Home in Devonport First Week In Devonport
Home in Devonport

Well, I started writing about our experiences since we arrived on Wednesday, December 3, but somehow my post disappeared into cyber space. So, I am going to post a short summary of what I remember writing.

First of all...it is a long flight here for any of you who want to visit. After 10 hours you wish there was a personal masseuse to rub out the knots...and your ankles just puff up like you have never seen. Definitely do not take your shoes off or they will be very difficult to put back on. I just do not sit still for that length of time. So when the plane landed I was gearing to get off & walk! Customs was an adventure. Here is a hint...when the mark your arrival/declaration page with a red marker, not a green one, you can figure that you will be asked to show your luggage. The MAF (Ministry of Agriculture & Farming), has very strict bio security rules. You can not bring with you any forein soil, any foods, plants, seeds, pods, plant cuttings...and the list goes on and on. They had to take Rob's hiking boots & sterilize them. Thankfully, they checked our other shoes realatively quickly, and we were on to the x-ray machines. Traveling with 6 huge carry on bags was a bit of a circus act, and when we cleared customs and found a super shuttle, I was really grateful to be done with all that lugging of luggage. We just had to get all that luggage up to the apartment once we got to Devonport. Taking a super shuttle was the best plan ever...they took the luggage & they did the driving. Much better than my last experience here when Rob rented a car & then for the first time ever drove on the opposite side of the car, and the opposite side of the road. That was quite terrifying. This was a breeze, in comparrision. We were greeted by Margaret, the land lady as she was leaving for work. She is a third grade teacher in Mt. Eden which is across the bay in Auckland, City. She & Paul had decorated the table & mantel with flowers, and left a pitcher of milk in the fridge in case we wanted to make some coffee. Very sweet! Rob promptly fell into bed to get some rest, and I started trying to figure out how to get set up electronically. Because, without my computer..I have no contact with home.When Rob awoke, we ventured into the village to try & sign up for a PO Box. Rob also needed an IRD#. An IRD# is a number sort of like a social security #...You must have one if you have a job. While he was waiting in line for all that business, I was signing up for a gym membership at the local gym. I will be having my first personal training session this morning! Yay! We then stocked our tiny fridge & cup boards. You can only fit a quart of milk in this fridge, so it is nothing like the mega fridges we have in the states. You really have to think hard about what you are buying, because there is literally no space here for overstock. Luckily the market is only about an 8 minute walk.Speaking of space...putting away all of our luggage was like doing a puzzle...and we haven't even received our shipment yet! We may need to have a garage sale to deal with the excess. It took me a full day to organize all that luggage. Now it seems like we are not on vacation...even though this place has an absolutely incredible view. You could watch the boats all day long...the scenery is changing by the minute. Sunday was the most spectacular showing of boats. It was a post card kind of day. We started off the day by going to the Santa Parade. The most adorable children were there waiting for Santa to arrive.They had the Navy band playing in the park, and the floats in the parade were precious. I think the whole town was there!I went exporing around town after the parade & Rob went back to the apartment to catch a nap. We hiked up around North Head in the afternoon. This is such an active lifestyle here. So many people were out sailing, boating, swimming, cycling, running, walking, hiking, playing crickett...you name it, Sunday is the family day out. Well, time to get active & get on to the gym!! I hope you are all doing well, and staying warm. I still can't wrap my brain around the weather here...my mind says I should be in Winter, and the weather is warm, sunny with a light breeze! Cheers!PS...Many of you have asked what a Flat White is...that would be their term for a latte. A trim flat white is a non-fat latte. A parking lot is a car park...and many words are spelled differently. Luckily it is all english, and I can figure out most of what is going on.
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