MY BOXES ARE ON THE WAY!!!!!

So I got some WONDERFUL news that my boxes have been sent from Australia today.  I am getting half sent now, with the things I really need and I will get the other boxes probably sent next month.  I am going to keep the 5 Elmo boxes in Oz for now until I get a better idea on where I can send them and where they would be mostly needed.  I am so glad that I made a fairly detailed list on what was in each bag and box so I know 90% of what is coming and I can’t contain the excitement to be getting the BBQ grill, the sandwich maker, the souvenirs of course, my 4 travel diaries from my last 22 months of travels, the Aussie foods including Tim Tams, Mint Slices, BBQ Shapes and Twisties to name a few things, oh and a whole JAR of vegemite!  Knowing that the Vegemite is on its way, I finally cracked open my travel tube that I have been carrying for the last 2 months for the first time and man it was heaven on a piece of toast.  I forgot how good it tasted.  I am one of those people that will keep something and not really want to open it and save it-so much so that sometimes it goes past it’s used by date and defeats the purpose of me hanging onto it for so long!

I am looking forward to getting a piece of home sent, stuff that I have kept (which wasn’t much after clearing it all out) but it will be pieces of my history to help me settle in a little more here. 

So what is involved in getting the boxes sent?

The company I am using charges per kilo.  If you send over 100kg the cost comes down from $9.10 a kilo to $8.75 a kilo (massive saving NOT) but I guess every penny counts.  I am sending around 142kg, so I was able to get the cheaper rate (yay).There are additional fees that include a $35 security fee, a $30 airline fee, a $20 insurance fee and if they come to pick up the boxes from home there was a $40 pickup fee.  There also maybe charges at the destination but that will depend on the agent and the depot- Australia mentioned around a $100 fee from this end, but to use that just a guide, as I will be subject to their fees which they have no control over.  Australia just get the stuff there and from there it is out of their control.  Hmmmmm so really they can charge what they want as they have your things, so let’s just hope I get some-one decent, I’m happy to pay a fee for their time-but when people rip people off is where I have a massive issue.  Once the Nairobi agent has confirmed my stuff has arrived, I can then arrange pick up from the agent at the airport. If I do phone after the 26^th February and they say that my airways bill doesn't exist, it just means it hasn't arrived, so don't panic as the delivery agent has no online tracking system to advise what is coming in.  Australia was very adamant about that point and mentioned this worries a lot of people (no wonder) but to be assured it is on its way and can up to the 7 working days. 

It takes 5-7 working days from pick up and they place my stuff on a major airline and I am lucky that mine is coming on Singapore Airlines (only the best for my goods) and they should arrive no later than 26 of February.  We have been issued an Airway Bill Number they will call me when the goods arrive to arrange collection.  If they haven't phoned me by the 26th of February I can then call a number provided (but don't call before) which is a Singapore Airlines office in Nairobi and quote my airway bill number (not your name) and they can trace where my things are. 

Shelly said the guy from Jetta Express was very helpful, helped her fill in the forms and he mentioned that they have been sending a fair bit of stuff to Nairobi and all goes quite smoothly unlike Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, where he said that there is usually long delays -so looks like another good decision for me to be in Nairobi which is great news.  As it worked out, Shelly delivered the boxes to their depot as they can only give you a 2 hour window on the day and as a working mother of 2 school aged girls, it was easier for her to drop them for me and she also saved me 40 bucks.  I was hoping to avoid all that to make the process as streamlined as I could so as not to put the Elkins out, but I guess there are just some things I can’t control and I know that Shelly doesn’t mind, but I just HATE putting people out.  It was why I was so organised and had all the boxes weighed, labelled and plastic wrapped. 

So half of my belongings are now somewhere between Brisbane and Singapore as we speak.  It seems like a lot of hassle to get things to Kenya, but it is literally half of everything I owned pre Kenya and to have some of my ‘Australia’ things in my place will be just what my apartment and doctor ordered.  I can’t wait for them to arrive and even though I know what the basic big stuff is in the bags, I didn’t note everything single thing that went in, so there will be a few small surprises.  The cost for me is totally worth it firstly from a personal point of view and secondly there no matter where you move to, international, domestic or suburbs, there are moving costs involved and initially when I first started looking at moving ALL my belongings in the shipping container that I had stored for 3 years, the quotes that were coming back were between $9,000-15,000USD to move it all!!!!  The $9,000 quote was originally for Ethiopia and only to Djbuoti and then I had to get the container myself from there to Addis!  So this was a Plan B that I was really happy with and I am TOTALLY ESTATIC and can’t wait for next week.  It may seem trivial to some but really it is going to be the highlight of the week and not only for my stuff but I also get the BBQ grill top and I will be able to have some better meals that I don’t have to use the microwave.