How is..

[selchie]

So the phone line wasn't an innocent bystander caught up in the Spatula Wars?

[MotherBear]

Some observations from being out and about.

Seen lots of flat feathery and furry items on the roads. Seems the wildlife of NZ is as laid back as the human inhabitants, but it is to their detriment. There seems to be no urgency to get out of the way of oncoming vehicles, hence the fact that they often end up as furry bedroom slippers. Some of the splats are hard to identify i.e. what species they are, as they don't look like anything I've seen before.

Telegraph poles seem to lean drunkenly in all sorts of directions. How some of them are still standing, I don't know.

Vehicle number plates can be anything up to 6 letter, numbers or a mixture of both. Some people use their name, some a nickname or just a quirky little message they want to pass on to other motorists. It certainly makes for interesting journeys, trying to spot the personalised number plates amongst the normal random number/letter ones.

I wouldn't call the average kiwi-about-town smart. They dress very casually, some even scruffily, but I find this endearing. I feel very comfortable amongst them, as they don't give a damn what I'm wearing either. No one looks down on me because I don't have the latest fashion gear or my hairstyle is years out of date. Anyone who comes to NZ hoping to rub shoulders with the smart set will be quite disappointed (apart from maybe in the big cities). Many look like they're just going to or coming from the beach or a camping trip, often in bare feet. I'd much prefer to rub shoulders with such people who are friendly and open than those who are wearing trendy clothes and are only too aware of themselves and how they look.

I'm enjoying the shopping experience and the helpful advice given by shop assistants. To date we've mainly shopped for food or items for the new house, the latter being very time consuming, as we've had to do our research first. So far we're happy with what's available (despite not being able to find a typical UK-type garden hoe) and satisfied with the type and size of shops available.

I'm having a bit of an eye-opener (or, in this case, ear-opener) with regard to pronunciation of certain place names here. Most of us know about the 'wh' thing which is pronounced 'f'. Seems that 'ng' sounds the same as 'sing', so the name of the town where we bought our house, Ngaruawahia (which I must admit took me months to master, only to find out I was saying it incorrectly anyway) is not N-garua-wa-heeya but something like Narua-wa-heeya, with a slight ring to the 'N' due to the soft 'g'. Tauranga is Tau-rong-a. Also I've been told a couple of times that the Maoris resent being called 'M-ow-rees' and are insisting on the pronunciation of 'Maa-rees). Forewarned is forearmed.

One sort of downer is still the summer weather . There is, and has been since we got here 2 weeks ago, a frequent and vicious, cool wind that is with us every day along with a varying amount of cloud. Out of the sun this is quite uncomfortable and reminds me of springtime in the UK when the sun can be shining merrily, but you still need a warm jacket on. It's quite humid at times and I can feel it on our clothes and towels, which are cold and damp in the mornings (and this is summer!). We were gardening on one side of the house today and I was nearly knocked off my feet by the strong wind and it was freezing. I'd heard about NZ and its micro-climates, but actually experienced it when I walked round to the sheltered back of the house where it was beautifully warm. I could easily have sunbathed in a bikini at the back (not a pretty sight , but never mind), whereas I was gardening round the front with a thick woolly cardigan on. Didn't quite get as far as throwing on my thermal vest, but the thought did cross my mind. Tomorrow we're staining the back deck so, Sod's Law, I expect the wind will veer round to come blasting at us from a different direction.

Got stopped by the police doing a breathalyser operation one evening. Had a chuckle when hubster tried to blow into the machine the officer held in front of him, when all that was needed was that he speak his name and address into it. Technology has obviously advanced since he last had such a test. It confused the officer when Taffy and Welshgirl, following some way behind us, gave the same address as us and it confused us, too, which address we should give as we were, at that time, moving from the old address to the new one. Good to know the police were doing checks, but, at 7.30 in the evening, I feel it was a bit too early to be a particularly effective exercise.

Got a boat trip on the river organised for Thursday so that's something to look forward to. Should be a good photo opportunity as well. Putting pics on here may have to wait until we get back to Oman with us being on dial-up here until the day we leave NZ.

Still no progress on the Spatula Wars. All quiet on the western front. ;)

[SteveyC]

You trying to convince us all to stay in UK or something.

No glowing recommendations, as other have posted. It's obviously gonna be nicer than Oman but scenery the same as UK, climate colder in summer than UK springtime. No Summer Dresses, shock horro, cancel the flights!!! We're staying in the UK :icon_mrgreen:
Ooops I just got murdered by a psychopath whose been let out of prison to early as he no longer poses a threat to Society. DOH!!!

Whats going on Mother Bear!
Ha! Its lloks like your warning us all to saty away so you can have the place to yourself :icon_lol:

Ok the weather isnt like you might expect but have you had any thoughts about 7c and raining and glum in the deep south of England today I wonder.
M25 packed as always - nutters making the news ..blah blah blah.
Anyway - we are still coming so leave us some space in the South :icon_biggrin:

Hi MB, good luck with the house thing and hope all is well with you and your "crutch".

I can bring you a hoe over if you so wish, but you will have to come to Auckland to get it!


Stevey C, if you knew all that happens in and around our prisons it would make your hair curl!!!!!!!

Your observations remind me that we'll fit right in to NZ life. And I'm getting homesick for NZ. Keep the chilly weather reports coming, MB. Maybe they will divert some folks to OZ ;)

I take it the UK doesn't have vanity license plates? Most around here are rather lame, and not worth the extra money IMHO.

It sounds like the utility poles were planted in "expansive" soils (I'm going all geo-pedantic again). Clay-rich, they expand & contract depending on soil moisture, sending poles and slab foundations into chaos. What fun!

Stevey C, if you knew all that happens in and around our prisons it would make your hair curl!!!!!!!

Don't I know it some moron (namely my dad) let my 58 (now 60) year old mother work in the library at Rugby Cat B (i think). Ahhh you think, at least the cage will offer some protection for her behind the counter (on her own) while the sex offenders and murdererd roam the shelves. Hmmm not if there's just a normal counter without even a door. Just some Red gaffa tape on the floor, which if people cross, she has to press an alarm. BIT LATE NOW!!! Bloody HMPS can't believe it.

You trying to convince us all to stay in UK or something.

No glowing recommendations, as other have posted. It's obviously gonna be nicer than Oman but scenery the same as UK, climate colder in summer than UK springtime. No Summer Dresses, shock horro, cancel the flights!!! We're staying in the UK ?

Not trying to put you off at all. ?I intended leaving my rose-coloured specs at home and I've been involved in everyday life in NZ, which, IMO, is the best way to tell if we could settle here or not. ?Sadly we've done very little sightseeing with having an unexpected heap of work to do on the new house, so I'm not in a position to gush about all the wonderful things on offer. ?However, it's good to know that these things will still be here for us when we come next time. ?I know they are out there. ?Consider this as a reality alternative to all those glowing reports from people who tour around, not staying too long in one place and ?go through a holiday experience. ?What I can say is that I am very happy to consider NZ as my future home (NZIS permitting ). ?I have no qualms at all about moving down here, which, basically, should be what you're all really interested in. ?People come back from holiday and rave on about what they've seen and done, but you are intending coming here to live, which is a completely different matter. The holiday has to end sometime, so it's comforting to know that there is something more enduring. ?What I'm saying is that it's great in NZ if you keep your feet on the ground before you get here. ?Apart from the current weather situation, very cold morning and evenings, but hot in the daytime sun, I don't have many downers at all. ?Please don't read my previous comments as complaints, they are merely observations of ordinary everyday things and should be read as such. ?Many have posted the wonderful holiday type messages, so I just wanted to give you something more basic, something that I guess you won't appreciate until you get here and see for yourselves. ?

The weather situation could just be freak as happens in the UK when summertime doesn't go according to plan. ?We aren't the only ones talking about the cold, the locals completely agree as well. ?No doubt once we're 37,000 ft. above ground on our way back to Oman, the temps will shoot up and we'll arrive home to emails from Taffy and Welshgirl telling us how hot it is. ?We ?did have one beautiful day and thought summer had finally arrived but, once the sun went down, it was freezing. ?I'm sure it's not like that all the time.......or is it? [smilie=No.gif]

Selchie, yes the UK does have vanity plates (or personalised plates as we call them). ?Here they are a lot more in evidence as they only cost about $500, whereas in the UK they can cost up to thousands of pounds.

Hi MB,

I think you could be right in saying the temperatures will go up as soon as you leave! :icon_lol:

According to what I can decifer from weatherbase.com - http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...p;units=metric - the weather at the moment in Hamilton is quite usual, getting warmer next month.

It does get cold at nights over most of NZ, barring the odd few days. The only place it doesn't (in summer anyway) is Northland where the lows are not so low.

:icon_biggrin:

Been away on holiday for a week in lovely Whitianga on the Coromandel. The weather certainly is changeable but I can honestly say that I've never felt cold and there has been more than enough sun. I very much recognise the New Zealand described Mother Bear, as you say it has to be a place to hang all your hats not just your holiday one. Just had a thought though, it could well be that coming from Oman you could well be feeling the "cold' more than most of us. I well remember coming back to Uk after 3 years in Libya and amusing all my family and friends by wearing an overcoat in the teeth of a hot summer.
That bit about trying to blow into the copper's recorder made me chuckle and ensured that, should I be given a breath check, I won't make the same mistake. Just my luck though to end up speaking into the breathalyser.