Meet Lily - our new wheels

By -

We have much our or first week in NZ looking for a car. Jenny, Pauls' wife, kindly loaned us her wee Toyota for the week which enabled us to get round some car yards. We were looking for something Japanese as they are very popular here, and had had a couple of test drives before finding a Toyota Echo (Yaris in the UK) on the web at a yard in Kelston(?). So, we went over to have look but were not taken with it when seeing it in the flesh. However, while walking round the yard we spotted this nice green Polo, took it for a drive, and fell for it. It was the first car we had seriously looked at where we all liked the colour. Being a Polo it was very familiar with Nicky having had a Polo in the UK, and it has a bigger engine (1.6), automatic and air conditioning. The dealer dropped the price to what I was prepared to pay, so the deal was done. We have never bought a car this way before, so only time will tell if it was the right decision, but the AA chap who did the inspection thought it was a "nice little motor".

Other highlights this week have been a couple of walks on the beach, the range of food available at reasonable prices, and my residency application being accepted in principle. Claire and I have also started the process of getting our NZ driving licences. We both sit our theory exam next week. Claire also has to de a practical exam. Nicky can't start the process yet as she is applying for a replacement UK licence, so she can't drive at the moment. Claire has bought a new mobile phone so she can now text here much more cheaply and to the UK for probably less than before.




We have been told that we are looking for property too soon as most landlord want tenants to move in within a week or too, so I think we will be spending some more time looking for work next week.



Paul and Jenny have been over this evening (Sat) and we had a Thai take-away which was very good. Tomorrow we are going to a Smith family do for tea.

Bye for now,

Rick

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hey,
The photos are very nice! Good to see you've found a car, too! It's a nice colour

Love John
September 24, 2007 at 3:40 PM
Moira and Peter said…
Jet lagged Cockers have finally caught up with you all. We got home on Friday 28 September after eight of fabulous and tiring touristing.
Glad to see you've arrived safe and well after all your adventures en route.
Congratulations on results Claire.
We raised our glasses to you on 19 August. Love to you and the family.
September 30, 2007 at 3:16 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Challenging week

By -
Image
 It has been a challenging week. At the beginning of the week Nicky was still getting worse, so she arranged an appointment with the GP on Tuesday afternoon. The GP confirmed that Nicky had bronchitis and sinusitis, but that her chest sounded clear. With the infection being viral, there was no medication that could be prescribed, but some additional painkillers were in order to manage the symptoms and assist with the pain caused by congestion, coughing and vomiting. As the week progressed Nicky started to improve slowly. The periods of incessant coughing and coughing induced vomiting started to subside yesterday. She was able get a little more sleep and keep a little more food down. The washing machine has been very busy with regular changes of PJ’s, dressing gowns and bedding. Some of the laundry has been dried outside but the winter weather has deteriorated over the last couple of days. While Nicky has been unwell she has cancelled all her commitments. I have been running errands...
Read more

Tea and Tissues

By -
Image
 We have had a quiet week at home, doing jigsaws and listening to Harry Potter. Nicky seemed to be getting better at the beginning of the week but it was short lived. As the week has drawn to a close she has actually started getting brighter and felt like doing some things round the house. Nicky got dressed for the first time this week on Friday to go to the hospital for a blood test, and we did a little shopping on the way home. Yesterday she made a couple of lemon cakes and delivered one to Eleanor for her birthday. Nicky found the few minutes walk there and back exhausting. Meanwhile, I gradually got worse through the week until Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday I ploughed through a whole box of 240 tissues, and most of a packet of throat lozenges. Paracetamol helped with the general aches and temperature fluctuations. This weekend is the first time I have done my morning exercises in over a week, and I even managed a short amble this morning in the lovely (almost spiring-like) ...
Read more

Easter

By -
Image
 Steve continued his convalescing with us at the beginning of the week, and continued to improve each day. He decided to start the journey home on Tuesday by driving to Te Kuiti. As Monday was going to be his last evening with us he provided another take-away dinner from the Spice Guru, which we enjoyed as much as the previous one. Steve and I were a little early collecting it, so while we were waiting I was having a look at the buildings at the bottom end of Victoria Avenue and spotted this: I think Whanganui rivals Napier for the quality of its Art Deco architecture. Before Steve left on Tuesday morning, he and Nicky went to the Splash Centre to have a wallow in the thermal pool. This had been recommended by Nicky’s physio when she had seen her on Monday. Nicky had a short swim too and they both enjoyed their time. We were very pleased that Steve felt sufficiently recovered to start his journey home, as it was not good seeing him in as much pain, as when he first arrived. It was ...
Read more