(Extracted from a letter I wrote to my friend Valerie)
I have a little time, so here is the detail of our move to NZ…….
Beginning October was resign from EDS SA with a view to being in NZ first week Nov, try to land a job before the year end shut down………. (fortunately, in hind sight, it did not happen that way)
BP added their joint venture in Algeria into the mix and asked if I would manage the piece of work as an "extension" to the existing project which was going to be done and dusted by the end of October.
I suggested they "make it worth my while" and negotiated a little extra, plus I was able to manipulate EDS, as I had resigned and would need to be engaged as a contractor…… we got creative and we agreed the rates, in my favour………… (Went to Algeria for 2 weeks, won’t do it again)
This decided and agreed, I arranged for a container for my furniture, which would be delivered just before Christmas, stored in Cape Town until I had landed a job here and then be shipped………the best laid plans……….
So December rolled in and I contacted the shipping agents to arrange the date for delivery of the container and firm up the agreement with the storage, only to be told they could not accommodate me with storage……. Best they could do would be to store all my stuff in their warehouse, then they would pack the container and ship it when I was ready………… no guarantees on how well they would pack, I would have to take insurance while it was in their warehouse etc. I decided to take the risk. Deliver the container, I will pack it (22 Dec) and it ships to Auckland on 28 Dec, expected to be on the water for 6 to 8 weeks. Done!
Container packed, keys handed over to the landlord we spend the night with friends in Cape Town (our 15th Wedding Aniv) and hit the road to JHB early the morn of 23rd, make good progress and drive straight through……….. To JHB! (The kids had flown up a week earlier) So we are reunited in Benoni and spend XMAS and New Year with family and friends…..
I am organising my trip to NZ during this time and around the 9th I target a number of job ads and personnel agencies, sending my CV and dedicated covering letters specific to each job……….
The response is encouraging and I confirm my reservation to Auckland on Emirates via Dubai, Singapore and Brisbane, scheduled to depart on Sat 14 Jan at 14h00.
In true Alan fashion, I decide on that Saturday morning at about 7AM that it would be a good opportunity for father and son to bond, so contact the travel agent at home, get her out of bed and task her with securing a ticket for Travis so that he can join me………… she obliges and by 9AM the electronic tickets are issued and I have transferred the cash……….. Travis is advised he is going to New Zealand in 5 hours time and it would be a good idea to pack some kit…….. That is just soooooooo me! Hey!?
Arrive Auckland after the 27 hour ordeal and head off with my cousin to their South Auckland home…. Couple of days to recover and on Wednesday a buy a car……. A 1991 Honda Legend, 3.2 litre, V6, leather top of the range saloon thing, for the princely sum of R9600.00…… it has 145000km on the clock, I know it won't last forever, but for that money, if it gets me through the next 3 to 4 months, it will serve as a cheap trade in……. So I fork out the cash and take ownership……
….… it is making some strange sounds now, but I have already been approved for an HP deal, so am just waiting for the right car at the right price.
Back to the story………..
I have 2 initial interviews in Auckland, in that first week, then EDS advise they want to talk and a contract opportunity / interview presents itself in Wellington, so Travis and I pack the car and drive down to Wellington, taking 3 days and visiting lots of places (Taupo, Wanganui and Otaki) taking our time, bonding
We love Wellington at first sight and Travis is over the moon……….. The interview goes poorly and I am disappointed, but it is good enough with my EDS references and EDS eventually make the offer. I did not want to risk maybe not landing something else / playing the field, so I accept the EDS offer and start the work permit process. EDS are registered with NZ Immigration as a “Talent Sector” employer, meaning my application process is streamlined and guaranteed not to take more than a week.
I had applied for my police clearance before leaving SA and was informed that it could be collected 28 days from that date…….. And that my mother could collect it etc…..
I now want to apply for my work permit so I can get started……… Hello ma! Any news on the clearance? Will check today son……… no, not ready…… but it has been 35 days……. Eventually we get the damned thing and it is faxed over, I go to Immigration in Wellington to lodge my papers and they issue my work permit immediately, I kid you not, IMMIDIATELY! While I am talking to a case worker.
I phone EDS to advise I have my permit, but they are not ready for me so delay by a week and I start 6 March.
Oh, forgot about the rest of the family…….
The idea was that Des and the girls would hang out in JHB until I got a job offer and new that things would sort of work out…….. They lasted about two weeks and then started bleating about missing us and it was not fair we were there and they were there or not there or wherever…….. Hee hee…….. So they talked me into agreeing that they book their flights for as soon as they could get away………. They arrived Auckland 3 Feb, we packed or stuff in the car and drove to Wellington on 6 Feb……………….driven by my desire to be independent, get the kids I school in Wellington and not impose on the family. Having 2 extra bodies around is one thing,,,,, a family of five?!
I arranged for a holiday house, on the beach in Raumati, next door to Paraparaumu…… cost plenty in SA Rand, but the cheapest way for a family of 5 to be accommodated….. The owner of the place was such a cool guy…….. And after a week and a bit, we met, so I could pay him, and we chatted for about 2 hours…….. I said we would be vacating from a certain date and that the cash in the envelope was up to that date……. He asked what my plans…….. My response that we would be looking for something cheaper resulted in an offer to use the house until the next tenants arrived, at no additional cost…… as a thank you we gave the place a spring clean and I fixed a couple of things that needed mending………… we stayed on another 4 days, which was all we needed to get our furniture out and move into our new place, which we had agreed to rent….. The landlord being accommodating in that we did not have to take occupation, till we were ready and the furniture arrived…… so it all worked a treat……… which brings me to the furniture……
The furniture had arrive Auckland 2 days before we were departing for Wellington, so I arranged with the agents to on-ship the container to Wellington, paid them their money and the on-shipping and forgot about the container for a couple more weeks…….
We had now found a place to stay and the container was due to arrive in Wellington. I went off to a clearing agent I had been referred to and met with a chap. It was the first time since I had been here I go the feeling I was being ripped off and worked over.
Couple of issues surfaced though. I could not get the container released from customs without a document confirming I had a legal right to be in the country, Work permit as an example, also the contents would need to be inspected by the authorities and then I would have to get the stuff the 50KMs to our new home.
The agent was prepared to "help us out" for a fee of somewhere around 700 to 1000 dollars, but armed with some knowledge of the process and no longer fearing the authorities, cos they really are a delight to deal with, I set about finding out and organising things myself. An approach of….." I am new, how do I do this, what is required, can you refer me" is a great strategy and those tools are effective.
Customs explained what paper work was needed and a visit to the Quarantine authorities resulted in an agreement between themselves and a local warehouse, transit type company, that the transit guys would offload my container in their warehouse, we would meet the quarantine guys there the next morning, help them identify the things we though they needed to check, golf clubs, soccer boots, hiking boots, some wood artefacts etc…….. Quarantine billed us the minimum they could, $60 and the ware house guys offloaded and stored for $300…… I hired a self drive truck for $85 and on arrival was informed that Quarantine had cleared my goods, I could just pack and be off…… Customs had been sorted for us at no charge, cos one of the guys was going over there so he took the docs and got the clearance for us…………
That is the kind of life we have here. People are helpful, thoughtful and I think it is wonderful!
So everything came together, just in time, with a little luck, a little perseverance and a little initiative.
The kids were accepted in to school immediately, meaning they only missed the first 3 days of the school year. Travis has a girlfriend, plays cricket and represented the college at the regional athletics meet, then the Wellington Champs. I reckon next year he will go on to represent North Island against South Island at what is called the Colgate's in the long jump. He consistently jumps the qualifying distance with ease, we just got in too late this season, but he is now with a club and will be registered and included next season (we still have things to learn)
Sherrie has a boyfriend, so Dad is like a bear with a sore tooth, but I am learning to deal with it, she is 16 after all, but still my baby……..
Meghan is about to get settled into her horse riding and has been to the South Island on a school camp, travelling across on the ferry and spending a week. The weather treated them really well and she had a ball. She will need to post the details of her story….
So, that is a whole bunch of news, slightly disjointed. I apologise, but it is there for posterity……..
Alan