We are on our way

Well Friday has to go down as one of the most stressful days of my life!

The container arrived at 10.00am and at 10.00pm we were still packing it! I have no idea how we have managed to accumulate so much junk, I wouldn’t mind but we still didn’t get it all in! We had to get a lorry and a few men on Saturday morning to help us move everything that was left over down to the studios so it can ship along with all the work stuff in a few months.

I feel like we have been packing forever, we started just after Ziggi and Matt left in September, that was four months ago!
It has been difficult though, as they are very strict about what is and isn’t allowed into New Zealand. You are not allowed to take in anything of plant origin in case it contains seeds or pests. That means no dried flowers, cane blinds, rush mats, bamboo etc it is surprising how much stuff you have made from plants. They also need to inspect all sporting equipment, bikes, shoes, garden tools etc in case they have traces of soil that could be carrying disease, so all that kind of stuff has to be left accessible.

We spent Friday and Saturday night sleeping on the floor in an empty house, that was fun!
It is now Sunday morning and we are just about to leave for the airport and I am anticipating another stressful day ahead.
It was impossible to get a direct flight to New Zealand. With it being Chinese New Year and the start of the new academic year over there. Not only were all the non stop flights full, but every direct flight via Australia was full also. The only way we can possibly get there is by taking a flight from Singapore, in the opposite direction to Hong Kong, then Hong Kong to Auckland, then Auckland to Nelson. This has more than doubled the journey time (and the cost!) No doubt we will be dead on our feet by the time we arrive. That is when the fun really starts, as we have no where to go!! We can’t rent a house because our stuff won’t arrive for another month or so (two nights on the floor was enough for me) so we are going to have to stay in holiday accommodation for a while – but it is high season in New Zealand and Nelson is one of the most popular destinations, so finding any where with availability has so far been impossible. We have one of the agencies over there trying to sort something out for us but we won’t know if they have found anything until we reach Auckland.

Now on the flight to Hong Kong (thankfully Singapore Air turned a blind eye to our overweight luggage and six pieces of hand baggage!) So far so good --------