Moving from Christchurch to Auckland

I found it difficult to find moving cost estimates and information about doing a DIY move via the ferry across New Zealand, so I thought I'd make a short post about the move I did at the end of 2019.

Since we were transporting our cat and didn't want to do an extensive amount of driving each day, we took three days for the trip. This enabled us to stay overnight at two places and let him out of his cage and let us rest. Except for some traffic on the North Island, the trip went smoothly and all of our stuff made it there.

Actual costs for three-day move:
$1,548 (excluding cargo equipment)
$1,918 (with cargo equipment, which hopefully can be reused in future)

Fuel: $343

• First full tank fill-up @ $2.079/liter: $102
• Partial fill-up in Kaikoura (no receipt): $71
• Partial fill-up out of Wellington @ $2.389/liter: $62
• Second full tank fill-up in Taupo @ $2.159/liter: $108 

A full tank fill-up is about 13.5 gallons (51 liters) and the car is pretty new so it gets good mileage; however, the trailer and weight definitely reduced the usual fuel efficiency. There was about 150km left to go when we arrived in Auckland according to the car's estimate after the trailer was removed, so that needs to be accounted for when looking at the total fuel cost.


Luggage Trailer: $467

• cost is made up of 3 days at $39/day which is comparable to other companies, plus $20/day for $0 damage excess, plus one-way fee (this was supposed to be around $500 but I got them to lower it for me)  
• $100 deposit is required at time of booking

Note that rentals book up fast - many places I called didn't have anything available - so as soon as you know your moving dates, see what's available. U Save was the only place that would let me hire a luggage trailer one-way. Otherwise, the only option was one of the bigger furniture trailers, and I knew we didn't need that much space since we weren't taking furniture or big stuff. I mistakenly thought that I would be able to have some visibility out the car's rearview mirror with the smaller trailer, so on reflection, I might have gone with the single-axle furniture trailer to save the headache of trying to cram everything in such a small space. However, the luggage trailer handled pretty well when full and didn't feel overwhelming to haul for three days, and it fit almost everything I needed it to and forced me to consolidate stuff before moving.

Ferry (Picton to Wellington): $464

• included two adults, one car, and one trailer at a student flexi rate, which seems to be 5% off the usual rate, via Bluebridge

The ferry also books up fast, since there are a limited number of sailings each day, and we wanted one that left at a reasonable hour in the morning. This and the trailer hire are the most limiting of your options for the move.

Accommodation (2 nights): $274

• one night in Picton at Aldan Lodge Motel (pet-friendly, good customer service, and nice roomy place to stay; it has off-street parking, but there were only a couple spots that could take trailers, and it took us a while to back up into one of them - recommend asking in advance to secure one of these)
• one night in Turangi at Turangi Bridge Motel (pet-friendly and decent room; but the parking spots are not long enough for trailers, and one section that could have worked had a big truck and disconnected trailer already taking up the space; we ended up having to work another situation out on the lawn which you're not supposed to do but given that we had stuff roped to the top, I didn't want to leave it out in front of the motel overnight)

Cargo Equipment: $370

• 1 set of crossbars: $120 + $30 shipping, on Amazon U.S.
• 1 roof rack: $109 + $70 shipping, on TradeMe
• 2 ropes: $7.50 (with buy 1 get 1 50% off deal)
• 2 cargo nets: $18 (with buy 1 get 1 50% off deal)
• 2 2-pack of ratchet tiedown straps: $15 (with buy 1 get 1 50% off deal)

Dinner Party, Cold Weather, and End of Semester

Home

We had our first dinner party last weekend and it was a success. We made Mexican food since they don't have good Mexican food here: cheese enchiladas, refried beans, rice, and cheese dipping sauce for chips, then pumpkin bundt cake and chocolate-covered pretzels for dessert. Afterward, we played some board games and engaged in some movie debates about The Hobbit movies and upcoming sequels. One of our friends brought her friend who is back home in New Zealand for a brief visit -- he is in a doctoral program at a university on the East Coast so I asked him about how he is liking the U.S. He definitely likes having access to Amazon Prime and affordable shipping.

It is -1 C (30 F) in attic and 9 C (48 F) in house.

With temperatures plummeting, I invested in a thick winter comforter (duvet) that was on sale. It could be a half measure warmer, but it should work for the next couple years. It is a challenge to keep the house warmer than 40-50 F (8-10 C). I do not like being able to see my breath inside. I use the timers on the heat pumps to have both of them turn on an hour and a half before I wake up so the house is more bearable, around 60-64 F (16-18 C). Then it is an ice-box when we return home from school -- I miss having a programmable thermostat and central gas heating!! Power bill is hovering around $10-$12 a day, so easily $300+ a month for electricity, and that is with us not being here most of the time. It is hard to get used to this climate in these conditions.

My umbrella broke in a particularly fierce windy, rainy day, so I will have to get another one. The rain often comes in sideways though, so you still get soaked even with an umbrella or hoodie on. Our cat has been so cold he is sleeping under the bed covers, so I bought a microwavable pet warmer that a friend from the U.S. recommended. We are going to get him a pet bed to put it in. I know, he is quite spoiled.

School

The semester is now over, along with my tutorials. I have learned a lot in a short time about students and learning and having to deal with systems of education that don't always make sense. I accepted that students were not keeping up with the reading and prepared alternative sessions. For one session, we watched a half-hour movie called Flatland: The Movie (with Martin Sheen and Kristen Bell voicing the main characters) based off an early science fiction novel and discussed political systems and how open people really are to new ideas. It was surprisingly enjoyable. Knowing how things work now, I will hopefully be able to prepare better for future tutorials, although every group of students is different.

One of my fellow doctoral students and I gave an essay workshop one evening in the library based on the mistakes we saw on the first round of essays we graded. Since it is difficult to get students to come to anything, we considered it a success to have seven from both of our classes attend. It was partly for selfish reasons, to give us practice presenting and something to put on our resumes. But two of her students recently turned in an assignment and showed marked improvement in their structure and received the best grades out of dozens of their peers (assignment was graded by one of the "hard" grading lecturers). So that made us proud and like our time and energy was worth it.

I have agreed to help peer-review and edit articles for a new campus academic journal coming out online in a few months. Not that I have the time, but it will also help improve my resume...

I sat through over thirty oral presentations by Engineering students to give them a grade on their presentation skills. A lot of them needed work, but there were some really good presenters. I learned a lot about building materials, types of aggregates, lighter concrete with recycled PET plastic, insulation, and 3-D printers on Mars. I have to admit, these students have been showing up my arts students with the amount of eagerness, dedication, and willingness to work they bring to their education. I can't get my students to read a book, but several of these students were coming up to me for feedback and ways to improve. They really cared about how they were doing. My final conclusion is that making things for assessment/a grade is a powerful motivator for today's students.

Finally, I went to an interesting presentation by one of the History students on education reform in post-war Japan and Germany. I had no idea how much effort the U.S. went to in order to try to ensure these countries did not become militarized dictatorships again. It sent educators over there to rewrite textbooks and insert democracy and freedom ideas. And it seems that they were largely successful. It shows the power of education and its "indoctrination" aspects.

fall colors on the walk from our car to school

It's the Target dog! Made me miss Target stores...

This article was in a wellness magazine dropped off in our mailbox. 

They know the cold and damp are bad for our health!!

Transporting Your Pet Cat from the US to New Zealand

Transporting your pet cat (or dog) from the United States to New Zealand is a major pain and quite expensive. But if your pet is family, you do it anyway. Although Air New Zealand requires that you contract with a pet transport company anyway, you still end up responsible for a lot of the legwork yourself. I wanted to provide a summary of all the steps I went through in moving my cat plus the costs I paid so you know what you're getting into beforehand.

Links:

New Zealand Government Biosecurity - personal pets
Air New Zealand - travelling with pets
USDA APHIS office contacts by state
Kansas State University Rabies Laboratory

1. Get your cat microchipped. (~$75) My cat had been microchipped years earlier with the US standard which is 125 kHz. The New Zealand standard is 134.2 kHz, so I thought I would have to get him a second one. Thankfully, the pet transport company said it was okay to use the US microchip (keeping in mind that vets in NZ will not likely have a reader that can read the US one if your cat gets lost).

2. Get your cat a rabies vaccine 6 months to 12 months before departure. (~$75)
Every vet visit must also include a full regular exam to check the pet's health and see if there are any fleas or ear mites, so you must pay the exam fee plus anything extra that needs to be done.

3. Get your cat an approved travel carrier/crate. ($60)

The cat must be able to stand fully upright and have room to move around. The pet transport company can give you further guidance on how big you need to get for the size of your cat. I ended up buying a small-dog size carrier from PetCo that had the holes for them to be able to zip-tie it to seal it, as well as the appropriate latches along the sides and the door. 

4. Prior to 3 months before departure, get your cat's blood drawn for a rabies titre test. Also get your cat a FCRVP vaccine. ($79)
The other vaccine was required by the quarantine facility I selected.

5. Mail the blood tube to the Kansas laboratory authorized to run rabies tests for international transport. ($64)

It was significantly cheaper for me to package the blood tube myself and give to UPS than to have the vet mail it for me (they quoted me around $150). The people at UPS were confused on whether or not they were allowed to ship it since it's hazardous material and had to consult with managers, but thankfully I had already researched it on their website and as long as it is packaged according to their instructions (inner seal, outer seal, absorbent padding, etc.), it can be shipped just fine. After checking their procedures, they finally agreed with me and accepted it. 

6. Pay the Kansas lab fee for their rabies test ($85).
This fee can be paid online.

7. Mail the results to your nearest Official Vet office to receive an official endorsement/seal of approval. ($127)
After a few weeks, the Kansas lab will send the test results back to your vet's office. Assuming your cat tested in the acceptable range for the rabies antibodies, you now need to mail that paperwork plus some other paperwork to your state's USDA APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) office for their seal. I had to call and email several people to figure out which office was the one that handled pet transport seals.

8. At least 6 weeks before departure, make a reservation for your cat at the quarantine facility in the city in NZ you are moving to. ($500 deposit at my facility)
There are only a few authorized quarantine facilities in the main cities. To pay the deposit, I had to make a wire transfer at my bank. Facilities have limited capacity, so I booked my cat's spot months ahead of time.

9. At least 6 weeks before departure, apply for an import permit from NZ authorities. ($150 [$167 NZ]) 
They now allow this paperwork to be submitted electronically, so you scan and email the required paperwork to them.

10. In the 30 days prior to departure and at least 2 weeks prior to the 2nd treatment, get your cat its 1st external and 1st internal parasite treatment. ($82)

You must use Frontline for this, so make sure your vet carries that. I had to go to Petsmart and buy an expensive 3-pack and bring it to the vet's office since they normally use Advantage. Your cat will have to swallow one or two pills of Dropal for the internal treatment.

11. In the 4 days prior to departure, get your cat its 2nd internal parasite treatment.
This can be done at the same time as the next step.

12. In the 2 days prior to departure - can also be on the day of departure - get your cat its 2nd external parasite treatment and its inspection and official certification by a vet that your cat is ready to fly. ($140)
As I was not flying out of my home city, the pet transport company allowed me to get both parasite treatments done by its vet office. I also had to go with them to the USDA office to have them read my cat's microchip before they would sign off on the paperwork. Fortunately we were one of the first there in the morning so it didn't take too long, but I was told that sometimes there are lots of pets ahead in line and it can take hours. The pet transport company also took care of notifying the NZ authorities at the port of arrival that my cat was on schedule.

13. Pay the myriad other fees associated with transportation. ($1570)
These were all calculated and paid to the pet transport company ahead of time. Customs/USDA ($450), Cargo on Air New Zealand - varies by pet weight and kennel size ($670), and Pet transport company handling fee ($450).

14. After 10 days of quarantine, pick up your cat and pay for the remainder of the quarantine fees. ($700 [$825 NZ])
Since I didn't have a certain type of work visa, the NZ authorities charged a 15% customs tax on my cat!!

Total cost in US dollars to transport my cat from the US to NZ: over $3,700.

Fortunately, my cat made it safe and sound to New Zealand, although I am having to spend even more money on boarding him at a cattery while I look for pet-friendly housing. If you have any questions about the process, feel free to contact me.