We Made it to New Zealand!

Welcome to my new blog! This is an attempt to keep family and friends informed about what we're up to down here, so read on!

We’ve safely arrived in Christchurch! We’re slowly adjusting to the abrupt changes in season (its mid-summer here) and time (we’re 20 hours ahead western Canada), but are otherwise doing great! Although we will miss our families and friends in Edmonton and Vancouver, we will not miss the -30C weather of Edmonton or the perpetual drizzle of Vancouver.

The trip to Christchurch (New Zealand) from Edmonton (Canada) was long, although not as stressful as I worried it would be. Instead of luggage, we were traveling with six huge cardboard boxes (the maximum size and weight that Air Canada and Air New Zealand permit), two carseats bundled together in a big bag, and a bouldering mat stuffed with two backpacks (the last item was both oversize and overweight, although we were neither charged nor hassled for it – thank goodness!). I was worried that our boxes would be opened and searched, but since they were mostly full of clothing, the x-ray scans alleviated any concerns that the airport security personnel had. The climbing gear looked odd on the x-ray scan, but once I showed it to them there were no further problems.

We had to stack three trolleys high with our boxes to move them through the Edmonton airport, but luckily we had Michelle (sister-in-law) and Kevyn (Shelley’s mom) to help us. We were relieved to finally check the boxes and get rid of them – although we still had our HEAVY carry-on luggage. Two of our carry-ons were full of data and laptops, so they were brutally heavy. But we managed.

Aya and Rowan were surprisingly cooperative, and seemed eager to get on the plane. The first leg of our flight – from Edmonton to Vancouver – went very smoothly. Rowan slept. Shelley and I watched episodes of Big Bang Theory (American sitcom about grad students), and Aya watched cartoons. So far, so good.

The Vancouver International Airport is a nice place to kill time. It is, in fact, the nicest airport I have ever spent time in. Art, aquaria, running streams, restaurants, shops, and lots of natural light. Our 2-hour layover was mostly uneventful, although we were amused that the crowd of people waiting to board the plane seemed to be composed of two types of folk; (1) British-looking people with strong New Zealand accents, and (2) gray-haired Canadians.

We boarded the Air New Zealand plane to find ourselves sitting in bulkhead seats. These were fine for Shelley, Aya, and Rowan. My legs are longer, and I felt a bit cramped. While the plane was a bit on the old side, the flight crew were friendly, the selection of movies and television programs extensive, and the food generally good. The flight was approximately 12hours long, which ordinarily would be a grim prospect with two children in tow. However, it was a night flight, and Aya and Rowan managed to sleep for a few hours.

Finally, we landed in Auckland! Summer! Our layover here was longer than we would have liked (4hours). We were a little apprehensive about getting our boxes through Customs and Biosecurity. I was convinced that we would be forced to open everything, and then spend hours repacking. However, the customs officer was pleasant, and asked just a few questions. We had to get a car-sized trolley to cart our things around the Auckland airport, but managed to get our boxes re-checked. We had a long wait in the domestic terminal (during which Rowan cracked his head on a window frame), but soon enough we were flying down across New Zealand to our final destination.

Waiting for us at the airport was Shelley’s supervisor, Jason. He’s a great guy, and had brought us a ‘welcome to New Zealand’ package! He had also brought a big van, and drove us to our temporary home in a nice little brick house at the edge of campus. We’re here for two weeks – hopefully that’s enough time to find permanent housing somewhere close.

First impressions of New Zealand? (a) The people are nice. Generally, everyone is cheerful and cordial. Most people either look either British or Maori. (b) People are serious about rugby. (c) The trees here are beautiful! There are trees from all over the world, and many native species as well. (d) New Zealand English is not exactly the same as Canadian English. Want Raisin Bran? Look for the Sultana Bran! All kinds of oddities abound!