Two Americans emigrate to New Zealand from Colorado,
USA.
We talk about
our life in Nelson, New Zealand.
The last week and a half were a bit surreal, with both of us finishing out our jobs through June 30. It was also a bit lonely, for once we’d said goodbye to people, you knew you wouldn’t see those folks again for some time. In the end, we only really had each other as the adventure was truly to begin.
Departure date for New Zealand? July 4, Independence Day. We were looking forward to it very much for it would feel like a new life was starting.
[Here you see us on the last day, on our way to the airport, car packed and camera taking goodbye snapshots.]
Suitcases, what did we bring. Well, about 6 weeks prior we mailed out 2 large boxes to the Nelson Post Shop where we opened a post office box. The boxes contained an air mattress, bedding, down comforter, wool blankets, and a couple of pillows. We knew we would choose an unfurnished rental but that we had to make it through 6-8 weeks of sleeping before our furniture arrived. It cost about US$100 to ship those boxes, and they were indeed here when we arrived.
We each filled two large suitcases and packed a smaller third, opting to pay United the fee they charged to have that 3rd piece of luggage. We brought only essentials for clothing and no toiletries—those we’d buy when we landed. Angela packed 4 pairs of shoes that covered most activities including exercise, various winter clothing, workout clothes including bathing suit, a couple of wool sweaters, some of Olivia’s favourites, and her ipod. Don packed similarly, and we also carried our computer and camera. We both packed interview outfits as well, in the off chance we’d find potential employment, but we hadn’t planned on looking for work for a few months. As it turned out, we packed quite smartly and really wanted for very little until the time our container arrived.
Fortunately, we had enough miles (again) to fly free to New Zealand. United was expecting us to return at the end of July, but they would be in for a surprise. From Denver to Los Angeles and then off on a night flight over the Pacific. We landed in Auckland on schedule and into the rain right in the middle of winter.
We deplaned and went through the usual customs and immigration checks, watching the immigration officer silently give us what we later saw was our official stamp to be inside the country. Angela was hoping for balloons to drop from the ceiling, maybe a little confetti. But nothing like that. It was so blasé that Angela even had to ask the immigration officer, “Aren’t we to have our resident permit now that you’ve seen our visa??” The officer said, “Yes, you have it, there is the stamp in your passport.” A stamp, all that work for a little black ink.
Both of us had managed to sleep through most of the flight, probably due to pure exhaustion, but after we landed one of Angela’s bags was lost so a lot of time was spent doing what else … waiting! Waiting for the bag, waiting in line, waiting for the bag to arrive at the apartment.
Another smart move was made by Angela who booked a week at an apartment on Prince’s Wharf on the water, including the night before we arrived so that we could check in at 7am the morning we landed. It was so nice to leave the airport and head straight to a room with a bed!
From there, we took a week to handle major paperwork at the bank and such and then we relaxed and started our blog in earnest. You can catch the rest of our story and photos as of July 2006.
