We found it difficult at times to find information we needed when planning the move. A lot of websites are run by the NZ Immigration Service, which like to make NZ sound like a wonderland of clean-green-ness, just like Lord of the Rings (at least the first bits, in the Shire).
Needless to say, they present a slightly biased view.
Luckily, there are a couple of forums which are absolutely essential IMHO for anyone wanting to move to NZ.
Had a great time in Roto-vegas this weekend. Hit the trails at the world-famous mountain bike park. Will give an overview of that later.
We’d only been to Rotorua once before, and the memories came flooding back through our nostrils the minute we wound down the car window on our way into town.
For those of you unfamiliar with this part of NZ, there is significant “thermal activity” to be found there.And it smells like it.
I was always under the impression that the locals just ate too many baked beans, but no, apparently it’s the bubbling mud pools which create the stench.
"Thermal activity" - One of Rotorua's smaller bubbling mud pools.
The smell is pretty striking when you’re just visiting the place, but I suppose the locals get used to it.
Scientists tell us that the smell is actually an aphrodisiac, but I highly doubt it. It just smells like the whole town let rip at once.
It still got me to thinking, does good old-fashioned flatulence still provide the giggles to Rotoru-ians that it does to others?
Do schoolboys still snicker when someone lets rip? Or doesn’t it have the same impact?
Can blokes get away with letting out a silent-but-deadly in bed next to the missus?
How do people tell when their eggs have gone off?
These are some of the questions I pondered on the drive home. Mine’s an inquiring mind.
It was a great weekend, but it’s good to breathe the clean-green air of Hawke’s Bay again.
One topic I’ve been meaning to write about on this blog is on the relationship between New Zealand and Australia, and how Aus is viewed by your typical Kiwi. And I will get around to doing that in more depth later on, as there is heaps to write about. There’s actually probably a PhD in it, but I can’t be bothered doing another one.
However, an article showed up online today that I couldn’t help but post about. Apparently a Christchurch historian thinks that Australia should take New Zealand more seriously. Seriously.
Professor Philippa Mein Smith says that:
“It’s time to stop trotting out the sheep jokes and the endless ribbing on the sports field and make our relationship more sophisticated”
And then she goes on to try to prove her point by (slightly hypocritically) invoking the old chestnut, Phar Lap:
“He’s a hero horse for all of us so I think it’s about time we got over who owns him and just accept we all do, but still the fight goes on.”
Diddums.
FYI, we invented Pavlova too.
But you can have Russell Crowe.
Apparently we can thank Rove, who suggested that Australians viewed Kiwis as “the cousin at the party in the short trousers”. I’d never actually heard this one before, but let me tell you, it’s absolutely spot on.
Mainly because the truth is Australians are pretty ignorant towards NZ. Heck, I just assumed I’d be able to buy the SMH or The Age over here, and get the ABC on TV. Wasn’t even sure if Auckland or Wellington was the capital (it’s Wellington by the way).
On the other hand, Kiwis know all about Australia, and are moving there in record numbers. It’s pretty much a rite of passage for most New Zealanders in their twenties to go and work there for a year or two. It’s almost an obsession. In fact the the Kiwi “OE” (Overseas Experience) is pretty much institutionalised, whereby most young people nick off to either Australia of the UK to work for a few years, before (mostly) returning to NZ.
Seriously, they simultaneously love us and loathe us.
And it’s great, in my opinion. Imagine if we all got along, it’d be boring as batshit. The more trans-Tasman rivalry the better I say.
Now get your friggin’ trousers lengthened you dorks!
So far the tone of this blog has maybe been a tad negative and sarcastic, so It’s probably time to accentuate the positives for a minute.
The landscape of New Zealand is completely unlike Australia. It is often breathtaking beautiful, and also somewhat alien to an expat-Australian used to wide open, flat scenery.And this is also possibly why NZ is a popular destination for the baby-boomer crew looking for a nice safe coach tour.
The first thing that strikes you are the hills. They’re just different from anything in Australia, due to NZ being such an unstable, earthquake-prone, and volcanic landmass. As you can see above, there are juts of land that you can just tell have been violently pushed upwards, and results are dramatic.
Also, at times, you can really see why The Lord of the Rings was filmed here. It’s just like The Shire. And yes, Kiwis can remind you of Hobbits, but more on that in a later post.
New Zealand is in some ways a country of extremes, but in a different way to Australia. In Aus, there are bushfires and drought. In a way, NZ seems more exposed. There are earthquakes, volcanoes, but yet a wonderful fertile land from which the world’s most beautiful ewes are grown.
It doesn’t look like home, but I’m pleased to have lived here.
As presented by Dave Letterman.
It’s a case of mistaken signage, I’m pretty sure.
Having sampled quite a few smallgoods/mystery parcel meats made in NZ though, can’t hurt to be careful :)
When you arrive in New Zealand, chances are you might hire a car. Chances are also that you may die due to the batshit crazy haphazard way many Kiwis drive.
To be fair, in the larger centres such as Wellington and Auckland, the drivers are pretty much the same as in any large city: in a hurry, aggressive, but they know what they’re doing.
However, get out into the regional areas, and it pays to drive as though every other car on the road is driven by either Mad Max or some hayseed farmer who’s on their monthly visit into town.
The date of a ute protruding from someones lounge-room in Christchurch.
Basically, they are unpredictable. Not even they know what they’re going to do next. To say they possible don’t consider other cars on the road would be an understatement.
Therefore, this blog is going to be covering some of the more insane instances of inept driving encountered by the author, so that all you newcomers to the country can be forewarned, and hire the car with the greatest number of airbags possible.
And for god’s sake take out the insurance option. Trust me.
It helps to do your research. I arrived in Auckland and was horrified that I couldn’t buy a copy of The Age, even in the major bookstores. True story.
If you’re an Australian, it help to get a sense of perspective, and to adjust your expectations accordingly.
Not that Australia is a big country (population wise), but still, compared to NZ, it’s a friggin’ thriving metropolis.
Some facts and figures are provided below to get you started.
So, you’re thinking of heading to live in New Zealand? Can’t be that much different, can it? We’re basically neighbours, share a similar culture, and so on.
Heck, it’s only a three hour flight, and they play cricket (albeit poorly).
You would be mistaken.
It is different.
It’s a funny place. And I don’t necessarily mean funny in the amusing sense. More funny in the alightly left-of-centre way.
You’re probably thinking “yeah I know they’re mad about the All Blacks, and have a slight inferiority complex, but they’re really just like us.”
When I say funny, I mean slightly, well, different. It’s not a matter of slotting into living in a new country. It takes adjustment to the Kiwi way.
I’ve been here now for just over a year, and we’re still getting our head around living here.
I don’t want to put anyone off. There’s a lot going for New Zealand, but it can’t pay to be fully informed before making the jump.
Hopefully some of our experiences can help you in your move across the dutch.
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