Part 4 – All dressed up and a long way to go

What felt like way too soon, day zero had dawned upon us. Everything we would take with us, neatly packed into 4 huge suitcases and a massive hiking bag. Our lives, folded and sealed in perfectly. Hand luggage packed with care to make a very long flight as comfortable as possible. Butterflies of excitement at the adventure, a hollow in the pit of my stomach as I anticipated the goodbyes at the airport. So blessed and thankful to have had both our families there on that morning for moral support. Their hugs, their words of encouragement and little gifts, my mom leaving tiny letters throughout my luggage, my sister documenting each moment carefully on her camera, dad and brother bringing some much needed humor into an otherwise grim atmosphere. It meant the world to us.

Our goodbyes took so long that we nearly missed our flight. Along the way officials were looking for us and rushed us towards the plane, we literally had to run! Finally on the plane, the air hostess offered us better seats in another part of the cabin where we each got our own 3 seats. Booya! If you know me well you would know that this was a huge deal, our previous long haul flight wasn’t something I ever want to relive and I was really anxious about the flight to NZ being so long. All in all it was a 29 hour trip, of which the first 10 hours we travelled in spacious style.

I want to interrupt myself here for a moment to add that I spent a lot of time considering whether I should write about how everything happened so smoothly and effortlessly for us. I am really cautious of disheartening anyone, or causing someone to give up on their plans to relocate. I feel deeply for all who are struggling to make the move to another country for whichever reasons, those that have been trying for months on end without a lot of luck. And at the moment I especially feel for those who were already on their way here when the current pandemic interfered with their plans.

My reasons for writing about our journey are firstly to convey a message of hope and secondly as a testimony of Gods goodness and faithfulness. I cannot tell my story without giving all the glory to God. Talking about my life means that I will inevitably be talking about Him as well because my life is based on Him. God’s goodness is for everyone, however you have to trust in the timing of your life and have faith that you are exactly where you need to be at this moment. (“When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen” Isaiah 60:22).

Even though the practicalities of our entire journey worked out wonderfully, even the smallest details which still seem to amaze me, it wasn’t glitter and unicorns all the way.

I was unbearably emotional on the plane, I could literally feel us moving mile for mile further away from everyone we love, from everything we know. From our safety and security. With every hour that passed it just made it more real that we were literally moving to the other side of the world. It is not the same as going on an international holiday and it’s not the same as going to work overseas for a year or two. It is absolutely gut-wrenching to acknowledge that this might be forever.

For a while now I’ve been wondering why I have two completely different pictures in my mind about that flight. The one image of me, sad and numb, and the other one of being excited, totally up for the adventure and full of wanderlust for what this journey was going to have in store for us. Until now I wanted to figure out one description, one picture that portrays a me that was either elated or devastated. After weeks of wondering and debating with myself, I finally concluded that, why can’t it be both? Which is basically this entire journey summarized into one sentence. Extremely sad and extremely happy. Getting the worst heartache when I think about home, but getting thrills of joy when I think about this life here and now. It is both, they are two sides of the same coin.

We arrived in NZ with the bare minimum, putting on our bravest faces, with our last bit of savings money, buying a travelers sim card on the airport to be able to communicate, not exactly sure where we were going to stay while we were in Auckland, and definitely not sure how to get there. We had no idea how Evert would actually get to work every day and absolutely no idea how we would be able to get to Queenstown in a few weeks’ time.

Only when we were standing in front of the Airbnb in Newmarket with our massive suitcases, we realized that it was paid upfront by Everts company. Up to this point we actually didn’t know how we were going to afford an Airbnb for a month. Yet, here we were, in a charming little apartment with a kitchenette so that we could do our own cooking (take-aways are very expensive). It was conveniently located in town center, close to the railway station and very close to a brand new mall so I could easily get around to buy groceries and keep myself busy during the long days ahead. Bottom line, I was worried for weeks on end about where we were going to stay, I can still remember all my friends and families faces when we confessed that we weren’t so sure where we were going to rest our heads at night, and it worked out just great.

In our first 3 weeks in New Zealand we spent about half of our savings money, and that was only on necessities. Food and petrol and these sort of things are costly around here and even though we did our planning and homework beforehand it seemed to be even more expensive than we thought.

But God never let us down. As soon as we were settled in Everts boss informed him that we could borrow a company vehicle for the time that we stayed in Auckland. It was a black Amarok bakkie, or Ute as they call it here. I am not a materialistic person but I can tell you now, I absolutely loved that vehicle and I knew that it was a sweet little comfort provided from above to make the transition a little bit more bearable.

I can go on and on to name the things that simply fell in place for us.

The week before we left Auckland we found a spunky little, black Volkswagen Golf, in a good condition with low kilometers on the clock already advertised for a good prize and without a lot of negotiation the owner dropped another $1000 of the price. (We wanted to buy a car in Auckland as it seemed cheaper than the other cities and there were a bigger variety to choose from.)

Round about the same time we started seriously planning our trip down to Queenstown, Evert received amazing news from the company director that they were intending to cover all our travelling expenses down to Queenstown, including fuel, accommodation and a rather expensive ferry trip between the two islands. Again taking our biggest concerns and turning them into great blessings.

The 3 hour interislander ferry trip and our first view of the South Island.

Moreover, we found an amazing, two bedroom apartment within our limited budget (two bedrooms are a major luxury and perfect for when family comes to visit us from SA). If you do your homework about Queenstown you’ll soon realize that it is one of the most expensive property markets around the world and rental prices are insane for the smallest places. For this reason most couples and singles settle on flatting, which is NZ slang for sharing a house with other people and splitting the costs. Which was not really an option for us. Another important factor for the sake of the budget is that in NZ you pay rent per week and not per month. It is in a wonderful neighborhood, the landlords are extremely kind, we are close to town center but just far enough away so that we do not get hindered by all the tourists. We have a lovely view of the mountains. And it is beautifully furnished with everything we need. Again the landlord reduced the weekly rental amount without much negotiation. For months in SA we were scouting the internet daily, and we have never seen a deal like this. Even more amazing is that the landlord approved us as tenants without seeing us face to face (we couldn’t get any other rental agents or landlords that was willing to consult with us without going to view them first in person, even though we weren’t in QT yet). It was available immediately. We felt like we hit the jackpot.

Our new neighborhood

One by one, all of my fears and worries were SQUASHED.

Often people may view these events as luck, they might call us fortunate or they may say it is just coincidence or great timing. Through our journey, God has made it clear to me through multiple examples like some of these I have mentioned today, that He is a personal God, He knows me very well and intimately and He pays a lot of attention to detail. For a child of God things are never just generated out of luck, you only need to start noticing all the little ways in which you are being blessed daily and once you start taking note you will be so surprised.

The road trip from Auckland to Queenstown was a dream come true, it was like a second honeymoon, we were blessed with picture perfect sights and great memories.

Every single time that I start doubting in our mission, God reassures me. He knows my heart, He knows what stresses me out and He provides just what I need at the right times. It does not mean that I am never uncomfortable but it means that when I really need it, He will come through for me. God remains my safety and my security.