Part 15 - IT'S SUMMER!! Oh And it's Christmas too...

It's all been happening here in Auckland. We've moved into our first home that we can call our own (well, sort of - we're renting it) and we've been here for about 7 weeks now. We have finally 'landed' our shipment and it was a complete joy to have all of our own things around us once again. You underestimate how much your material possessions make a house feel like home (and how much your clothes and shoe collection make you feel like you again!). Of course I was delighted to see the xBox again too  and I am so so glad it didn't accidentally fall overboard in transit ;-) We kind of forgot a lot of the things that we had brought with us so it was a bit like Christmas day (if someone had taken some of your own things away from you then re gifted them to you 6 months later). But similarly there have been numerous conversations of "where did that go?" as we don't seem to have shipped some things and can't remember where they were when we were sorting out the shipping stuff back in the UK. But - everything is replaceable apart from memories so it's all good :) An added bonus was that our shipping company used this amazing stuff to wrap all of our items in - it smelled absolutely delicious so I didn't have to worry about washing everything as soon as it was unwrapped either - yippee!!

One thing we didn't ship was our Fridge / Freezer. In the UK we had a BIG American style one with water & ice on the front (oh the luxury!) and so when we moved into our first home we opened a new chapter in our lives which I will call: The Week Without A Fridge. We had bought one online but couldn't pick it up for a week. Now I don't know if you've ever tried to live without a fridge (or maybe had it thrust upon you if your fridge broke??) but we found this so difficult! Everything you buy pretty much has to go in the fridge / freezer - and if it doesn't (think: bread) then whatever goes with it DOES have to go in the fridge (think: butter). So it became daily routine to fill the sink with cold cold water to keep the milk, cheese & margarine in - this routine doesn't actually work very well, I certainly wouldn't recommend it. I don't know how they coped in the olden days before fridges were invented but it's not something I propose to ever try yourselves. It's just a pain in the butt.

One of the 1st things we did a few days after unwrapping the shipping was to go for a bike ride. We went along Mellons Bay (now now children) and Cockle Bay and down to Howick Beach. After being in the relatively flat Invercargill it was certainly a very good leg workout to say the least - it was so hilly! Great fun though. We have such beautiful views in Auckland - most of which I was completely oblivious of as a tourist in 2010 and I am sure that there are many many more that I'm still not aware of - but I certainly plan to become acquainted with them over the coming summer months.

Looking onto Eastern Beach

Beachlands 

Maraetai

In our first week in the new place we went to Midnight Madness which is when they light the Christmas lights on the HUGE tree and all of the shops are open until midnight. It was a really lovely evening - lots of bands playing in local bars and out in the street, one jeweller's had an auction going on outside the shop selling off their jewellery at amazing prices, there were local artists and just generally lots to look at and appreciate.

Midnight Madness 2011

Finally - after moving away from my home town 4 years ago I have changed my doctors (it's a bit far to go for a doctor's appointment now that we've emigrated!). Basically in NZ you pay for a doctor's appointment but you don't pay if you need to go to hospital (whereas in the UK you don't pay for your doctors appointments or the hospital) - so I was ringing around the local doctors to find out their costs because it can vary quite dramatically from one surgery to the next. Their service and telephone manner were all much of a muchness - until I came to the very last surgery on my list. The receptionist was so attentive and helpful, she was adorable so that made my mind up for me! (Just goes to show that good customer service DOES work!) We went to register with the doctors and as I needed an appointment at the time this resulted in the most bizarre doctor's consultation I have ever had. As soon as we registered I was invited to have my appointment there and then (hence I don't mind paying for an appointment - you'd NEVER get service like this in the UK - you're usually better by the time you get to see the doctor). So I went in and the Dr was lovely - as I only needed a repeat prescription the consultation was practically over within a minute but your appointment cost is for a 15 minute consultation...so the doctor started talking to me about the following:

• His cat (yep I saw a photo too)
• His friend's rabbit
• The wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and so on
• America & it's presidency
• I really could go on...

...After 15 minutes the doctor said "well I should be getting on now..." as if I'd been holding him up! I felt as if they wanted me to get my moneys worth by have my full 15 minutes. It was hilarious - and I am definitely looking forward to my next appointment! He was such a lovely Doctor and the receptionist is just a gem.

The start of December saw the Farmer's Santa Parade through the centre of Auckland which we went to see. It really is an impressive spectacle to get you in the festive spirit. I am used to going to see a carnival which consists of around 10 carnival floats which have bypassed you within 10 minutes no matter how long you've been sat there waiting for it to start. But this really was something else. I don't know how many floats there were and people walking in between the floats (including jugglers, unicyclists, cheer-leading squads, etc.) but the parade was 2.2 kilometres long and it takes one hour to pass any given point in the street! People were sat on picnic blankets, camping chairs, flattened cardboard boxes, or - like us - just on the kerbside. There were loads of kids with their families enjoying it and as lots of the floats consisted of children's TV characters it was quite a learning curve for us! I'd recommend it if you've never seen it and you're in Auckland at the right time of year!

He's a monster! No he's not, he's a dinosaur... 

Scottish Band - complete with bagpipes

It's a multicultural delight

Whitcoulls' impressive Christmas 'window' display

For the first 4 weeks of living in Auckland we settled back into a routine of sorts. The OH was working full time so I had time to myself to do whatever I wanted...so I created my own little routine which involved going running, doing KettleWorx workouts, washing, cleaning, dusting, etc. and before I knew it each day seems to be over and done with in no time! It was getting difficult to remember how I fitted work in! I was applying for jobs too - similar to the UK it's not easy to walk into a job in NZ at the moment. I even saw a guy on the news who's applied for over 200 jobs and hasn't had one single interview. I didn't find it quite THAT bad and after a telephone interview and 2 face to face interviews (all for the same company) I was offered a job at a successful global organisation; working in staff development - like I did in the UK. Having had my final interview on a Thursday I was sat at my desk in the office on the following Tuesday! How's that for a turnaround?? It's been great being back in work. The team I work with are so lovely and supportive - as are the extended team of employees. Unbelievably I have been doing that for a month already! Time really does fly by!

To further enhance our Christmas spirit the OH had been told about a place called Franklin Road in Auckland. It's a street in which each house puts up lots of Christmas lights - it attracts quite a crowd of light spectators and being a fan of Christmas festivities we HAD to go! It really was amazing to see such commitment to Christmas - it was the kind of thing I have only ever seen previously on You Tube (yep, I'm the one who searches for 'Christmas lights to music') so it was astounding to see in real life. One of them even had it's lights set to flash to the music playing outside which was awesome!! It did make me wonder though - what came first? Did people move there and then start putting lights up (maybe peer pressure by the neighbours??) or did people move there because they love Christmas so much and already had a commitment to Christmas lights? It's the whole chicken & egg situation but on a much more Christmassy scale.

Just adorable 

One day my home will look like this 

That's a real Mini! 

 This is the house which had its lights set to music

A gorgeous tribute to Christmas!

It's now the day after Boxing Day today and we have had our first Kiwi Christmas. We were so kindly welcomed to Merv's sister Lindy's home where she and her husband Pete were hosting Christmas for around 40 members of the family! It was a real honour for us and it was such a fantastic day. When we were on the way there I felt quite emotional, like I could cry at any moment. Not for any reason in particular - just because it was Christmas Day and we were 12,000 miles away from loved ones. We pulled up at Lindy & Pete's and were greeted by Merv and Pete which was so apt - they wished us Merry Christmas and instantly made us feel at home. Then when we went inside the house it was the same all over again with Lindy & Pete and their children. Christmas dinner was a new thing for us - in the UK we're used to have a roast dinner with turkey but this year we had a feast of delights from coriander king prawns to beetroot, blue cheese & walnut salad, chicken salad, beef salad, minted potatoes which were grown by one of the guests...the food was completely delicious! Then after lunch those who had the inclination went into the outside pool for a dip and to work off enough lunch to make room for dessert. The children opened their gifts, followed by the adult 'silly presents' lucky dip. Then it was dessert time which consisted of trifles, chocolate brownies with a strawberry on top, chocolates, sweets, ice cream, a HUGE plate of lovely fruit, and so on. Then it was time for the family game of Tippit - I won't tell you what this game entails as it's a family tradition but I will say it's boys vs girls and it is very VERY serious! No one can remember the last time the boys won so I felt a real pressure to perform as it was my first ever game as part of the girls team. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and was relieved when I could hop out of the team as it whittled down in numbers over time. I am overjoyed to say that the girls won - to much screaming and shouting from the girlies and lots of heads on the table for the boys. Phew! We left the house at about 9:30pm and made our way home.

I never would have imagined that I could possibly feel so welcome at someone else's family celebration on Christmas Day of all days but we really did. We were even asked to be in the family photo which was a real treat! Thank you once again to Lindy & Pete for welcoming us into your home and also every other member of the family for making us part of your extended family.

Settling down to Christmas dinner 

A VERY serious game of Tippit

By the time we got home and settled after talking to family on Skype it was time for bed - for the first time in my life I didn't open my Christmas presents until Boxing Day as our day was so jam packed! (OK I opened 3 presents on Christmas Day but the majority were left until December 26th!)
Boxing Day we headed to Mission Bay and had some fish & chips on the beach. The OH has been on call this week so he's looking forward to this weekend and New Year celebrations when he can fully embrace the festivities (and the beers!).

One last thing - since moving into our own place we have taken on the intense responsibility of raising our very own...first ever...tomato plant. It's a 'Supertom' so it should yield a fair amount of tomatoes. You will be delighted to hear that I'll update you with his progress via my blog. We've already had a fair amount of input on his upbringing from the OH's mum and dad who are in Wales so it's been Skype-based input. Here is his 1st pic - he doesn't have a name yet (apart from 'Tom' of course), but I am taking suggestions.

Supertom (he has since been repotted)

I hope you are all having a wonderful festive season, I look forward to updating you again in the New Year.

Part 14 - On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again...no, wait

Well well well - how things change over here in just a matter of weeks, or maybe that's just us! The long and the short of it is that the OH has been offered another job...in Auckland - and this is the one he's chosen. So here we are in Auckland now and we have found a home! Just trying to get our shipping possessions which have travelled from the UK - Christchurch - Wellington (where they currently reside!) - Auckland. Then I will FINALLY have my summer clothes and our bed; our TV; just so much stuff that I am looking forward to seeing again...and many things that I have completely forgotten about no doubt. They left our home in the UK at the beginning of May so they will also need to be washed before they are worn too *groan*

We went up to Wellington - as you know - and conveniently timed it for the Wales vs Ireland RWC game. We had met a couple in Hamilton at the Wales vs Fiji game called Jacey & Dai and they had travelled to Wellington as well so we planned to meet up with them for a drink before the game. We met them in the fan zone where J was getting her face painted, so I joined the queue to get mine done and the boys went off for a wander. J&D had tickets to the game but we were going to watch it in a pub...or so I thought. But then the OH came back with the news that he'd "just got tickets" off someone who'd been upgraded to a corporate box. That was that, we were going to the game!

Rugby World Cup 2011: Wales vs. Ireland (Wellington Stadium)

Off we went to the stadium - to be greeted by a sea of green and sporadic groups of red. Just to add to the madness of it all: after the anthems I heard : "Nikki Thomas!" and as I turned to my right I discovered Big Dave - a guy who I used to work with in 2003 in Newport, South Wales! I hasten to add he was called 'Big' Dave because we had a 'little' Dave too...not because he was abnormally large. We were sat only 3 seats apart, it really was surreal amongst some 60,000 fans! So him and his friends joined us after the match as we made our way victoriously to the Welsh Dragon Bar to celebrate our win with lots of singing :-) The following day was the Australia vs South Africa game and J&D had been given free tickets to it by some people who were going home! So after a freshen up the boys went off to the stadium and me & Jacey went to the Welsh bar and made an afternoon of it. So we had 2 amazing evenings with J&D and having missed the train back to Paraparaumu on both nights we all slept very cosily in their camper van.

The following week we settled again in the Welsh Dragon bar to watch the Wales vs France game and how tense it was: we got into the bar and settled onto strategically place barrels with cushions on; the owner was dressed in a Welsh flag cape and he was pacing up and down the pub. He refused to say how he thought Wales would fare - the Welsh have a tendency to not want to jinx the team: we worry that if we say they're going to do well then it will be our fault if they falter.

There was one Frenchman in the bar - and he only looked young. To be fair he stood his ground and after plenty of cajoling he sang the French national anthem proudly amidst the 'foes'. I'm not going to talk about the game because it is too soul destroying...I'm not going to mention the red card that should never have been a red card, I'm definitely not going to mention our kicking 'ability' and I promise not to talk of all the dreams I heard smash into pieces in the Welsh bar that evening. It was heart breaking to go out the way we did. The Welsh have a habit of saying "as long as we play well we don't mind losing"...but we do, it makes it so much harder because we DESERVED to be in that final. But....c'est la vie. After the game we were interviewed yet again by a guy with a microphone (nope, no idea where he was from). We were deflated, gutted, destroyed but PROUD! The Welsh team played so so well throughout the whole tournament. It was sad to see Adam Jones go off and for Sam Warburton to be sent off after just 18 minutes was sacrilege but enough talk of the game ;-)

After a few more days in Wellington we were due to take a complete leap of faith and make the 8 hour road trip to to Auckland (again: conveniently in time for the Wales vs Australia Bronze play off - in Auckland) to meet up with J&D again. On the way this time we did actually see goats (real ones this time), llamas, chickens, and a pig just to add to the farm animals we'd seen on previous road trips. The views once again were breathtaking.

Driving to Auckland: From sun soaked sea views...

Driving to Auckland: ...to snow capped mountains

J&D were staying with a Kiwi family (with Welsh connections) whom they had met while hounding the Welsh team for autographs at Sky City and the family invited us to stay there too. We found our way to their absolutely beautiful home and were made to feel like we'd known Merv & Pete (the owners) our whole lives. Merv has familial links in Wales as it's where she was born and her cousin Julie was over from Barry Island too which was great! She's like a bottle of pop and has a lovely strong Welsh accent :) It was Thursday so we all had a few drinks and prepared for a fab, fun-filled weekend with the Cavanaghs. The next few days looked something like this:

Friday: We spent the day out & about. Merv had the day off work so she took us all to see some local sights. We went to bees online as Dai wanted to see bees making honey and after watching the honey bees we tasted and purchased plenty of honey! Then we headed off to Coopers Creek vineyard for some wine tasting then settled outside in the afternoon sun for a bottle of wine and a cheese / fruit / crackers platter - simply divine!

Afterwards we went for a meal along the river in order to line our stomachs substantially. In the evening we headed to Eden Park to see if we could get tickets to the Wales vs Australia bronze play off and if not we were going to watch it in a pub. After about 15 minutes of walking around we were just about ready to cut our losses when they decided to check with the ticket office to see how much the tickets were which were remaining. The answer: $200 each. So the OH walked up to a group of people and asked if they had any spare tickets to which they replied "yes, 2" and put them in his hand. He asked how much they wanted for them and they said we could have them for free! They'd had another 3 too but had already given them away. So THANK YOU very much to that Irish group from the cruise liner - you made our night! So we were 2 down - 4 to go. We continued our hunt and the others found a couple of South African guys who had 4 for sale - perfect!

The cruise liners at Auckland Harbour by the Fan Zone

All 6 of us chipped in for the 4 tickets to make it equal and it meant that we ended up paying only $140 per pair of tickets! Amazing. So once again we were off to the game with Category B tickets thanks to the cruise packages that had rolled into Auckland Harbour that weekend. Me & the OH got to our seats and were surrounded by Aussies - with only 2 other Welshies in the area - which made us sing the national anthem with even greater oomph! After the game we met up with the others and had an amazing night singing in a local bar with some really lovely Aussies and fellow Welshies - it was brilliant!

Rugby World Cup 2011: Wales vs. Australia (Eden Park, Auckland)

The Fan Zone, Auckland

Saturday: Pete's birthday so we all went to the races at Ellerslie. Having never been to the races before we had to be inducted into the culture and Merv, Pete and Julie were excellent teachers in advising what a 'Quinella' was and how we placed bets, etc. It was a great afternoon and the OH won 4 races! $34 was his biggest win. The others won a few races too and I won nothing, absolutely zilch. The OH certainly made up for my losses. Despite that it was such a fun experience and we all had a great day out followed by a lovely meal at the RSA (like a RAFA / social club in Wales) and a relatively early night ready for RWC FINAL day!

Sunday: We started an excited day with a gorgeous eggs florentine created by Merv (definitely 5 stars Merv!!), then we went to explore Lion Rock & Piha beach on the way to the paaaaarty at Merv's sister Lindy's. What a night - great food, great company, great drinks and a WIN for the All Blacks!! :o) We all enjoyed seeing the win after a super tense match!! Over the moon that they won as no one can disupte the fact that the ABs definitely deserved it. We celebrated long into the night and got home at about 4am.

Lion Rock (can you see the lion?) & Piha Beach

Monday: After recovering from the night before Merv taught us a new card game called 'oh hell!' After developing a serious addiction to the game we were up until 4am again(!) playing it.

Tuesday: We went for a lovely walk along the beach just down from the house with views of Harbour Bridge and Sky Tower.

Wednesday: Back to normal for Merv & Pete as they were back in work and Rugby Fever was almost over: just a few victory parades in the streets of New Zealand for the All Blacks and the cup. We watched the Auckland parade on the TV where 250,000 people turned out to see them - pretty impressive for a country with a population of 4 Million and it's indicative of the pride the nation has in it's rugby achievements. BUT before that we were taken out for a spin in an absolutely AMAZING beautiful red Mustang. We went all along the coast and enjoyed breathing in the sea air while in super luxury comfort - it was awesome!! Thank you John & Christine, you made our week!! Spent the evening at the RSA pub quiz where our team came 2nd (no thanks to me really but the OH and the rest of the team did well).

Wow! THE Mustang

Friday: Had 'fush n chups' before a great game of 'Oh, Hell!' with Merv's friends with a few drinks which went into the night.

Saturday: a HUGE (very very difficult) quiz at the local tennis club. There were so many of us we had to split into 2 teams as it was a maximum of 8 per team. There were raffles and loads of spot prizes which just made for a great night. We came away with some random prizes ranging from wine to gardeners hand wash to a voucher for expensive sports socks! Also, our teams came 1st and 2nd so we won loads of things for that. I knew a few of the answers but ironically the answer I was solely responsible for which was correct was in the 'Kiwiana' round - I knew I was a Kiwi at heart ;-)

In the middle of all of the activities above we were searching for a home and I was searching for a job so it's been pretty hectic! It's now the following Tuesday and in the past week J&D went off to have a look around Tauranga and me and the OH have found a unit which we have secured so we now have an abode! We'll be moving in as soon as our shipment is in Auckland so that's exciting! I am now looking for a job in Auckland and wondering how I am ever going to navigate this huge city. The strange thing is that when we visited last year we both narrow-mindedly said we'd never live in Auckland: as a tourist you just see a HUGE city with a high population (4 million in the whole of NZ but a third of these live in Auckland) and a manic rush hour. But having been based here for just a week we've been off exploring the unspoilt beauty of it - from lion rock & Piha, to vineyards, to Karekare beach, Half Moon Bay, Cockle Bay and so many more. It's stunning and I retract my statement made in haste 18 months ago - we're falling in love with the place and it feels like home.

Karekare Beach

View from the rocks, Karekare

Waves crashing against the rocks at Karekare Beach

You might wonder where we're currently living and once again it's thanks to the beautiful generosity of Merv and Pete who asked us to stay on with them until we got settled and found our own home. Not only have they fully embraced us into their family and circle of friends but they've made us feel at home. They've provided us with such sound advice on places to live, they've answered all of our (often duplicated) questions without an ounce of frustration, they have given all that they can give and more. Generosity on this scale really changes your perspective - in the UK we wouldn't dream of welcoming relative strangers into our home and leaving them up while we go to bed, encouraging them to 'help yourselves' and 'make yourselves at home'. They are a real inspiration and we will never be able to thank them enough. So thank you Merv & Pete, and your gorgeous family and fantastic friends for taking us in and just being you. You are wonderful.