We've just seen the back end of our first month in Wellington. The city already feels "comfortable" and we are confident we'll enjoy our time here. Not everything has gone exactly according to plan (does it ever?), but then there have been no major upsets either. Our biggest initial hurdles were around interim accommodation and parking while we sought somewhere to live in the longer term. If you're planning a similar adventure and need short-term accommodation and parking, we suggest you book (week-by-week) into a motel.

What is Project Koru? The code name of our "great escape" from our adopted home in the UK to spend a year living and working in New Zealand. You can find an introduction to the project here together with an explanation of why we chose the koru as the symbol for our journey.

Accommodation

As previously mentioned, we wanted to arrive in New Zealand with somewhere to go. Specifically, we wanted a centrally-located and fully-furnished apartment to accommodate us (and Bruce's parents) while we looked for somewhere to live longer term. Since we were 12,000 miles away from our destination, advance booking was always going to be something of a cat-in-the-bag.

We liked the look of the Century City apartments at 332 The Quay, on Wellington's Lambton Quay. Location was the one aspect we could accurately gauge from afar. We couldn't have rented a more convenient place to base ourselves if we'd tried, being very near the Willis Street end of Lambton Quay. Pretty much everything was accessible from our front door, and within a few minutes on foot we could take in the sun (or gusts of fresh air) along the waterfront.

A central location on Lambton Quay (Image: Google Earth)

As for the actual apartment, we were assured that we would be renting fully furnished, and advised (upon requesting photos of the apartment we would be renting) that the photos on the website were the "standard fit-out of each apartment". This was not the case. Our sparse 90 sqm apartment lacked wall decoration and drapes to make it homely, and we felt obliged to ask for the following furnishings:

• A fourth dinner plate (there were only three);
• Deck furniture;
• A desk and chair;
• A set of drawers for each bedroom (the floor was not satisfactory storage);
• A hair dryer;
• A waste bin for the bathroom;
• A vacuum cleaner.

We didn't request the bar stool and expresso-maker in the photos, but we had gone out and bought a potato peeler; a clothes drying rack; and cleaning cloths/ cream. The latter were required because the apartment was inexcusably dirty. We suspect it hadn't been occupied recently, judging by the layers of dust. The tumble dryer was clogged with lint, nor had it been properly cleaned after the last occupant. In short, not what you would expect for a premium rate and since we were being held to our month, we intended to hold our Property Manager to the promised "full" furnishings. Dad had been told that the developers had lost interest, focussing on another property, so things were being addressed here on the basis of customer complaints. Looks like they decided to cut a few corners as well—the application of crumbling plaster-of-paris to the balcony threshold being an obvious example. We also insisted that they cleaned the small balcony, difficult for us as we had no cleaning equipment (ditto the man they sent, provided with a mop and bucket). Upon questioning why our 2-bedroom apartment was $100 per week more expensive than the 2-bedroom apartment listed on Trade Me, we were told the difference amounted to having a balcony (not so—this was offered after the price was fixed); the weekly cleaning service/ linen change (again not so—this was arranged 2 months after booking). $400 for a month of electricity seems a bit step, no?

We don't like to find cause to complain, and all this put a downer on things. On a positive note, Century City responded promptly to our furnishing requests and even sent a conciliatory "goodie" basket.

Unfortunately, being near the bottom of the building surrounded by other towers, our apartment was rather dark—lights were needed most of the day and it's no surprise we experienced wireless reception problems. All the windows were drafty so we had to rely on the heater to stay warm day and night. It was also very noisy, not so much from the vehicle and foot traffic on Lambton Quay, but due to a nearby air con unit and an adjacent noisy pub just off Plimmer Steps. Some people, particularly when drunk, can sure make a lot of noise.

Balcony view: a dark flat with poor reception

Ultimately we were successful, after just 7 days, in finding a flat to move to at the end of our term on Lambton Quay (we'll post on flat hunting later). The celebration (it was also Bruce's birthday) was short-lived, as the following day we had a plumbing emergency with a flood in the bathroom (pouring out from a light socket in the apartment below us). Again Century City responded promptly; we think their maintenance plumber was quite used to such eventualities. Apparently the developers had neglected to glue a junction in the shower waste pipe, which decided to detach that morning. It turned out that it wasn't the washing machine's fault, which had been malfunctioning for an entirely separate reason (the outflow hose was so long it siphoned off the water during the wash cycle!).

Car parking

At first Mum and Dad had the car in a $30 per day car park just behind The Quay; ouch! We wrote down a few numbers and applied for a reserved slot for the month at Capital Care Park on Boulcott Street. This cost $NZ276.24, including the establishment fee and access card. We soon got tired of driving up or down the 11 ramps, but it was secure and convenient.

Tip: A better and more flexible alternative would have been to book, week-by-week, into a motel. Not only would this provide short-term acommodation and cooking facilities, but would also resolve parking difficulties. If you find a place as quickly as we did and can move in immediately, you are committment-free and can put the money saved towards rent.

Other achievements

We hadn't really considered the usefulness of one of us not having to go straight into work. Had we known what we now know we would have planned it so, or ideally have arranged things so that both of us had at least two free weeks before starting work. Finding accommodation and sorting out the many tasks that await those settling into a new country takes time (during working hours) and effort.

A 20 minute waterfront walk to Oriental Bay

In addition to securing accommodation and parking for the first month, we also:

• Explored the City;
• Identified useful shops and services;
• Purchased a number of essentials (remember to budget for set-up expenses);
• Began sampling the variety in eating places;
• Joined a gym (one of our joint aims for the year being to "get fit");
• Attended registration interviews and organized professional indemnity insurance;
• Completed workplace orientation;
• Wasted many hours struggling with wireless communications;
• Wasted many hours waiting in for couriers that don't deliver;
• Enjoyed walking along the waterfront and sourcing the best ice cream;
• Plugged in to cultural events/ activities e.g. concerts, visiting Parliament;
• Looked at longer-term accommodation options;
• Obtained quotes for contents insurances;
• Sorted out various banking arrangements.

Actions Send this article link by e-mail Print this article without other content Follow responses to this article (comments feed) Share this on Delicious, Digg, StumbleUpon View on map (geotagged at lat -41.282319, lng 174.775958) Create a waypoint in RouteBuddy Translate this page: DE | ES | FR Follow tag feeds: geotag, New Zealand, Project Koru, wellington.