One month on

So it has now been over a month since we touched down in the Land of the Long White Cloud.  It seems like a long time ago I wrote about that moment.  We have achieved a huge amount in that time.  The blur in which a month has gone by is in stark contrast to the leisurely pace at which the last week has passed.   We are slowly adding furniture, kitchenware, bathroomware and other essentials.  Whilst the better half dutifully goes to work each morning I have followed a daily routine of job searching and applications, walks and runs, and trips to go shopping for much needed essentials.

Those of you who are following me on Facetube or Twaddle will have noticed the fairly constant stream of photographs and status updates over the last week.  For the rest of you here is a summary of roughly what we have been up to.

Saturday 23rd Feb -  The day was spent in various homeware and furniture stores across Wellington.  Money was spent, arguments over the colour of a toilet brush were had,  but in the end the bulk of essentials for our house were purchased.  We spent the evening on our balcony relaxing on our new wicker chairs enjoying a well deserved, and much welcome, beer.

 

Sunday 24th Feb - More of the same trawling of shops for essential items that didn't make it onto Saturday's list. Followed by a walk along the coastline close to the house to try and grab some relaxation time before the better half had to return to work on Monday.

 

 

    

   

Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th Feb - Job hunting, filling in applications, unpacking (there are still items in suitcases), shopping for odds and ends.

 

Wednesday 27th Feb - Having spent two days writing, refining, rewriting, proof reading, checking, rechecking and actually submitting job applications, I gave myself a day off and went for a long walk.  Now for the history lesson.  In 1840 the New Zealand Company (who were running Wellington) thoughtfully set aside an area of land surrounding the settlement for "public use".  This became known as the town belt.  Approximately 70% of it still remains and although the modern city limits are well outside this belt, it provides vast green areas in the midst of the the modern city.  The walk I did follows the town belt from Island Bay (home) right into the heart of the city through various parks and reserves.   Thirteen kilometres of marked paths mostly keeping off the roads.  They thoughtfully provide you with a topographical profile of the route which shows that despite the high point being less than 200 metres above sea level the total ascent and descent is over 1000 metres.  All good fun, lots of interesting birds, plants and views - a fantastic walk.

 

    

    

  

Thursday 28th Feb - The hottest day we have had since we arrived.  No wind either (very unusual).  I returned to the routine of job applications whilst the better half was at work. In the evening we took a wander along the beach front and had dinner, al fresco, at a fantastic little cafe overlooking the sea.  Note to self - on days without wind in the summer don't forget the mosquito repellent.

 

Friday 1st March - More of the same job hunting/application refinement.  The bonus of the day was we finally got our phone line and broadband installed.  We finished the day with a tasty meal and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate one month in New Zealand and one week in our new home.

Saturday 2nd March - Off to a seminar organised by Settlement Services Wellington called Welly 101.  Lots of useful information for migrants and we got to meet loads of people in the same boat as us.  We also manged to find time to spend a couple of hours in Te Papa Museum (the National Museum) and to drop in on a furniture store and order a sofa.

Sunday 3rd March - What else would we do on a Sunday but go to watch some cricket.  Specifically, Wellington Firebirds v Auckland Aces in the Ford Trophy One Day Series.  The Basin Reserve will host the second England v Blackcaps test later in March.  It definitely does not feel like an international venue as one whole side of the ground is just a grassy bank (very comfortable though).  It was a fantastically relaxing day despite a nail-bitingly close match. Wellington lost though - Auckland needed 4 off the final ball of the innings and Kyle Mills, in style, hit a six back over the bowlers head.

So that brings us up to date.  The better half is at work, I am trawling more job websites and this week's routine is underway.  Apologies if I have waffled on, but there was a lot to catch up on.  Writing this is as much a form of therapy for the chaos in my mind as it is to entertain and inform the reader. I know it is a fine line between interesting and mundane.  I'm just not sure where the line is.    I shall, in future, endeavour to hover somewhere in the region of quite interesting.