They’re here.
Filed under: Getting to New Zealand, Life in New Zealand, NZIS & Immigration issues
Ok, the Family is here and settling in. We have been to Bambinos – our local café and had half an hour of hugs and smiles, fabulous coffee and huge breakfasts. The staff there have been wonderfully supportive over the past few years, and have really missed the family. They have been one of many havens we have escaped to when having to deal with the clowns at NZIS!
We now have about twice as many computers in the house as people, and I’m relegated to the office upstairs to write blogs instead of sitting at the dining room table (because we actually need to eat at it).
The trip down from Auckland to Masterton was a bit of an adventure to be honest. For a start it was our first try of the new DIY domestic check in procedure. 
You no longer have staff sitting behind counters – you have two big banks of touch screen computers with weighing scales, and you just scan your e-ticket, tell it how many bags you have, pay by card for any extra bags, and get boarding passes and luggage tags. You then tag your luggage, stick it in the conveyor belt and go grab a coffee.
All very civilised.
Because we flew to Masterton, we didn’t have to get our hand luggage scanned – just self scan the boarding passes, and walk to the aeroplane.
When I say “aeroplane” I mean more of a Coke Can with engines attached. There are only 19 seats, there’s not enough room under the seat in front to put your hand luggage under, and there are no luggage lockers. It’s very “cosy”. And you can see into the cockpit. No in-flight refreshments – and certainly no seat back entertainment – but for all that it’s a great little flight, and I would certainly look at using it more 
often to get to Auckland rather than driving to Wellington to get the flight from there.
It is great to be back with the family and have us all in the same place at last. While we had to go through an appalling nightmare to get this far – It was worth every second of pain and tears. Sponsoring parents to New Zealand is not for the fainthearted most of the time – but I encourage you to do it if you are close to your family. Just make sure you understand the rules, and make sure NZIS do their job properly.
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Related posts:
- Masterton flight review
- Emigration myths & vitriol
- 10 things you need know if you are having problems with NZIS (INZ).
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