After the tour we were invited to watch a film over cofee and I met some very interesting people there.  Feeling in the mood for more education/culture I ventured on to the museum which explains about the earthquake and also had a Maori exhibition there.

Left town after a walk along the Marine Parade and started the drive to Wellington.

Weather started to change dramatically and soon there was heavy downpour.  I finally arrived in Wellington around 6pm, headed to the supermarket and then checked into my motel.  Erm, not quite what I was expecting!  Room ok (booked studio but was upgraded to a 3 bedded, kitchenette on the 4th floor of a very, very tired looking building quite a fair way out of the main centre.)  As for internet connection - they advertise themselves as ideal for business travellers but they mean that you should be a NZ resident with your own DIAL UP account (for heaven's sake!!!!!).  I was very naughty and managed to log into someone's unsecured broadband network nearby just to be able to check where my meeting was the following morning! Rain kept me awake most of the night.

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Monday - Wellington

Looking very bleary eyed I got ready for my first interview.  Decided to get a cab there as I didn't know where to park and although it was only 5 mins away, its very hilly in Wellington and I had my high heels on (soooo weird after 3 months in flip flops and trainers!). Interview went well and after that I managed to hobble to the shops to use the internet and find a hairdresser.

Evening was very colourful/loud as Wellington had its superb fireworks display down at the harbour.  I stayed in the motel but the sky was alight with colour and the noise at times sounded like a war zone!

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Tuesday - Wellington

Another day of interviews.  This time was a lot better.  Had the first interview with the agency who then took me to the client - a very large training organisation.  Interview with office manger lasted about 3 hours and was very positive.  She said they will offer me the job subject to a 10 min micro teaching presentation to the other trainers and big boss on Thursday afternoon. She gave me no parameters but its about how I interact with a group and if they like my style rather than me trying to teach them anything.

The most embarrassing thing, however, was that 2 of my blouse buttons had popped off on the way to the interview.  Luckily a kind chemist assistant gave me a safety pin - not a good start to the interview but I don't think anyone noticed :-)

Started to work on my presentation and before I knew it, the time was 2am.

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Wednesday - Wellington

Tom rang to say that his telephone interview with the rail company had gone really well.  I went down to the city centre to collect some more images for my presentation.  Ok, so you know how sad I have become and my nickname is 'trainspotter' - well, I decided to do my presentation on trains around the world (that I have pix of) and include a quiz about the Wellington rail network which should make it more interesting than just looking at pix of trains.  I know it sounds boring but I think I have made it fun so Thursday will know the outcome!

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Thursday - Wellington

Leisurely morning doing boring stuff like supermarket shopping and laundry and then final rehearsal for my presentation.

Outcome - they liked the presentation/me and it all went very well.  Formal offer to follow with a start date depending in immigration paperwork so aiming for end Jan/beg Feb which should tie up with when Tom starts his job too - yes it seems that he too will be getting his formal offer any day now.  Only problem is, they can't decide if his base should be Auckland or Wellington so we could be in an ironic situation of him being based in Auckland and me being based in Wellington!!

Went back to the motel and opened a bottle of Pinot Gris ;-)

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Friday - Wellington

Day spent updating my knowledge of Office 2007 as this is what I will be specialising in with my new job.

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Saturday - Wellington

Morning spent at the local synagogue which happens to be very close to my motel.  Met some nice people there and said I will go again when I get back in January.

Afternoon spent looking at different suburbs to live in.  Went up the Kapiti coast as far as Paraparaumu (bit too far but lovely beach) and across to Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt.  Even found a place called Manor Park which is nothing like its East London namesake :-)

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Sunday - Wellington

Lovely day - gorgeous weather and met lots of lovely new people living in Wellington (mostly British/Irish ex-pats)

Afternoon spent on the beach at Eastbourne - Days Bay.  Gorgeous part of Wellington.  Met up with a group from one of the British expat internet forums that I subscribe to and had a very pleasant afternoon with them.  Went with one couple to 2 'Open House' viewings - lovely houses with breathtaking views. Evening spent at a mutual friend's bbq in Plimmerton, on the Kapiti coast.  They had a lovely house looking directly at the sea but a fairly busy road.  Sun stayed strong till it set and then it suddenly got quite chilly so we went inside.  Group of mostly ex Poms.

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Monday - Wellington

Day spent researching areas/suburbs.... so many nice places and everyone I speak to seems to favour their own area, its a difficult choice.  I know that I want water views, hill views, not too close to nearest neighbours, not too steep a climb to the house (the one in Days Bay was magnificent but too many steps to get to the house)  Here's a link to that one:

http://www.nz.open2view.com /Property/165602   They do things differently with house sales here - most are by tender so its sometimes difficult to gauge the value of the property so need to do lots of research.  They also do auctions and a few have fixed prices or BBO - buyer budget over $x

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Tuesday - Wellington

Windy Welly certainly lived up to its name today - gale force winds over 130kh/h.

Stayed in the motel all day and continued my knowledge update of Office 2007.  Fantastic storm overnight.

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Wednesday - Wellington   Great feeling today when I collected my new employment contract and all associated paperwork.  Weather still miserable although for the hour or so that I went out to collect papers, the sun was shining.

In the evening I met up with more people from the internet forums and had a nice drink/dinner down at Queen's Wharf.

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Thursday - Wellington     Went to the Inland Revenue office to organise my IRD number (like a national insurance number) so that I can be taxed accordingly when I start work. Wandered round town for a while and went to inspect a gym.  It was very much like the one I used in the UK - had a pool, gym, group classes (include Pilates which is what I'm into), sauna, steam room and many other features.  Cost is quite high for here but  I think I will join when I get back in January.

A very pleasant afternoon was spent in Levin - not on the main tourist drag I know, but its where my rellies live.  It was good to catch up and also hear about their local knowledge.

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Friday - Wellington

A day of driving around different areas - still quite like Eastbourne but everytime I mention it to people they say "oooh, you must be loaded, its sooooo expensive there".  There are so many lovely areas in Wellington, with fantastic views of water and or hills and the houses are all different shapes and sizes and some sit precariously on the hills.  It has a great vibe and as a capital city its amazingly compact.  If we do move to Eastbourne, then we can comute across the harbour by ferry.

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Saturday - Wellington

Weather gorgeous - blue skies all day and requirement of factor 30 sunscreen! A day of socialising! Lunchtime picnic at Wilton-Otari Bush - a beatiful parkland with picnic areas.  This time it was a forum group called Welly Rocks and consistes of new immigrants from all over the world.  There were a lot of Dutch people there, a few Americans, South Africans and one Lithuanian Irish guy - his accent was weird to say the least! Evening was a curry night at a different forum member's house in Upper Hutt.  Had a great night with some of the people who I met last weekend and some new people too. Came back to the motel to sort my belongings out so that I could leave stuff with Mike that I don't need to shlep back to the UK only to bring it back again in January!

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Sunday - Wellington/Auckland

Finally left Welly - sad to go but itching to get back to the UK to start sorting everything out.  Took me about 8 hours to drive to Tauranga where Mike then took over the driving and we continued to Auckland.  Couldn't find the hotel at first cos I forgot to write the address down and seem to have gone blonde when all I could remember that it was a road off Queen's Street beginning with W.  Guess how many roads that could have been!!  We took the easy option and called Jo to look on the internet for the address of the hotel and luckily we were only 2 streets away.  I had booked an broadband internet room thinking it would be  wireless and they would just give me the password - but no, it requred a  cable which the hotel didn't have and neither did I!!!  Never mind, ever the resourceful, I managed to tap into another unsecured network and got online again :-)

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Monday - Auckland

Had a sleepless night due to the fact that my tiny weeny hotel room (cat/swing/not possible) overlooks back entrance to restaurants that seem to chuck bottles out all night and then the dustmen arrive at about 4am so all in all a very disturbed night!

Got up early and went for a wander.  Well, the hotel was in a good position, Wakefield Street, just off Queen Street but it was sandwiched between 2 'adult' shops and a seedy looking entrance way to a club.

I can't keep stealing other people's broadband connection and the room at this hotel was booked as free broadband in room so  I went to see the manager in the morning to say that the sales advert on the internet just said 'bring your laptop' not 'bring your laptop and cable' but he didn't really care! Went to the famous 'Dick Smith's' to buy an internet cable cos the cable that came with the laptop must be in the bag I sent back with Tom, thinking I wouldn't need it.

Then my phone rang to say that the woman I was supposed to be meeting re business plans/work opportunities was stuck in Dubai and couldn't meet me after all!  I was understanding of the situation but still a bit peeved that I could have changed my flights and gone back to the UK last week rather than hanging on for this business meeting.  Oh well..... decided to use my time productively and selfishly by going for a top to toe beauty treatment which made me feel really good.

In the evening I decided to go to the cinema because there was nothing much else to do.  There wasn't any particular film I wanted to see so just went for the one that was starting next.  It turned out to be quite good - Mr Brooks - and although not the kinda film I would normally have elected to see, I did actually enjoy it!

My supper consisted of all my leftover food so I had wine with breakfast cereal (which I had to eat out of a cup because there were no plates or bowels or cutlery - managed to get a plastic spoon from the local  convenience store) followed by tinned tuna with sundried tomatoes and rice crackers.  Such gastronomic delights :-)

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Tuesday - Auckland/LA/London

Final day in NZ.  Killed a few hours in in the morning and then left for the airport early to have meeting with the Auckand buisness woman who had previously been stuck in Dubai and unable to keep our original appointment.  The meeting went well and she would like me to get involved with her company when I return to NZ as I have lots of experience in the areas she doesn't eg ECDL/ICDL.

Flight due to leave at 7.40pm but we were delayed due to a catering truck bashing into the plane and requiring said aircraft to have repair work undertaken.  2 hours passed, then 3.  Finally we were offered refreshments of, wait for it..... 1 tiny airline sealed cup of water and 2 tiny crackers.  Eventually they let us on the plane but the work was still not complete to Qantas satisfaction, so we sat on the aircraft for another hour!

Halfway throught the flight, an announcement was made by the crew to see if there was a doctor on the plane.  Fortunately there was a doc and a nurse and for about an hour there was frantic comings and goings into Business class for the sick passenger.  On arrival at LAX, we again had to sit on the plane for an hour whilst the police, fire and airport representatives came on board because the sick passenger had died mid flight!

We were told that all our connections had been rebooked so we were to collect our luggage and then find a representative to confirm our next flights.  There was madness at the airport, with people getting angry, luggage coming off 2 carousels and general chaos all around.  I was told that my new flight was at 5.30pm (it was now 3.15pm local time and my original flight was due to leave at 4pm) but I still had security to go through and walk to another terminal.  As I left the baggage hall, I was asked which flight I was transititng to and told to place my luggage on the scanner machine and it would be checked onto the correct plane.  I then strolled round to the next terminal.  There were no ground staff to ask what to do next and I started to queue with the crowds for the next BA flight.  Suddenly I saw a BA employee milling around in the crowd, explained my situation and he said I should run for the existing flight leaving at 4pm as there was still time.  You have never seen me run soooo fast.  Puffing and panting, I made it onto the flight and they closed the plane door behind me!

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Wednesday - London

Arrived at Heathrow only to find that although I had made it onto the flight, my luggage hadn't.  It was lost in the system somewhere in LAX. Filled in a form and was told that I would get a call when luggage finally arrived in the UK and it would be delivered to my address.   Tom was waiting for me at Heathrow and we took the train back to my parents house. Heard nothing more about my missing luggagefor the rest of the evening so Tom, Talia, mum, dad and I went to the local Italian restaurant for dinner.

Family all seemed pleased to see me back and although I wasn't feeling jet lagged, I was a bit worn out by the whole flight experience and the missing luggage.  Didn't sleep too well, thinking that the dogs would have sniffed my case and found the breakfast cereal in there (don't ask!!) and the whole case would probably be destroyed.

Tal presented me with a huge box of post.  I spent a few hours opening  the more interesting looking letters, which incluced 2 court summonses for non payment of bills  (despite me having direct debits for them), a couple more nasty letters from my ex husband and lots of junk mail.

Oh its great to be back (NOT!)

So, dear readers, well done if you have got this far and kept up with my blog - I know I lost a few readers along the way but hey, thats life! If you want to know the outcome to my lost luggage story, drop me an email.I will end this blog here but no doubt start a new one for my emigration experiences.