New Zealand's WOW factor!

We are the Knoetze family. We moved to Wellington New Zealand in February 2023 after starting our journey late 2019 and experiencing an unexpected delay in the process due to the covid pandemic and lockdowns.

Challenges

The most challenging part for us personally, aside from securing the employment contract, was the waiting period for initial work visas. The new processes in place post-covid introduced a whole new set of anxieties, with job checks, job tokens, etc. This process was well navigated with our agent Julia Cooke.

NZ Shores advisers

Our adviser was Julia Cooke. Since the start of this journey, she has been on our side. Giving us sound advice while sharing in our frustrations and triumphs along the way. There were never too many questions (and we had plenty with some unique situations), she was also quick to communicate any changes in the INZ requirements or visa changes.

First impressions

After a 2 hour wait in the arrivals area of Auckland International, our first impressions were “WOW””. Such a naturally beautiful city. We booked accommodation miles from where we needed to be which gave us plenty of time to explore Auckland. We were fortunate enough to drive from Auckland to Wellington, on this trip we saw the crystal-clear waters of Lake Taupo, the desert road with its views of Mount Ruapehu and more of the scenic countryside views on offer.

NZ is family-oriented

We were not particularly family oriented in South Africa and so what we miss from South Africa may be different to others. We miss All Gold tomato sauce, on that front Gregg’s is the closest. We have since found Mrs Balls chutney in the local Pak n' Save, along with other familiar items. There are several local South African shops, you do pay for this nostalgia though, we came to NZ to experience new things though and so we are happy to try new things rather than search for the usual. This is part of the experience.

What I wished I knew beforehand

The old advice of not converting rands to New Zealand dollars, if you do this everything seems expensive. For us the other one is overspending because everything seems cheap, “it’s only $40”, when if fact $40 is nearly R500. Be prepared and realistic, you need start up money. People will help and we received plenty!! You can’t expect miracles though, your life will not change overnight. Remember the sacrifices made to make the journey, work towards rebuilding.

Comments

At a traffic circle, you yield to the right, it’s the same deal with a traffic light that is out. Oh, they have power all day here...

My advice to new migrants

Be mentally prepared, there will not be as big a change as you may expect. We quickly fell into the same routines as in SA, i.e.; get up, work/school, then home, cook/bath, and sleep. You may question why you moved. Then you start exploring the multitude of forest tracks, kids park with so many people out and about, etc. It is what you make of it, get out and explore.