So with going overseas there are some things we needed to get out of the way first… this included new glasses and contacts for me.

I realised pretty quickly that the price of this was going to be pretty high, so I thought I’d start with seeing if I could get them lasered. Unfortunately not… Apparently lasering works for ‘most’ people but my eyes are well and truly outside the limits of any ‘permanent’ fixes currently available.

So from there it was down to the optometrist to try and find some glasses I liked… What a nightmare of a process that turned into – I couldn’t find anything ‘small’ enough for my face… anything that looked modern was square’ish, and way to wide for my face. Anything small enough were ugly.

Eventually Jonathan at Barry and Beale here in Auckland, helped me find a really nice pair. Pics will be posted once I get my hands on them…

One thing I did find throughout the process is how hard it is to find a new optometrist… you see for most thing I buy I simply google for recommendations – but this came up with nothing, nada, zilch.

So, in order to ensure that others don’t have the same issue, I’d like to take a moment to recommend 3 very good optometrists that I’ve had over the years – all 3 are highly recommended as they provided expert assistance and really knew their stuff (and lets face it = eyes are one thing you want an expert looking at for you!).

In Auckland: Barry and Beale optometrists on Queen St. Their service has been great, the eye check was one of the most through I’ve ever had (and remember I’ve had glasses since I was 3, and been to a number of optometrists and specialists). The service has been excellent – they were a good find!

UPDATE 2016: They no longer exist – they appear to have been brought by a chain.

In Wellington: McClellan Grimmer on Featherston St. I first visited these guys to get a screw tightened in my old frames… I was so impressed with the service I went back to get new glasses, and eventually to get contacts for the first time. I have since had many other people recommend them as well – I’d even go as far to say that Lara would be the best optometrist I have come across! If your in Wellington then don’t even hesitate – go to McClellan and Grimmer.

In Christchurch: Marlow and Bain Optometrist. Brian looked after my eyes for well over a decade, and there was a reason I kept going back – in fact I think my entire family kept going back (and still do). This practice has that ‘family feel’ – after all they were the first suburban Optometrist in Christchurch. Don’t get me wrong – they run the sort of professional place that you only get when you have people passionate about the field they work in. Highly recommended!

UPDATE: Marlow and Bain also no longer exists. They were brought by some chain and I haven’t heard good things.

Ok, that’s all for now – hopefully one day someone else will be googling for New Zealand optometrists and this will be of use (if it happens to be you – please leave a comment and let me know it helped)!