OMG buying a first house is so damn complicated!

We have spent the past two weeks trying to work out the process. Here is a little explanation of the Christchurch Earthquake merry-go-round.....

We won at auction, which mean't our offer had to be unconditional. The earthquake damage occured before the settlement date (date of exchange of title) so the vendors are responsible for the cost of the repairs and damage. The vendors have therefore lodged a claim with the Earthquake Commision (EQC) and their insurers. We must now wait for the EQC assessor (who typically has no building or quantity surveying background) to visit the property to then decide the dollar payout to fix the damages. However building prices are escalating and the loss adjuster is not a Quantity Surveyor or a Builder so is just guessing. We in the meantime are going out to the market to try to get fixed price builders quotes to give some certainty to the cost of the repairs to then use as leverage in case the loss adjuster comes through and values the repairs at less than market value. We are then organising a structural engineer to inspect and write a report on the structural condition of the house. To complicate it further the settlement date is in 6days time. We can't settle because we need a mortgage. The bank won't lend the money unless you have home insurance. The insurance companies (those little weak men who make lots of money) have implemented a policy of not insuring ANY damaged homes. Therefore ALL house buyers looking to borrow money from a bank to settle on a house with some earthquake damage can not settle until a.) the insurance companies change their policy or b.)the buyers save up enough money to buy the property without the need for a mortgage!!!....We meanwhile are trying to delay the settlement date by 4 weeks as this should give us enough extra time to save the extra 100k we need to avoid a mortgage! NOT.....

And this is without entering the discussion about the definition of the term 'untenentable' and the absence of case law that surrounds this term. Unfortunately this is the only way we can get out of the contract we signed but could turn nasty if we end up being the first bit of case law for New Zealand courts!

Wow, who thought buying a house could be so much fun.

So some new pics below. We lost a wall in aftershock number 142 of about 300 so far ;(

Quake!!

Well its certainly been an exciting few weeks.

This morning at 4.30am we woke to a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shook the house for several minutes. Pictures were rearranged on the walls, our computer desk fell over and glasses and ornaments fell of the shelves.

After taking stock we then rode through town on our bikes to see the huge fissures that had opened up. Lots of road junctions were covered in silty sand which had shook itself up through the cracks a process known as liquifaction- seriously cool

Unfortunately Albert took a beating. The chimney fell off and brickwork will need replacing at the corners where 2cm cracks have sheared straight through the summerhill stone cladding. Luckily we have not taken settlement yet so the responsibility for fixing the house lies with the Vendor.

Not even the adult entertainment stores were spared!

Sold!!!

Sold in a flash! So quickly that when we visited the house this afternoon, two cars came to see the 'open home' that was supposed to be on. Too late suckers!
We might be eating our words in a month or to when we're in the middle of reno hell! Amms still has the romantic notion of renovations like on Grand Designs... Oh and it has a stream running through it - named Victory Stream.

Full Circle

Happy New Year everybody! Despite 36 hours of flights and an Etihad pilot called 'Captain Jihad' (I kid you not, this is how he introduced himself minutes before takeoff) we made it safely back to Sydney for the famous NYE fireworks last night, very impressive even though we watched them from a rooftop in Bondi Junction.

The past week has been a whirlwind of visiting and celebrating with rellies. Firstly a full house at Kenton-on-sea with Gran-gran, Auntie Sheila, Uncle Alex and cousins Gillian, Richard and Douglas. Then to Port Elizabeth for Christmas day with the McCoys. Our final few days were spent at Lisa and Martin's beaut holiday home at the beach in Betty's Bay (near Cape Town).

So, after 6 and a half months travelling through 18 countries we have made it back to where we started!

Here are some stats from our trip:

Work free days---210
Highest point reached---5895m AMSL
Lowest point reached (Badwater, USA)---86m BMSL
Hottest temp (Okavango Delta, Botswana)---48 degrees
Nights spent camping---84
Nights spent camping illegally---2
Peanut butter and jam sandwiches eaten---120ish
Flat tyre---1 (during night game drive in Zambia)
Robberies / thefts / muggings---0
Friendly locals---1,000s
Italian brothers gained---1
Ann-Marie's relatives visited---23(thanks y'all for putting up with us)
Alex's relatives visited---4
Fastest land speed---190km/hr (reached in the brothers BMW in Botswana)
Longest bus trip---25 hours (Windhoek to Cape Town, most comfortable trip as well)
Longest wait for a bus---5 hours (in Zambia)
Largest bank note---100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion)
Amount paid in US dollars for above note---US$2
Peanut butter and jam sandwiches eaten---120ish
Kilos gained by Ann-Marie in Africa...he he he..---6 (due to peanut butter and jam sammies eaten)
Kilos gained by Alex in Africa---2


Our top 17:

Alex's best hike: Onion Valley to Whitney Portal, California
Ann-Marie's best hike: The bloody hot Grand Canyon, Arizona
Favourite canyon: Subway, Zion National Park, USA
Favourite beer: Windhoek (pronounced Vindhook)
Best Catering: Dalio the Cook on Kili trip
Nicest beach: Nungwe beach, Zanzibar
Worst, smelliest, dirtiest room: Mzuzu, Malawi
Best safari lodge: Crocodile Valley, South Luangwa, Zambia
Cheapest safari lodge: Crocodile Valley, South Luangwa, Zambia
Most expensive, overpriced country: Botswana
Coolest people: Masai men in Kenya
Most regal people: The Himba women
Best hospitality (excluding the rellies!): Boet the Afrikaner, Free State, SA
Least friendly country: Tanzania
Most friendly country: Malawi
Best countries: Namibia, California, Switzerland, Zambia
Most blog comments: Swetty

The Kingdom of Lesotho, Transkei Wild Coast and the crazy Mulligan clan

After realising that we had a couple of spare days we headed to Sani Pass in the Southern Drakensberg. Sani Pass gives access to the high mountain kingdom of Lesotho, a landlocked country that sits above the clouds (its lowest point is 1300m). We had been told by a few people that the road has now been tarred and it would be a breeze zooming up in our VW Chico, but we were mistaken... tarring of the road has been under construction for the last 2 years, and they haven't got very far. So we took a day trip in a landy instead passing through 8kms of no-mans land between the SA and Lesotho border control posts. The road was nearly as hectic as Boet's farm roads in the Free State but the views were much more impressive.

Lesotho looked a lot like the Mackenzie country in NZ, rolling hills with lots of sheep and a lack of trees. In fact the only differences seemed to be the sheep were herded by young shepherd boys dressed in blankets (the national dress) and Basotho people were living in brick rondavel houses. We headed up to a high point about 15kms into the country, where we could look across to another high point which is allegedly the highest point south of Mt Kilimanjaro - you wouldn't know it though, it just looked like a hill in amongst the other hills on the horizon. In the Sosotho language it is called 'the little mountain' - a little contradictory. We ate our packed lunches in the company of about 5 shepherd boys posing for photos.

After lunch it was time to visit a local woman in her relatively spacious rondavel to try out the local delicacies, a maize beer (definitely an acquired taste), and some freshly baked bread from the hearth in the centre of the rondavel (very yummy).

Our last stop was for an obligatory locally brewed Maluti beer at the highest pub in Africa at the top of the pass (2850m high). We then bumped our way back down the pass, not so comfy squashed in the dog box at the back of a landy, I realised.

Our next stop was the Wild Coast - part of the old Transkei homeland. We weren't sure whether the 'wild' aspect was referring to the way people drive (rather than the scenery). A lot of yellow line driving and crazy overtaking was going on the main road. When we turned off for the last 70kms the driving became even crazier. The vehicles in front of us zigzagged across the full width of the road avoiding the deep potholes scattered across the tar, it was comical! A favourite game of the local kids was to fill the potholes with dirt, then stick out their hand for 2 Rand has we drove past. Their only English words seemed to be 'money' and 'sweets'!

After an interesting drive we arrived at Coffee Bay, supposedly a beautiful spot with a hippie vibe. The backpacker/campsite we had been recommended by a couple of people was packed to the brim, felt a tad stagnant as they'd had no water for a few days, and had an unusual smell wafting through every now and again. But it was late so we pitched our tent anyway, ate some smash and tuna for dinner, then crashed into bed. Unfortunately it was a pretty sleepless night listening to people partying in the bar, then stumbling back to their tent next door to ours to carry on discussing inane topics with the ghettoblaster raging. We packed up and left first thing in the morning and headed along the coast on a winding gravel road to the little settlement of Hole in the Wall, a much more peaceful and beautiful spot to hang out. We spent a day chilling out and going for strolls along the beach and headlands for the day.

Next stop, East London with the Mulligan clan. We've had a few days on:
- R&D for Nikki's baked goods company (I think I'm going to set up a NZ arm of Raggamuffins Inc),
- testing out Karen's full english brekkie at the B&B,
- watching hilarious music videos made by Shaun and Craig in the last couple of years,
- being lectured on the pros of electronic gadgets from Rory (he's finally converted me to Gmail) and
- listening to the disgusting sound effects made by one of the dogs, BJ (a really bad case of fur balls).

Alex has also been stuck to the couch becoming a video editing pro.

Namibia Dune Running video

Trundler Amms runs the Scenic Dunes at Sesreim, Namibia including Big Daddy, the fourth highest dune in the world.

Zambia Lion Kill Video

Lions eat Buffalo in South Luangwa Park, Zambia