We’re now in full on packing mode. The movers will be here a week from tomorrow and we’re in charge of packing everything that isn’t breakable. In some respects it’s like a regular move – you just put stuff in boxes. But there are a few things that make it different from a move down the street. For one thing we’re not sealing any of the boxes we’ve packed. Even though the movers will only be packing the breakable stuff, they have to document what is in every box and keep a master list so that when we arrive the customs inspectors can decide which boxes they want to open to inspect.
There are also restrictions on what we can bring into the country. For us, the big concerns are our camping equipment, bikes and garden tools. Because New Zealand has been isolated from other landmasses for millions of years, it has allowed for the evolution of many species that are unique to the country and exist nowhere else. The government is understandably very protective and takes biosecurity very seriously in order to keep invasive species out of the ecosystems. This means that if you want to bring anything into the country that is used outdoors it must be cleaned thoroughly. So for us that’s some camping equipment, bikes, a weed wacker, a kayak, and some outdoor furniture that must be hosed down and disinfected. And somewhat surprisingly, christmas ornaments. Mostly their concerned with ornaments made from pine cones because what is a pine cone but a live-seed delivery device.
Now that we’re we’re getting really close to leaving it seems like things are going much faster. For a long time the move seemed like it was still a ways off in the distance until suddenly it didn’t. There was no middle ground. Last week my friends at work put together a send-off shindig for me, this week will see one for Kelly with her colleagues, as well as the last week of work for both of us. Aside from being slammed at work with last minute requests I’ve been reconfirming our reservations with the movers, pet transporter and quarantine facility to make sure all the paperwork is done and they have what they need from us. I’ve also been taking care of regular moving chores like turning off our internet service and gas and electric service.
Kiwi Bound 