New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[patches]

Grew up in Zim, sailing on dams around Bulawayo, then not much until now (hopefully). The Gulf is such a resource it's a pity not to make full use of it, and I like sailing and building boats so it's a win-win.

 

But to answer your question, all over the place but ending up in Benoni for the last 14yrs...!

 

Aah a Zimbo! My family is all from there. Father and mother grew up there. Grandparents lived in Bulawayo (grandmother still does). My uncles all went to Falcon college. A couple of my cousins did too.

 

My grandfather was big into his boats (motorized) and fishing, but funny enough never took us kids to the dams around Bulawayo as he had a chalet and houseboat down on the Zambezi (Msuna, not far from Hwange).

 

As for Benoni, I had some friends out Rhynfield way with a couple of those racing pencil-ducks. loads of fun!

 

But yeah, totally hear you, the water here is world class and it's a pity not to take advantage of it.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Aah a Zimbo! My family is all from there. Father and mother grew up there. Grandparents lived in Bulawayo (grandmother still does). My uncles all went to Falcon college. A couple of my cousins did too.

 

My grandfather was big into his boats (motorized) and fishing, but funny enough never took us kids to the dams around Bulawayo as he had a chalet and houseboat down on the Zambezi (Msuna, not far from Hwange).

 

As for Benoni, I had some friends out Rhynfield way with a couple of those racing pencil-ducks. loads of fun!

 

But yeah, totally hear you, the water here is world class and it's a pity not to take advantage of it.

Ummm - I lived in Rynfield. 

 

Something about Benoni must have really sucked for so many of us to be here?

[davetapson]

Another Bulawayo brother, deserves a thumbs up on principle, although you could have upgraded in your time in SA rather than stick to place names beginning with B  (Benoni) ! 

Bullies, centre of the world!  Had some others: Chiredzi (more accurately Mkwasine), Pietermartizburg, Oshakati, Capetown, Mtunzini, South Croydon, somewhere else in London that escapes me, Isle of Mull, Capetown, Empangeni, Putney, Wimbledon, Edinburgh, Grantchester, Islington, Chelmsford, Benoni - Auckland...

 

My grandfather was big into his boats (motorized) and fishing, but funny enough never took us kids to the dams around Bulawayo as he had a chalet and houseboat down on the Zambezi (Msuna, not far from Hwange).

 

The Zam, one of the worlds finest places... I remember you mentioning Kanyemba in some long ago post, I think to Barry for some reason, and thinking 'yeh, not many know where that is, fewer been there...'

 

Ummm - I lived in Rynfield. 

 

Something about Benoni must have really sucked for so many of us to be here?

 

Yeah, we lived about three blocks from your burger joint in Morehill Terrace or whatever it was called.

Suppose it didn't have enough going for it to overlook the alternatives... it was so-so, not my favourite spot.  My wife's family is from there and she wanted to move back to SA to look after her folks - who promptly fought with us and then didn't speak with us for 5 years, so that was a real win 

Edited July 22, 2020 by davetapson

[Clippies]

Bullies, centre of the world!  Had some others: Chiredzi (more accurately Mkwasine), Pietermartizburg, Oshakati, Capetown, Mtunzini, South Croydon, somewhere else in London that escapes me, Isle of Mull, Capetown, Empangeni, Putney, Wimbledon, Edinburgh, Grantchester, Islington, Chelmsford, Benoni - Auckland...

 

The Zam, one of the worlds finest places... I remember you mentioning Kanyemba in some long ago post, I think to Barry for some reason, and thinking 'yeh, not many know where that is, fewer been there...'

 

 

Yeah, we lived about three blocks from your burger joint in Morehill Terrace or whatever it was called.

Suppose it didn't have enough going for it to overlook the alternatives... it was so-so, not my favourite spot.  My wife's family is from there and she wanted to move back to SA to look after her folks - who promptly fought with us and then didn't speak with us for 5 years, so that was a real win 

 

Haha, also from Bullies, dont tell me you also went to Hillside Junior.

When this group rode at Woodhill I never managed to put names to faces so dont know who I met when we rode. Maybe we should have another ride out there some time, looks like a few of us are on North shore.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

Must say, I will not miss ILG one bit.

Professionally a liar, and looks like in his personal life too. Wow.......

[davetapson]

Haha, also from Bullies, dont tell me you also went to Hillside Junior.

When this group rode at Woodhill I never managed to put names to faces so dont know who I met when we rode. Maybe we should have another ride out there some time, looks like a few of us are on North shore.

Yep, then Milton. On hindsight, should have done Falcon.

[travisza]

Ok wow. 294 pages later and I hope I have most of the information without asking too many questions that have already been answered.

 

So wife and I are seriously considering a move to Christchurch (I know I know...not the best time but I guess no matter whats going on the best time to start is immediately).

I know VISAs etc are currently closed, as are all flights etc. but figured that we might start the process now anyway given that it takes a while.

Looking at the options I think that Skilled Migrant Visa makes the most sense for us. I should be able to score 160 points without a job offer unless I've done something wrong on the online calculator. Edit: actually made a mistake I think...not sure Chartered Accountant qualifies here anymore or perhaps thats just for absolute skills shortage work experience. Hmmmmm

 

Why Christchurch? I reckon if I'm going to move my entire life I'd like to try and readjust to one that's a bit more relaxed and I like the idea of a smaller city. I realise that job opportunities won't be as good as Auckland but I'm willing to trade that against a smaller city feel, cheaper property, and hopefully a different quality of life.

I see patches is the only person who was in Christchurch for a while...any reason (besides earthquakes) I should be avoiding it?

We have 4 dogs and 2 cats so Interns estimate of the cost of moving pets terrifies me.

 

Looks like first action is completing the EOI....any tips?

Edited July 22, 2020 by travisza

[Wayne Potgieter]

Ok wow. 294 pages later and I hope I have most of the information without asking too many questions that have already been answered.

 

So wife and I are seriously considering a move to Christchurch (I know I know...not the best time but I guess no matter whats going on the best time to start is immediately).

 

I know VISAs etc are currently closed, as are all flights etc. but figured that we might start the process now anyway given that it takes a while.

 

Looking at the options I think that Skilled Migrant Visa makes the most sense for us. I should be able to score 160 points without a job offer unless I've done something wrong on the online calculator. Edit: actually made a mistake I think...not sure Chartered Accountant qualifies here anymore or perhaps thats just for absolute skills shortage work experience. Hmmmmm

 

Why Christchurch? I reckon if I'm going to move my entire life I'd like to try and readjust to one that's a bit more relaxed and I like the idea of a smaller city. I realise that job opportunities won't be as good as Auckland but I'm willing to trade that against a smaller city feel, cheaper property, and hopefully a different quality of life.

 

I see patches is the only person who was in Christchurch for a while...any reason (besides earthquakes) I should be avoiding it?

 

We have 4 dogs and 2 cats so Interns estimate of the cost of moving pets terrifies me.

 

Looks like first action is completing the EOI....any tips?

Hi Travis.

 

If no kids, CHC would be a good choice. Proviso being it is a small town compared to most of ZA.

 

For perspective, Benoni has half the population of AUCKLAND. And that's our biggest city.

 

CHC is a good gateway to adventure and still has a reasonably good economy for job seekers. 

 

I went there three weeks ago to investigate living there, but was not happy with the schools so that's why we did not make the move.

 

My biggest suggestion and recommendation is to use a registered immigration agent. Especially in these turbulent times. Paying for good advice is invaluable. Most of us moved here before the major immigration changes, so essentially our advice becomes more obsolete over time. 

 

I am happy to recommend a few if you like?

[davetapson]

Haha, also from Bullies, dont tell me you also went to Hillside Junior.

When this group rode at Woodhill I never managed to put names to faces so dont know who I met when we rode. Maybe we should have another ride out there some time, looks like a few of us are on North shore.

I'd need to dig my bike out from under the sawdust and spiders and try and remember how to ride it.

 

What's that thing they say - you never forget how to fall off a bicycle..?

 

PS: that's one thing they never mention about NZ - spiders.  Damn, they're everywhere.

[davetapson]

CHC is a good gateway to adventure and still has a reasonably good economy for job seekers. 

I've had quite a few jobs coming through for positions in CHC (this is IT, but  where there are companies that need IT, there will be companies that need CA's?) - we're pretty much stuck in AKL but looks like we could make a good go of it there easily enough.

 

We used an agent that WP suggested back in the day, no regrets at all.  It's probably possible to DIY, but if you want to get one and done, just stump up the bucks and put it in an experts hands.  We would not have put some of the stuff on the forms that they did, so they may be able to pivot your application to look better in INZ's eyes than you probably might know how to.

[patham]

Yep, then Milton. On hindsight, should have done Falcon.

 

A year at Thomas Baines junior, then across town to Hamilton High. There was not enough money floating around for Falcon. I went there a few times to play hockey and it did look mighty fine ! 

[patham]

Aah a Zimbo! My family is all from there. Father and mother grew up there. Grandparents lived in Bulawayo (grandmother still does). My uncles all went to Falcon college. A couple of my cousins did too.

 

My grandfather was big into his boats (motorized) and fishing, but funny enough never took us kids to the dams around Bulawayo as he had a chalet and houseboat down on the Zambezi (Msuna, not far from Hwange).

 

 

Random recollection mode=ON.

 

My last few years in Zim I was up in Hwange. I only visited Msuna a few times, but hung out more at the chalets at the Wankie Angling & Boating Club, the order was WABC, the Deka Drum, Msuna as you went further downstream and/or down the road (which got progressively dodgier).

 

 

The boat ride from WABC to Msuna (or further to Milibisi) is pretty cool as the Zambezi changes character quite a bit in that area, gorges, rapids, sand islands, shallower riffle sections etc and then Kariba itself. Although technically, Kariba under extreme flood conditions backs up past the WABC, the high water mark is painted on the colliery water extraction pump station there. 

 

Just downstream of the WABC is one of the last of the rapids, known as Black Rock, which needs a fair bit of skill and knowledge to navigate. The one time a friend and myself were asked to reposition an acquantance's boat down to Msuna. Sounded like a cool day out, no worries!

 

All started off OK, but as we got into the river main stream the engine failed. No back-up engine as it was not a monster-sized boat. Look for an anchor - none present, just tie-ropes which are pretty useless in a 500 m wide river. Look for paddles, only one. No mobiles back then either.

 

As we were drifting closer and closer to the rapids (and hence a certain flip and swim with the hippocrocoducks)  my buddy was frantically trying to do an engine and carb strip, whilst I was perched on the bow paddling like no tomorrow, and making very little headway to get to the side of the river in time.

 

Just before certain doom, a guardian angel with his home-engineered Ford Fairlane V8 inboard combined with a Volvo penta-drive (so oodles of power) came zooming past, we flagged him down and got a tow back to the WABC. To bring the story back to the NZ thread theme, the saviour guy ended up becoming my brother-in-law, and they live in Palmerston North! 

 

Learnt that day, do your equipment checks before getting your feet wet, and don't be afraid of pulling the plug on the mission if everything is not in order! 

[davetapson]

Random recollection mode=ON.

 

Learnt that day, do your equipment checks before getting your feet wet, and don't be afraid of pulling the plug on the mission if everything is not in order! 

Did the same sort of thing at Kanyemba - had an epic descent into the valley - had an old Mk1 Range Rover that caught fire, a new Isuzu KB that popped a front shock, a Nissan bakkie that popped it's front hubcap covers off...

 

When we finally got on the river, the other guys had taken off up stream and was me and a mate left.  We jumped in a boat, cranked the motor and headed up after them. 

Me: "Paul, isn't this motor supposed to have a tell-tale?" (Stream of water to show the water pump impeller is working...)

Paul: "Yeah-um-maybe?" Looks longingly upstream... "Whatever."

 

400m upstream, just past a huge pod of restless hippos... *put*put*stop*

 

Just sat there looking at the pod of Hippos that we were being washed back down to and thought "Damn, all that **** getting here, and we're going to be eaten by Hippos on the first 10mins on the river..."

 

We managed to paddle ourselves out of harms way, but it was a close run thing.

 

I love that river.

 

Edit: I was picking up books for the kids in the Browns Bay Library and came across this - it's a great read...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Wankie-Place-Colonial-Africa/dp/1568251653

Edited July 23, 2020 by davetapson

[travisza]

Hi Travis.

 

If no kids, CHC would be a good choice. Proviso being it is a small town compared to most of ZA.

 

For perspective, Benoni has half the population of AUCKLAND. And that's our biggest city.

 

CHC is a good gateway to adventure and still has a reasonably good economy for job seekers. 

 

I went there three weeks ago to investigate living there, but was not happy with the schools so that's why we did not make the move.

 

My biggest suggestion and recommendation is to use a registered immigration agent. Especially in these turbulent times. Paying for good advice is invaluable. Most of us moved here before the major immigration changes, so essentially our advice becomes more obsolete over time. 

 

I am happy to recommend a few if you like?

Hi Wayne,

 

Thanks so much for the response. While we don't have kids yet we are certainly thinking about having our first in the next little while. (As you can tell I'm trying to pile as much stress into the next 24 months as I can haha)

 

I read your post regarding schooling in CHC and I suppose because I don't have kids yet its not something I've looked very deeply into. I'm not against single-sex schools if those are the best options. If we do have kids in the next 1-2 years then they'll only need primary schooling in the next 5-7 so I suppose we would have some time to consider schooling in the area. Not looking to move twice but its not impossible.

 

Regarding the immigration agent I was planning on doing this myself and saving the money (to put towards our animals' move haha) but your and Dave's points are valid and that might be penny-wise, pound-foolish at this stage given all that is going on. Given that this is the biggest lifestyle change my wife and I would make (aside from kids) it makes sense to get expert advice....if you could recommend some agents that would be amazing thank you. Better than relying on the first result in a google search

[davetapson]

I've given some thought to the DIY thing, and I think my final feeling is:

 

If things are simple - you have an easily defined profession and career, few job changes etc, then DIY is probably quite feasible.

 

In our case, things were more complicated, including a kid that wouldn't be considered a dependent (over 18) etc, and having an agent who could advise options made a difference.

[intern]

Patches this one is for you (and specifically, why you should not put your moto away for the winter). I've been riding around 4-6 times a week the last while. It's not all bad, that's for sure!