patches

I mostly use my 18V drill for mixing mud (drywall compound)

I can't even afford Festool sandpaper! But yeah, the battery platform and cost seems to dictate the brand-loyalty. AEG was my first purchase so it set the course for the rest. Some Ryobi crept in when I got a battery-powered mower. The damn thing is gutless and taught me a less on being a cheapskate. I should have forked out for the 2x18V AEG. I have Makita tools too, but corded only. At least until this arrives from Aliexpress. If it works properly I may add some Makita battery powered tools to the mix, and run them on AEG batteries. As for the impact driver vs drill with clutch, I guess there are 3 main advantages. Impact, torque and quick bit changing. The torque is only really useful for builder, handyman and carpentry work. The impact action helps loosen stubborn fasteners. For woodwork (which generally requires a finer touch) the drill with clutch will do. As for the quick change. One can get bits for that allow that, or get one of those fancy Festool drills where the chuck detaches. That said, for what I do I use my impact driver the most. I have 2 (a 12V and a 6 mode 18V one). The 12V does most of the work. The 18V only comes out for "railway sleeper" jobs, as you described them. The 6 mode impacts are cool, but have insane raw power if set into some of the more "industrial" modes. Either way, having both (or 2 drills I guess) is useful so that one doesn't need to change bits between drilling pilot holes and inserting fasteners. Note, do NOT use impact drivers for assembling flat-pack chipboard stuff. They will rip the ring right outta it. I learnt that lesson on some shelving

SOLD! To the man in Whakatane! Thank you good sir! I'll set them aside next to your toolbox. You now have a designated "Click & Collect" spot in my garage If you want me to post the torch & wrench, let me know. They should be a little more reasonable than the toolbox courier fees.

Speaking of accidentally buying power tools, I have some for sale, if any of you fine folk are keen. Special NZ Hubber prices (sell price less TradeMe fees). All Brand New in plastic3yr warranty on all brushless toolsShipping approx $10 (standard) & $15 (rural)PM me if you're interested. AEG Tool Pricing_200811.xlsx

Damn! yeah I also got the email from the Shed last night. I know generally they are only open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I have taken a day off on a Thursday only to find that out Hopefully they open up again soon... or I might have to accidentally buy a table saw

Interesting! I've never seen outboard jet motors like that before. Not the inflatable type All the jet boats I'd seen (bar the commercial ones like Shotover) were small little alu hulls with inboards. The inflatable with outboard seems a little more versatile. Probably more affordable too!

Totally! I was lucky that I stopped to zoom out on the Route and then noticed it headed straight into the mountains. It was at that moment I knew I'd f'd up I then took my helmet off, sat next to my bike. Checked my fuel, and had a minor panic attack I was low on fuel, food, and empty on cell signal. I was tired, and getting cold. I also knew that I had crossed part of the river that was so deep and fast flowing that I knyped harder than a duck on a bidet. I did NOT want to have to cross that again. But i had no choice. As a boatie you may enjoy this: Here's a water-side view of the river and valley in question

Have you watched the Van vs Van episode? Some serious kit in both his, and especially Kameron's van. Quite different from the builders I met in SA, who had a single-cab, crusted with cement stains and a trommel with a handful of crude masonry tools. As you say, the building materials and methods are different, and therefore dictate a different type of building skill, and tool.

Yeah, I use New Zealand Topo Maps and ViewRanger, when I adventure off the beaten path. ViewRanger is a good app for the prep work. Can convert a Track into a Route. Can reverse a Route, etc. NZ Topo Maps is slightly easier to use when following a Route. Especially when one is standing up on the pegs, tacking terrain at speed, and trying to hunt down way-points, all at once. That said, I purposely don't download the Topo50 base map for offline use. Reason being is that it's harder to see the Route and way-points when one is glancing down briefly while riding. I try keep it as clean as possible. Kinda like my noob/cheat version of a rally roadbook (I'm not skilled enough for one of those yet).The base map background makes it a little too busy. But as you say, when one is lost or needs some proper navigation, having those Topo Maps offline can be a lifesaver. When it comes to offroad adventures, I like to have all my GPX files prepped and numbered in order of use. I prep them by either mapping them myself on Google MyMaps or downloading them from various sources (RemoteMoto being one of the best). I then create a "playlist" of which routes I do and in what order (hence the numbering). The day I was led astray in the Wilberforce Valley was because I had failed to prefix the file names with the order number, and I had 2 files with very similar names. In fact names that look identical when the limitations of a mobile screen crop them off. Instead of loading a 20km loop through the valley, I loaded a 1way trek straight into the Southern Alps As for the PLB or EPIRB... I need to get me one of those!

So true indeed! I'm sure many of you who have the Facebook have seen the Move ONE Million group pop in your news feeds. I get to see it becasue a number of my SA based friends and acquaintances share posts from there. Whilst I haven't delved into the group and I do think it's great to see Saffers banding together, the issues being raised there are now a foreign concept. I have definitely taken for granted the very favourable environment in which I live. The toughest part is knowing that there are daily stresses and challenges which my Mom and siblings face and I have very little power to do anything about. Hopefully one-day in the near future I can extend the this privilege of my new home, to those loved ones.

By BIL went to speak to the manager of the small business. He knew straight away which one of his employees was the culprit as that particular guy has a tendency to over-react and do so violently. The manager agreed that the retaliation was uncalled for. It seemed that the matter was resolved, and the individual is well aware that he is the bad guy in this instance.

The bad and ugly... douchebags are universal, and living in such a relaxed and peaceful country doesn't exempt one from encountering them now and again. The incident - My brother-in-law (Wellington) tried to dispose of 1x cardboard box and mistakenly was not aware that he couldn't use the big green dumpsters placed in an shared area between their townhouse complex and a small commercial park. He was met by an extremely confrontational employee from one of the businesses who proceeded to shout, swear and threaten him. My brother-in didn't get a chance to get a word in edgewise, let alone explain that he's only been living in NZ for 7 months and was genuinely unaware. Anyway, if it had stopped there, it would have been bad enough of an encounter. But then yesterday he returns home from work to find this piled up in front of the front door. It seems the vitriolic individual he encountered the day before had gone through the effort to empty half a dumpster load of cardboard and polystyrene as "payback" for mistakenly trying to dispose of 1 box in the wrong dumpster. To make matters worse, my sister and nephew (18 month old) were stuck inside, unable to exit the house due to the obstruction. My sister has severe rheumatoid arthritis, a shoulder replacement, and cardiac arrhythmia. In the event of a medical emergency or fire she would have been trapped. So yeah, my brother-in-law is now fuming and in a bit of disbelief that someone can be such a tjop and do such a thing. Douchebags are universal!

Yeah, I would like to say I have learnt those lessons on a few occasions, but the fact that there has been more than one occasion indicates that perhaps I did not learn. First occasion - Exploring the back-country between Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki, I decided to ride through a flooded section of trail. Turns out it was not trail, but the floodplain itself. 45min of wrestling a bike stuck in a swamp, then getting a pinch flat racing to get to my destination. Lesson: don't just follow the trail blindly, and moving a bike stuck in the mud can be a 2-person job. Second occasion - Solo exploring some South Island wilderness (Wilberforce Valley). I loaded the wrong GPS track by accident and followed it up a very unforgiving valley, crossing cold, deep fast flowing braided rivers. By the time I realised I was off course, I was low on fuel and only had 1 banana for food, and had no way of contacting the outside world. Luckily I had just enough fuel to get out before sundown, and I managed to channel my inner Chris Birch and probably rode the best I ever have and will. Lesson: Tell someone where you'll be going. Double check your maps. Read the trail descriptions (Remotemoto said not to ride solo and to take 3 days worth of food incase one gets flooded in), and ensure one has a means of signalling for help (EPIRB or Garmin Inreach etc). Third occasion: Solo exploring forestry area west of Warkworth. Rode through a "puddle" on the trail that happened to be saddle-high. Bike drowned and I could have too (tipped off the bike when it went down and luckily managed to push it off me as only my head was sticking out of the "puddle". After strip-down of my cold & wet gear, I had to drag the bike out and tip it upside down and to try "pump" the water out by rotating the rear wheel whilst in gear. Lesson: AGAIN, Tell someone where you'll be going. AGAIN, don't trust all "puddles" on trail unless you can see the bottom, and even then walk it. Wet boots are far better than drowned bike. So yeah, I don't learn too good, but as your list says, having the right supplies, and riding with someone makes it a hell of a lot less risky!

Very nice indeed! Congrats! I think I'm heading down to Rotorua with some friends for the marathon in September (weekend of the 26th I think). They are running, I definitively am not. However, it may be a sneaky opportunity for me to ride the bike down and hit up some trails in the BOP. So I'll keep you posted.

Yeah, I remember when I was house hunting. I scoured TradeMe for months. Every now and again I'd come across a bargain weatherboard house with character, in a decent area. The catch... It was JUST the house and cost of relocation within a 50km radius. There was a Grand Designs NZ episode where the owners relocated a beautiful earthquake damaged villa from Christchurch to the Gibbston Valley. Imagine driving a house that size for 450km on South Island mountainous roads. Yikes! https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/houses/97720318/grand-designs-nz-rescued-villa-pops-up-in-central-otago-landscape I drove past this house a month or so ago. It's VERY different from the typical dark cedar, modern looking South Island homes, and really sticks out. But the location is amazing and the landscape rivals the beauty of the workmanship.

Oh yeah, I forgot about how easy that was. Did the same when I sold my car a few years back.

Yeah, I happened across his channel while debating whether I should buy a track-saw or not. As I'm busy with some DIY renovations on my little wooden house, I found his videos very helpful. From techniques, tool recommendations, or even just seeing job sites around the the city. As for the wooden houses, yeah that took some getting used to. Especially when one sees house prices in places like Auckland. The cost clearly doesn't lie in the materials That said, skilled labour isn't cheap. Most trades will be about the equiv of R800 - R1100/hr. It's no secret that in general people consider tradies to make decent money. Plus the regulations are a LOT stricter than in SA, so there's a lot of simple things that one should get professionals in to sort out. The wooden structure does make alterations a lot easier though (especially interior). Timber framed stud walls with drywall lining. Most houses have footings and joists (not the traditional foundations we're used to in SA, so access under the house is easy which helps when running services.

Not to mention that certain processes require very little effort on the public's part. Driver's License renewals (or conversions from Saffer licences) - Can be done at many locations (including AA branches) and they post the license to you. Yes, it's posted and arrives within 5 days. No queuing 2hrs to apply, waiting 6 weeks, then queuing another 2hrs just to collect. Police Clearance - Apply online. No fingerprints required. Gets posted within a month. (and yes, a 1 month wait is considered excessive here) Tax returns - literally do nothing. Yes, that's correct. The average Joe with simple finances does not need to file a tax return as the IRD (NZ SARS) does it for them and automatically calculates processes and pays/notifies any return/required payments. Like intern said, us Saffers gear up for the struggle and 9x out of 10 are met with no resistance, helpful and prompt service. It also helps that the government has seen the benefit in allowing the private sector to help out with certain things (eg. vehicle and license related admin for instance can be done at multiple service providers).

Haha, I had no idea that people in SA watched "Hi, Scott Brown here!" He's a pretty nice guy it seems. Chef Pareau is also hilarious!

And classier... only slightly and only if you live in Wanaka Do you think small business and entrepreneurs stand a better chance in NZ? Take BBBBEEEBBEBEBEE aside, and just purely from the view of the market willing to support a local, small business, possibly providing a bespoke product or service?! Having only ever worked for corporate and having a fear of job insecurity and the lack of steady income (drilled into me from years in living in SA), I still tend to lean in that direction, BUT I do genuinely believe (perhaps through rosy coloured glasses) that a small business or half decent idea has more of a chance in becoming a dependable income earner than it does in SA?! What say you as a man of vast entrepreneurial experience? A while back when buying a new TV I used PriceSpy to keep tabs on who had the best price, what the lowest historic price was for that particular model, and all that. During that time Harvey Norman had a "Massive Never to be repeated" sale which included that very model I was after. But the sale was a farce as the price was about $200 MORE than their regular price and nearly $1000 more than the best historic price. When I asked them about it, they simply stated that they adjust their pricing according to the competition and they were cheaper than all their competitors at that specific date and time. That's a pretty low bar to attach a "BIGGEST EVER MASSIVE SUPER_FANTASTIC" sale banner to... ...2 weeks later Noel Leeming dropped it back down by the nearly $1000 and I swooped in then. Moral of the story... in NZ things are nearly always "On Sale", so ignore that. It pays to know what something is actually worth.

Aah I see it's in McLean's forest. I rode there a couple of times (on the push-bike). It's also right near the Waimakariri dirt-bike trails (so rode there loads) on the lazy-bike Damn I miss the CHC! EDIT: I just checked my AirNZ app and I forgot that I'll be flying down to CHC the day before We booked a camper-van (during the lockdown, when prices were dirt cheap) so will be doing a South Island road-trip for 10days.

Yeah, I guess looking at it that way, KTM's are like BMW 3 series in SA. They're not cheap, but people will still buy them, so based on the volume sold the price can drop. As GrantMcD1 mentioned, SA has a big hard enduro scene. And the Austrians (KTM & Husky) almost have a monopoly on that market. So it makes sense that their sales would be up there. NZ, Oz, and the US seem lean more towards the MX and GNCC styles of racing, and in general Japanese bikes outsell in that market. The Kiwis still see the Austrians as the luxury brand and assume the high-maintenance mentality that comes with it. This seems to be evident whenever I've been out for organised trail rides, popped over to the bike park, or gone for a ride on one of the popular off-roading beaches. There's about a 70:30 split between Japanese and Austrian bikes. In general the Austrian bikes never seem to be more than 3yrs old, and they're usually looking all shiny and pampered, whilst there are plenty of the Japanese bikes that must be close on 10yrs old, or older (like Suzuki RM 2-strokes), and one can see that many of them have had a hard life, yet they keep on going. So I guess that's why the Kiwis just keep trusting and buying those brands. This also got me thinking to a more generalised observation I have made over the 4-odd years of living in NZ. Kiwis and Aussies seem to be less brand and image conscious than us Saffers. This becomes immediately evident as one drives around their cities, towns, and suburbs. Loads of cars we would call "skedonks", parked outside houses worth R10m- R20m+. Station wagons are preferred over sedans as practicality outweighs sleek-design, and the humble Subaru Legacy station-wagon is pretty much the national-vehicle. Cities like Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne are more on the flashy side, with the cosmopolitan lifestyle. But still way fever luxury Germans cruising around than one would see in JHB. And perhaps this relates in turn to the motorcycle industry.

Not so, interestingly enough. A Yamaha WR450F (@R150,000) is about R22,000 more expensive than a KTM EXC-F 450 (@R128,000), and even R14,000 more than a KTM 450 Six-Days edition (@R136,000). A Yamaha YZ250FX is about R7,000 more than a KTM EXC-F 250. It seems it's only the Yamaha 2-stroke enduro (YZ250X) that is cheaper than its KTM counterpart (KTM EXC 250 TPI), but that's possibly because the KTM is fuel injected, and the Austrians pretty much own the 2-stroke enduro market, so they name their price). So it appears that Yamaha, in general, is taking the globalised pricing approach, and not adjusting to meet the competition in the local market. Perhaps it's because the SA offroad-adventure market teeters on the two extremes. I'd estimate that small nimble 2-stroke KTM/Huskies and big fat BMW GS1200's account for the majority of the bike sales in the offroad-to-adventure segment, with very little going towards the dual-sport or lightweight adventure categories. In Australia, NZ, and the US, those markets are pretty big. The Suzuki DR650 is like the equivalent of a 2-wheeled Hilux here. Both Aus and NZ love the 660 Tenere too. Ultimately I guess it's up to the market research guru's. Whether they got it right or wrong is still to be seen, but either way I don't see the T700 becoming their bread and butter in a market where most riders would rather go for a GS1200.

Nice! Very nice indeed! And it just so happens I live on-the-way to Whangarei, so it works out well to get your toolbox to you! EDIT: BTW Uretiti beach (about 33km south of Whangarei) allows bikes on it and has a couple of fun dunes.

Yup! I was once tempted to buy a bike in SA and have it shipped over. Especially as NZ has no import duty on cars or motorcycles. The only issue is that in order to road register the bike it would require a Statement of Compliance from the local importing agent, and the chances of them issuing such a document for a grey import is slim-to-none, unless that bike was owned in the country of purchase for at least 6 months (so a used bike). This only really applies to those immigrating. However bringing in a brand new bike could still be worthwhile if the plan is to dedicate it to off-road use. I think one can