My Life In Scat - a year in New Zealand
Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 8:58 pm
From Moto-scat Version I:
So, today marks the one year anniversary of me and Mrs_wagon arriving in sunny New Zealand, so I thought it seemed a good idea to sum up the past 12 months in NZ, through the encounters with scat. Just so that it remains even remotely interesting, I'll only make mention of scat stories/anecdotes where there was photographic evidence but be assured that many, many items of vehicular chod have been witnessed sans camera.
Anyway, on to some photos. Apologies for the inevitable reposts in areas, though I'll make sure not to make it too repetitive.
October
We landed in Auckland airport on 24th October as Mr and Mrs_estate (though technically we never actually owned the Cavalier in question, which was first my parents' and is now my brother's). Luckily, I have a cousin who had caught wind of our idea to emigrate, decided it sounded worth a go and then 'beat us' to it by 18 months, so transport from the airport was not an issue. Since we were moving to a rural location and pretty much no-one outside of the major cities walks anywhere, it was essential to get a car. Many hours spent scanning Trademe in the weeks running up to our move saw scant offerings until 2 weeks before, when this turned up (pretend to be surprised):
It ticked the boxes of station wagon practicality and the potential to be economical to run, due to its Nissan LD28 diesel engine conversion some time in the mid 1990s. I also thought it looked pretty straight from the few photos and the price was very appealing (all things being relative). Added to all this, it was for sale only a few minutes drive from my cousin, who went to check it out. Despite being a Land Rover nut (non-checker plate version) and thus being accustomed to slightly agricultural outdated modes of transport, he initially had reservations. Fingernails were being bitten back in Blighty as I awaited his e-mail after the viewing but thankfully it got his seal of approval and a deal was struck. On our arrival, he had driven it 3 ½ hours north, with his pregnant wife and 2 year old daughter following in their Toyota Ipsum (Avensis Verso).
Arriving at the motel we were all staying at that night, I was greeted with the first siting of the Commodore, sitting waiting in the guest car park. I'd dearly love to say that I was champing at the bit to see it all the way through the 2 hour journey south from the airport but honestly I was that jet-lagged I'd totally forgotten about it! Initially, it seemed a little slow on the pick-up and the unassisted steering was a smidge heavier than the Sierra's I'd recently sold but all in all I was a happy chap. Fortunately, images don't give off smells, as the interior was far from fresh and is little better to this day....
Our rented house had the bonus of offering me my first sole access to a garage, even if it was a bit small*:
So, today marks the one year anniversary of me and Mrs_wagon arriving in sunny New Zealand, so I thought it seemed a good idea to sum up the past 12 months in NZ, through the encounters with scat. Just so that it remains even remotely interesting, I'll only make mention of scat stories/anecdotes where there was photographic evidence but be assured that many, many items of vehicular chod have been witnessed sans camera.
Anyway, on to some photos. Apologies for the inevitable reposts in areas, though I'll make sure not to make it too repetitive.
October
We landed in Auckland airport on 24th October as Mr and Mrs_estate (though technically we never actually owned the Cavalier in question, which was first my parents' and is now my brother's). Luckily, I have a cousin who had caught wind of our idea to emigrate, decided it sounded worth a go and then 'beat us' to it by 18 months, so transport from the airport was not an issue. Since we were moving to a rural location and pretty much no-one outside of the major cities walks anywhere, it was essential to get a car. Many hours spent scanning Trademe in the weeks running up to our move saw scant offerings until 2 weeks before, when this turned up (pretend to be surprised):
It ticked the boxes of station wagon practicality and the potential to be economical to run, due to its Nissan LD28 diesel engine conversion some time in the mid 1990s. I also thought it looked pretty straight from the few photos and the price was very appealing (all things being relative). Added to all this, it was for sale only a few minutes drive from my cousin, who went to check it out. Despite being a Land Rover nut (non-checker plate version) and thus being accustomed to slightly agricultural outdated modes of transport, he initially had reservations. Fingernails were being bitten back in Blighty as I awaited his e-mail after the viewing but thankfully it got his seal of approval and a deal was struck. On our arrival, he had driven it 3 ½ hours north, with his pregnant wife and 2 year old daughter following in their Toyota Ipsum (Avensis Verso).
Arriving at the motel we were all staying at that night, I was greeted with the first siting of the Commodore, sitting waiting in the guest car park. I'd dearly love to say that I was champing at the bit to see it all the way through the 2 hour journey south from the airport but honestly I was that jet-lagged I'd totally forgotten about it! Initially, it seemed a little slow on the pick-up and the unassisted steering was a smidge heavier than the Sierra's I'd recently sold but all in all I was a happy chap. Fortunately, images don't give off smells, as the interior was far from fresh and is little better to this day....
Our rented house had the bonus of offering me my first sole access to a garage, even if it was a bit small*: