For any of you who were looking for a change of scenery and have decided to move to New Zealand, here are a few tips regarding the transportation of your belongings that might come in handy.
1. Your moving company is full of shit. Once you accept this as fact, you will be able to manage your expectations.
2. Your guess at how much your goods will weigh will be grossly underestimated. Guaranteed. This move is going to cost you an arm, leg and your firstborn child. I promise.
3. Shop around for marine insurance because your moving company's quote is unreasonable and designed to capitalize on a captive audience.
4. If you are moving from North America to the just about anywhere else in the world, don't bring appliances of any sort unless they are rated for 240 volts because that power converter that you think will be the panacea will eventually blow up your Dyson, your expensive juicer and that fantastic mini food processor you got as a wedding gift. Also, those big-ass, North American, side by side fridges to match our big, North American asses, will not fit into most overseas kitchens. Leave them behind.
5. When the moving company tells you that it will take 70 days door to door, you must nod agreeably and understand that if you are shipping from the US, you do not have a hope in hell of seeing your stuff for at least 85 days (see #1 above). New Zealand is the last stop on the way to the Antarctic. It's pretty far from everything and only boasts a population of just over four million people, which means there aren't a lot of direct sailings from North America to here. Our stuff visited a few ports to hook up with some other containers before arriving in Auckland. Yours will too.
6. New Zealand is absolutely gorgeous. There are no snakes. There are no crawly creatures that can harm you here, which is why I am actually contemplating camping (for real, like tents and no running water real) with friends in late January. The government department of agriculture has the overwhelming task of making sure that things stay this way and thus, in New Zealand, every household goods container needs to be inspected for a host of scary, threatening things including: Christmas decorations (those nasty pinecones, even painted and glittered ones, can host a variety of undesirable pests), outdoor furniture and yard equipment, sporting goods (bicycles, golf clubs, golf and soccer shoes), dry food, spices and herbs and anything related to pets of any sort. These inspections are not free. As a matter of fact, they can be quite expensive, especially when one calculates the surcharges assessed by your freight company for "hosting" said inspections. Let me tell you, it's not a bloody dinner party. (Please see #1 above)
7. 99% of all sea containers coming into New Zealand do not meet the specs necessary for them to be unloaded at the place of residence and therefore, the moving company will transport your container to their warehouse ($), unload it ($$) and repack it into an "approved" delivery vessel ($$$$$). If you know this ahead of time, you can easily make your way to the nearest grog shop and stock up on the necessary provisions. YOU WILL NEED ALCOHOL before viewing your "final" delivery charges. I wish I was kidding.
8. Your goods will deliver on the only day in the week when you had your hair, doctor or orthodontist appointment scheduled because that's just the way it is and you will be so damn desperate to see your belongings again that you will forsake EVERYTHING ELSE, especially when the moving company emails you to tell you that sorry, they will not be able to deliver until after the New Year and how does January 5th look and you LOSE YOUR SHIT and call your husband in tears because he's the reasonable one and you are holding onto your sanity by the skin of your teeth and somehow, miraculously, a Sunday slot opens up after he trots down to the office to speak ever so kindly to them in person and while he is grateful for small mercies, you shake your head wondering how many other desperate immigrants in Auckland will not get to see their stuff before Christmas because the general manager doesn't like that they are upset at receiving exactly the same email you did. God complex much? (see #1 above)
9. Expect some of your items to be broken or slightly damaged because they will have traveled all over the globe and been touched by at least ten people before they arrive on your doorstep. If nothing is broken, you may use that as a good reason to crack open another bottle of wine and toast your good luck. We were really fortunate. The only thing of ours that got damaged was a Bombay table. New handles and scratch cover pen took care of that.
10. The first sleep you have in your own bed after three months in other cribs, will magically make items #2-9 seem unimportant. It's a bit like childbirth. I completely expect that in eighteen months, I won't remember much about the shift at all except that the moving company was full of shit.
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