All moved in to the new flat

So I'm in my new flat now, moved over this morning. Feels pretty damn good to be here. I've got most of my stuff organized and still have to get more furniture for the room, but that'll come quickly. I'll most likley move my couch into the room as well as add a table/desk, plus get some good posters and wall hangings to cover up the marks. I'm going to buy a base for the bed to get it off the ground to avoid mould problems and give some more storage underneath.

Storage is definitely not an issue here, it's a huge place. I've got a massive closet which pretty much does the job, plus there's hidden closets, cupboards and such all around the house. I explored them all and got some new clothes, a hot water bottle, a bunch of food and a first aid training kit including a blow up doll to practice on. Really hit the jackpot on that one.

The past couple of days have been really bad weatherwise and today is no change. My amazing view is just of flying rain, wind and clouds. So I'm excited for a good day soon to take some pictures and enjoy a primo view of the whole city.

It's fun getting to know the flatmates. Only 2 around right now, but been fun. Good people and all of them are around the same age.

I'm looking forward to being just a 5 minute walk to work, pracitally being able to see work since we're up on a hill. No more waiting for the bus in the cold and then getting to town 25 minutes later. I'm back in the city and pumped about it.

My room, with the 70s orange carpet

The huge closet on the other side of the room

The stairs from the front entrance coming up in the middle of the flat

The living room with lovely wall paneling

View from living room of the study and kitchen through the slding door

Study view looking at the kitchen, slightly lighter wood paneling on the walls

Kitchen with view of the back where we have a garage, bbq and another balcony

Looking back to the living room from the kitchen

New flat

The whole top is ours, big balcony and huge living room.

The view from the balcony of the harbour and city


While I've been cat sitting out in the ritzy suburbs, I've been looking for a new flat in town, one that I aim to stick with for the next 10 months or so of my stay in Wellington. After checking out a couple duds, I viewed one last night that was perfect. Such a wicked house with an amazing view. I don't move in for a week and a half while I cat sit, but I'm getting pretty pumped about it.

The flat is the whole top floor of a huge house, with a big balcony out back overlooking the whole city and harbour, plus a back balcony. Inside, when you come up the stairs, you are in the middle of the flat with everything all around you. Nice big kitchen and dining room, plus a spacious living room with lots of couches.

I'll have 4 flatmates, 3 girls and 1 guy. All around the same age and all workers. Going to be good company and many good times to come.

The price is super cheap for what it is and the location. I'm about a 5 minute walk to work downhill and 7 minutes uphill back to the flat so it's perfect.

Things have come along nicely. Working on getting the medical exam taken care of to extend my visa and once that's done, I'll be set to live in a cool flat, with a great job and an extended visa for a long happy time.

Tree planting

Since it's way wicked to be back in Wellington, I figured it was time to plant some roots. Not mine, but rather a tree's roots. I was at a wind power concert last week and got a free tree, just a wee little baby one. I worked 5 days straight and had no time to plant it, but on my first day off, that was exactly what I did.

A Rata, is a native tree of New Zealand. Like most countries these days, NZ is trying to plant just native trees and return it to how it used to be. of course they can't get rid of everything like the cows, sheep and vineyards which make the most money for the country. But with planting trees like the rata, steps are taken in the right direction. And yours truly is taking a couple steps, making up for all the breathing going on down in NZ. Check out more info on my tree at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrosideros_robusta


Here are a few pics of me planting the tree, tucked away in a park with a great view of the city, the water and the hills. Should last a while before anyone notices it there and hopefully it will stay for a long long time.
My baby rata tree in it's bag admiring it's new home

The planter

Mr. Rata loving the view