Our journey started 17 August 2003 the day we landed in New Zealand. The picture sketched was a land of milk and honey. We quickly awakened to a few surprises; one being our currency did not compete well against the currency of our new country. Our knowledge of what the basic costs of the everyday utilities would be, was quiet vague. However it’s like being thrown in the deep side of a pool, you quickly learn to adapt. The personal emotion is probably the most affecting factor, immigrating to a country far from your birth place with no family or friends in the close proximity, really takes it’s toll in the first few months until new acquaintances and friends are made.
New Zealand, our new adopted country. Getting over the initial hump of settling in and adapting, we took the time to explore our new country and the people. What an experience, New Zealand has exhilarating views and the people without a doubt are the friendliest I have ever met. We lived in Auckland for close to 4 years, making them one of the most enjoyable times. We then received an opportunity to relocate to Melbourne VIC in Australia, so once again we packed our bags and on our way. Australia, very much like NZ, except for the great vast open spaces. Which reminds us of our birth country, only with the factor of added safety? It is really a great feeling to lay your head down at night without the thought of your family’s safety being a factor.
Since immigrating we can honestly say that we have never looked back and regretted becoming “Kiwi’s”. We are proud of our new nationality and support New Zealand in all her endeavours, and as we see it now, New Zealand is and island of Australia and therefore support Australia like we would NZ. We have been in Australia for 6 months and consider Australia our second home.
