Hey again all,
Thanks for the replies - your input is invaluable
Gorstsmit - As soon as jobs are advertised that start in January, we will be applying for them (I am signed up to the edgazette e-mail) even from here in the UK. The thing is that obviously for teaching there is a small period of time when jobs are profusely advertised for the coming school year. In NZ this is reputedly the end of October and during November, so that is when we are heading out.
We have actually booked our flights to NZ now - October the 24th - and when we get there, we are going to offer to volunteer in some schools in Auckland and apply for every teaching job we can find!
It is a huge risk, but we are extremely committed to going to New Zealand and will do whatever we can to get jobs and make it work.
J and M - my wife is eligible for the WHV, but I've had one before (that's how I fell in love with NZ). We are considering this option, but think it might be better for us to do some volunteering and then dedicate 100% of our time to searching for jobs. We are in the fortunate financial position of being able to do this, so may leave that as an option for if we don't get a job before January.
Duncan - it would be interesting to hear what your colleague says about applicants without PR - thanks for that.
Again, sorry for the long post!