After moving to Dorset it wasn't long before my husband and I had the dream to emigrate to New Zealand as we both felt it would offer both us and the children a better quality of lifestyle. And so the preparations began and before we knew it we had been to New Zealand for a scout around, secured a job for my husband in Whangaparaoa and begun our residency applications for the whole family including Marmite, our gorgeous black cat! Our residency came through in 2005 and by Xmas of that year we were all here and having our first Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere where Xmas day is usually spent at the beach having a BBQ - something to get used to for a family of Poms who were used to Roast Turkey and all the trimmings!
We quickly settled in and found Auckland (our nearest City) when we went in for a visit in January to be extremely quiet only to find out later that in New Zealand most corporate offices close down for an extended break over the Xmas period for around 4 weeks so this is the best time to visit Auckland!! Things only really get back to normal in February when the work force fully returns and the schools go back after their summer break. Lots to get used to ..... !
Clothes shopping was very different in New Zealand compared to UK as there was a limited choice to start with and it tended to be either very high end designer labels or pretty soul less budget clothing ranges - luckily I had brought a lot of clothes with me! Once fully settled in and now working - I would commute to the Auckland CBD by ferry from Gulf Harbour and fortunately met lots of fellow commuters who became great friends. It was such a social journey - coffee on the way to work and usually a wine on the way home - so different to the commutes I had known in UK!
One of the ladies I met on the ferry told me about a great shopping place called DressSmart which was based in Onehunga a suburb of Auckland. However she said "it was a nightmare to get to as the road was so busy and there was a terrible roundabout to go through". I said I would be happy to drive her over as I felt coming from UK I was well used to busy roads. So we planned a day and I drove with her directing me. We left Highway One heading south out of Auckland at the Greenlane intersection and this is the roundabout my friend was referring to as being so busy with so many roads coming off it. I actually chuckled to myself as it was to me just a normal roundabout one would encounter in UK on a daily basis - the roundabout on the M25 at the end of the A1M is a much scarier option to navigate but it is all about what you are used to.
DressSmart was basically an outlet shopping centre and whilst it had a good selection of shops and some good bargains to be had it still wasn't my type of shopping.
So I focussed on the Op shops which if you were prepared to look hard and travel to the different suburbs of Auckland there were some great items to be found.
Then one day by chance, I overhead a fellow ferry traveller mention she had recently been to SaveMart in Northcote and what a great recycled shopping experience it was. I quickly followed up with her to find out more about this place and the following weekend excitedly headed out to investigate this new shopping destination. On arrival I walked through the doors to find a huge warehouse full of clothes, shoes, accessories - you name it - it was there! The items were also sorted on the rails from dresses/skirts/tops/trousers and then sorted into colours - just heaven. There were also rails of what are termed 'designer items' - so any label items were higher priced but still very affordable and again some that had never been worn.
I had finally found my new mecca in New Zealand for shopping and best of all SaveMart have warehouses all over the country so whenever I am away on a trip I will drop into the nearest one to do some shopping!
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