With the Easter Holidays fast approaching, everyone in Auckland seemed to be buzzing with anticipation of a long weekend away. The weather forecast promised blue skies and hot, hot sun - a complete contrast to UK Bank Holiday weather - and the opportunity to escape the city and take the new car for a long run was just too good to resist. Alas our plans were almost scuppered when Glynn came down with a bad cold but his determination won through and at 6am on Friday morning, we were all packed and ready for the off. We had originally considered spending [View Full Entry]

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Auckland is a city built on not one but over 50 volcanoes, all of which are blessedly dormant (but not extinct!). This lends the urban sprawl some fabulous features including a rolling landscape, plenty of big green spaces and a sense that you are never far away from nature's beauty. Just across the water from the CBD (Central Business District) where we live, stands the mysterious Rangitoto Island, Auckland's newest volcano at just 650 years old. Given that the ferry terminal is just a 20 minute walk away for us at the moment, we decided to treat Liz and Allard for [View Full Entry]

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My, doesn't time fly when you're busy settling into a new country? I can scarely believe we've only been here two months and so much has happended already. And they're all good things too! Not only has Glynn had his job offer but his work permit application, which we expected to take 30 days, was all done and dusted after just 4 days. That's almost unheard of! The best news is also that we're now entitled to stay here for at least a year - it's official!! :-) Having the permit already meant we would be needing a car far sooner [View Full Entry]

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When we came to Auckland last year, one of the big events Liz told us about was the Symphony Under the Stars. Unfortunately, we were too early to go last year but this time we timed it just right! Symphony Under the Stars is basically a free classical music and operatic concert held in one of the big parks in central Auckland and this year, we got to join in the festivities. We started the day by taking a 'tiki tour' of the area where Glynn will be working, courtesy of Liz & Allard. We then jumped at the chance to [View Full Entry]

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Are you sitting comfortably? Good, then prepare yourself for a bit of good news..... GLYNN GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It happened last week so sorry for not letting you know sooner but isn't it exciting? What this means is that Glynn can apply for a work permit, which takes about a month and then he can get started. He's got himself a warehousing job again and believe it or not, it was the first job interview he had over here that scored the success. It's only taken a while to come through because by law, the company had to offer the job [View Full Entry]

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It seems like a long time now since the last blog entry but that could be down to the fact that life is just plodding on without the major exciting news we're hoping for. Glynn has had 3 interviews and I've had one. We've lots more lined up so we're naturally keeping everything crossed that things will turn out positive for us soon. The good news is that we still love being here. The people are laid back, the sun has been shining almost every day (only 3 overcast/rainy days since we arrived!) In fact, it was raining yesterday when Liz [View Full Entry]

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It wouldn't be a normal weekend for us here in Auckland if we weren't treated to a day out with our surrogate mum, Liz, and her hubby Allard. Today we took off to the Waitakere Ranges, one of Auckland's Regional Parks located in the mountains on the rugged west coast. Just a hour's drive out of the city, it is an area of lush tropical rainforest with some the greenest, most picturesque scenery we've seen since we arrived. Expertly following his nose rather than the map, Allard wound us around hairpin bends and through pretty little townships with houses hidden away [View Full Entry]

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It's not every day you get to wake up to beautiful big blue skies and feel like life is really looking good but ever since we arrived back in Auckland, that's exactly what it's been like. In fact, if it weren't for the slightly major issue of not having work permits, we might actually feel like nothing could ever get us down again. The good news is that things have been moving forward for us in the last few days. Glynn had an interview for a warehouse job although he's yet to hear back about it - keep your fingers crossed. [View Full Entry]

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I know we're not strictly on holiday over here this time around but you can't help but feel like it when the sun is shining, it's lovely and warm outside and your surrogate mum phones you up to ask if you fancy going to the beach for the day. God bless Liz, she knows how to look after us! After a busy week trying to get all the bits and pieces together that we need for the apartment like saucepans, food and furniture (first 2 are now sorted; still don't have anything much to sit on!) and beginning the weary task [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone Here's a random collection of photos taken in and around our apartment this week. It's nothing special but I know how you all like to look at photos! Enjoy :-) [View Full Entry]

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