Kia Ora

Kia Ora

Interesting facts.

NZ. or Aotearoa In Maori, means 'The Land of the long white cloud'. It is quite a young country, geologically active, with tectonic faults and volcanoes, glaciers and rivers constantly building and eroding land. It consists of many islands, the main ones being the North and South island. It used to be part of one land mass, Gondwana, and split off 80 million years ago, taking with it its unique plants and bird life. The first Eastern Polynesian settlers arrived 750 years ago, and the first Europeans to settle arrived in 1769 after discovery by James Cook.

As it is a long thin country, there are several climates and micro climates within, from sub tropical in the North and temperate (similar to UK) in the South. The total population is around 4.2 million ( UK has nearly 63 million) of which 1 million are based in Auckland. Auckalnd also known as the 'The city of sails' (due to a high proportion of boat ownership) is the biggest city, though not the capital, which is Wellinton. Auckland’s weather is warm/hot long summers with mild and wet winters. (average annual sunshine hours= 2050. Manchester=1200 hrs) and (annual average rain=1240mm. Manchester=810mm!) most rain falling as heavy tropical showers in the winter months of June-July

Saturday 28 May 2011

New home for us

I cant believe we are thinking of buying a house over here. We always said we would give it 2 years whether we were happy or not. But even after the first few weeks we were both sure we would want to live in NZ for good! The rental house was ok, but it wasn't ours. we couldn't hang pictures, decorate, improve or do anything to it. so we decided to take the plunge and start looking at houses with a view to buying!
renting for a year gave us some idea of what we wanted and didnt want in a house. we wanted somewhere bigger to accommodate family comfortabley, somewhere quieter, with a nice sunny garden, but in the same area as we really like Cockle Bay's proximity to the beaches and town.
Not knowing how the system works over here when buying a house was a bit daunting, but we got through it with guidance from the realtor and solicitor.
tropical garden
Its a very quick, slick operation over here. When you want to make an offer, its done officially in writing, the realtor acting as go between. and going back and forth until an agreement is made. And that document is binding until the sale is completed. it took about 4 weeks to buy this house!
We love the outdoor area, and cant wait to try the solar heated pool when it gets warm again.
there is even a view of the sea from the front balcony!
kitchen
A bit of paint and TLC will trun this into a lovely home for us.
some before pix....
living room
balcony
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