Kiwis 4 Ever

ANZAC Day - 25 April

2011-04-23T09:37:00.002+12:00

ANZAC Day is a special day for two reasons:

Its my wife's birthday !!
Its a national day of remembrance

ANZAC Day is a national day of remembrance in both New Zealand and Australia, commemorated on the 25th of April each year in both countries to honour those Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallopoli during World War 1.

For more information on this special day for each and every New Zealander click here.

ANZAC Biscuits
During World War 1, mothers and girlfriends of the men fighting in the war, baked nutritious Scotch Oats biscuits and sent them to their loved ones around the world. These biscuits became famous when the soldiers fighting at Gallipoli ran short on food supplies and these biscuits became part of their staple diet.

Quick Recipe:
2 cups rolled oats.
1/2 cup sugar.
1/2 cup coconut.
1/2 cup flour.
Melt together 125g margarine and 2 tablespoons golden syrup.
Mix 1 teaspoon baking soda with 2 tablespoons boiling water.
Add this to the melted margarine then pour into the dry ingredients.
Mix well.
Place spoonfuls on a greased tray.
Bake in oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.
Cool and store in an air tight container.
Eat and enjoy !!

Shopping

2011-04-13T17:56:00.000+12:00

More to follow but this is a link to the main Albany Shopping Mall, Auckland North Shore.

Schools

2011-04-12T17:30:00.024+12:00

The following are a list of primary and secondary schools as well as colleges in the East Coast Bays area (on Auckland's North Shore). In due course a summary of each will be added to update this blog with the key information needed to better understand the schooling and education system in New Zealand as well as learn more about the quality and availability of education providers on Auckland's North Shore.

Primary Schools
Glamorgan Primary
Kirsten Junior
Pinehill Primary
Sherwood Primary
Torbay Primary

Secondary Schools
Northcross Intermediate
Kirsten Middle School

Colleges
Kirsten Senior
Longbay College
Rangitoto College

Paradise on our doorstep - Kayaking, Fishing, Sailing and Boating

2011-04-10T22:38:00.004+12:00

A perfect day on a sea kayak

The weather forecast was zero wind, sunny and warm - the perfect setting for another wonderful day on the water. I headed down mid morning and launched my kayak from Waiake Beach (map) - my Favourite favourite - its not easy to pick the best beach from such a wide range of stunning beaches on Auckland's North Shore. The following are some pictures taken from my kayak as I paddled from Waiake Beach to the Tor, across Winston Cove then down to Browns Bay Beach before setting off over to deeper water by the Browns Bay reef. My final hour was spent at Waiake Beach watching the young 8-10 year old sailors from Torbay Sailing Club setting off on a final regatta for the season.

Fishing
A family preparing to launch their boat from the beach before heading off to one of many excellent fishing grounds just a few kilometers from the shore.

Cliff top glass walled pool
I found this amazing site just 5 houses away from my favourite beach - a glass walled swimming pool protruding over a cliff at least 20 meters above the sea. This is only visible from the ocean.

Fishing from the rocks
There are numerous great spots along this coastline for keen anglers to cast from in the hope of catching a tasty dinner. The first picture shows anglers on the ledge on the northern point of Browns Bay beach. The second is a distant glimpse of anglers at the northern point of Winston Cove - around the corner from the Long Bay Marine Reserve.

Kayaking
With the calm seas and great weather, young and old enjoy the water all year round. A father and daughter about to set off on a paddle.

Sailing

Boating and water safety
This boat - on its maiden voyage with its new owners - provided much spectator value for beach goers. First, the owner got his car stuck in the soft beach sand. Then his boat got stranded on the sand as the tide retreated before he could launch. However, this may have been a blessing in disguise - we discovered the boat had taken on lots of water and after some investigating found that there was a missing plug - and a 20mm diameter hole - below the water line. This boat was going nowhere except back to the shop where it was purchased. A reminder to those heading out on the water to double check their equipment and safety gear before heading out and to be extra careful when setting off on an unfamiliar boat.

All in all, another great day out and another reminder of the wonderful scenery and plentiful activities for families, all right on our doorstep.

More photos...

National Anthem of New Zealand

2011-04-08T05:00:00.001+12:00

What our National Anthem means for me personally
In the first week or arriving in New Zealand back in October 2005, I watched an All Blacks rugby match on TV and for the first time in my life heard New Zealand's national anthem. For some strange reason, halfway into the first verse, I felt my throat tightening up, my breathing stop and my eyes blurring as they filled with tears - this for me was a very weird feeling as in my entire life I can probably count on one hand the number of times I became emotional to the point of shedding tears. But this was strangely different - I quietly left the lounge, composed myself and returned to watch an excellent game of rugby - and yes the All Blacks won the game !!

A year or two passed and one morning I attended my little girl's school Assembly. Then it hit me again for the second time - the entire school stood to sing the national anthem. The exact same feelings washed over me once again and I had to leave the hall quietly, holding back the tears and forcing myself to breathe. A few months later I attended another school Assembly with the same results.

Then in April 2011 we were invited to our Citizenship Ceremony at which we had to sing the national anthem - I thought I was prepared but once again, halfway into the first verse I was so chocked up I could not even mumble the words let alone sing them. So, sadly, to this day I have yet to sing our beautiful national anthem.

Click here to hear the New Zealand National Anthem

New Zealand's National Anthem

God of nations at Thy feet

In the bonds of love we meet,

Hear our voices, we entreat,

God defend our Free Land.

Guard Pacific's triple star,

From the shafts of strife and war,

Make her praises heard afar,

God defend New Zealand.

Men of ev'ry creed and race

Gather here before Thy face

Asking Thee to bless this place

God defend our free land

From dissension, envy, hate

And corruption guard our State

Make our country good and great

God defend New Zealand.

Peace, not war, shall be our boast

But should our foes assail our coast

Make us then a mighty host

God defend our free land

Lord of battles, in Thy might

Put our enemies to flight

Let our cause be just and right

God defend New Zealand.

Let our love for Thee increase

May Thy blessings never cease

Give us plenty, give us peace

God defend our free land

From dishonour and from shame

Guard our country's spotless name

Crown her with immortal fame

God defend New Zealand.

May our mountains ever be

Freedom's ramparts on the sea

Make us faithful unto Thee

God defend our free land

Guide her in the nations' van

Preaching love and truth to man

Working out Thy Glorious plan

God defend New Zealand.

New Zealand.... what and where is it?

2011-04-07T14:06:00.018+12:00

When looking at most world maps, you will "usually" find New Zealand in the bottom right hand corner - I say usually because I have come across some world maps that stop just short of New Zealand - half way across the Tasman Sea !

I like this world map picture because it has New Zealand almost in the centre.

New Zealand is far from being the smallest country in the world even with its total land surface making up just 0.18% of the total land surface area of the earth. In fact its land surface area is greater than that of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Or for those more familar with the United States of America, New Zealand is ever so slightly larger than the USA's 8th largest state, Colorado.

New Zealand is situated in the south western Pacific Ocean just to the east of that massive land mass called Australia. New Zealand consists of 2 main islands, the North Island and the South Island along with several other smaller islands. Learn more about New Zealand's geography.

The indigenous Māori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as land of the long white cloud. New Zealand is, by European standards, a relatively young country although the first people to settle here originated from Polynesia. This link provides a more indepth account of New Zealand's history from the first settlers through to modern day New Zealand.

Momentous Day - New Zealand Citizens at last

2011-03-25T12:02:00.004+13:00

Momentous Milestone achieved after 5 years, 5 months and 20 days (or 1997 days).....

we officially became New Zealand Citizens on 24 March 2011

From the day we first set foot in Auckland we had some rather ambitious goals in mind

find a job
get a work permit
get Permanent Residency
and the ultimate.... Citizenship !!!

Rather a tall order considering we arrived on 4 October 2005 not knowing anyone, having never been in New Zealand before, no job lined up and therefore no work permit - just our large suitcases and a 3 month visitor's permit each.

The road to Citizenship
I was fortunate to secure a wonderful job within 3 weeks of arriving in New Zealand, obtained a work permit and started working on 12 December 2005. As I was employed in an occupation on the skills shortage list I submitted my application for Permanent Residency by the end of December 2005. Permanent Residency was quickly processed, approved and the Returning Resident's visas was proudly visible in our passports from May 2006. The eligibility rules for applying for Citizenship by Grant had just been amended from 3 years to 5 years (for more information on the latest requirements visit http://ow.ly/4lVJq or http://www.dia.govt.nz/ ) - so we knew we had a long wait ahead of us. However, unbeknown to us, the 5 years are not counted as elapsed time but is based on being in New Zealand a minimum of 240 days per year since obtaining Permanent Residency - this meant we could possibly have applied for Citizenship several months before we actually did !! Needless to say, on 6 January 2011, I met with a case officer from the Department of Internal Affairs to review our citizenship applications and was overjoyed to discover that we met all the requirements and could apply immediately - which I did. On 15 February 2011 I provided the last piece of documentation still outstanding to support the applications to my case officer at which point he sent the application to Wellington for review and consideration. On Saturday 12 March 2011 our congratulatory letters arrived - we had been approved for New Zealand Citizenship !! Along with this also came our invitation to the official Citizenship Ceremony scheduled for 24 March 2011. We our now very proud recipients of an official Certificate of Citizenship. On Monday28 March I will submit our applications for New Zealand passports.

On reflection, the 1997 days since arriving has flown by. Having achieved our ultimate milestone on our journey, we will take some time out to celebrate its achievement and in due course, sit and set ourselves new goals and objectives - not as just visitors but as CITIZENS!!

Help for new comers to New Zealand at last !!!

2011-03-11T14:26:00.002+13:00

In the beginning.... shortly after arriving in Auckland, New Zealand and going through the turmoil of finding our feet in a totally new country, a thought occurred to me that "surely most new immigrants to New Zealand must experience similar difficulties as to what we are and have as many unanswered questions as we do":

which city and suburb to settle in,
do I buy a house or rent one,
what schools do I send my kids to,
how does the health system work and where do I find a good family doctor,
how do I go about finding a job,
let alone getting all the necessary work permits and/or student permits,
and many many more such questions.

All tough questions to answer when you arrive out of the blue, having never been to New Zealand before and with no one to hold your hand or offer advice.

The thought that occurred to me was "Why not create a mechanism for sharing our experiences with other new immigrants as well as those who were considering moving to New Zealand?". A thought that crossed my mind many more times over the years since that first day, a thought which has now become more than just a thought - it has now become a reality with the creation of this blog.

My intention is to share our personal experiences and thoughts through this blog. Initially my primary focus will be on the area we have been living and working in for the past 5 years, the northern suburbs of Auckland's North Shore. Its not my intention to offer advice on topics such as immigration, employment, education, health etc but rather to post our story as it evolved and continues to evolve. Where relevant I will include links to sites that could provide additional information, facts or advice. To supplement our story and our journey I will also post photos and videos so you, the reader, can get a visual appreciation of what we have experienced - although photos and videos can never replace the magnificent feeling of experiencing what I believe is truly "a little piece of heaven on earth - New Zealand".

I look forward to diligently sharing our wonderful experiences and stories with you and I hope you not only enjoy them but also find value in what we have to offer in these posts.

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