Pride Rock

We have now been in New Zealand for almost a week and our dream has come true! We feel very comfortable and at home here and have no regrets about our decision.
The past week has been very busy and interesting and we have enjoyed glorious weather since we arrived.
We spent our final couple of hours in the UK in the Virgin Club Lounge at Heathrow, as guests of Julie and Chris who we met last year on safari in South Africa . By pure coincidence they were flying to Dehli at just about the same time as our flight to NZ. Drinking bubbles with them and sharing travel experiences and plans with people who have a similar outlook to life and travel was the perfect end to our time in the UK.

Our Air NZ flights came up to expectations although we had a bit of a shock when we checked in and were told that our baggage was 71 Kg overweight- at 33 UK Pounds per Kg that meant we faced a bill of over 2000 pounds. Ugh!!! We managed to sort out the cases and sent the 71Kg with another company and at 250 UK Pounds it was cheap!
We were met at Auckland Airport by a fab Chilli red convertible mini- wow!

The Furries arrived 24 hours later and thankfully seemed none the worse for their journey- Airpets Oceanic (Willowslea Kennels near Heathrow) were fantastic and we are grateful to them for the care they gave not only to the Furries, but also to the anxious owner. They seem to love their new home and within 24 hours were exploring the garden and establishing their territory.

There is a huge flat rock in our garden and it provides a great vantage point from which to take in the amazing view from our new home, across Tauranga and the Mount and out to the Pacific Ocean. The six of us have spent some time sitting on the rock and taking in the view. So, we have called it Pride Rock- you will recall that we enjoyed The Lion King very much!

We are proud to be here and proud of the decision we made to experience life in NZ.
More to follow soon....................................................