davetapson

Ha - Congratulations!! Best thing ever...

Hi Byron Try this as a start? https://www.strava.com/activities/5070686274 Braam does a lot of riding on the shore - have a look at some of his tracks...? https://www.strava.com/athletes/39332328?oq=bra

Kids being let off school early because of weather. Don't these schools know why we send the kids there..?! Now, when I was a child, I had to swim 7 miles to school, holding my breath the whole way... Garage is flooding again (in rental house, thank goodness.) It's like these 1:100 year events aren't.

And that's my quarterly catch up... 🙂 Current situation as per video below... cell phone camera making it look way more cheerful than it feels. My daughter, who now works for NZ Herald tells me that weather warnings have been phoned in, looks like we have some interesting times ahead of us (again)... And in other news, we have joined the property market (Rothesay Bay, around the corner from British Isles should you like a quick pint), so like a bunch of you guys, now own some of the most over-priced real estate in the world. Long may it stay that way... Wrap up, stay dry, Dave 20230509_113057.mp4

We were camping at Blue Lake just outside Rotorua when they had their last big shake. If you want a visceral experience, that is one. Ironically, because we had no roof beams or mortar to fall on our heads, it was quite a fun experience.

You can also hit the valleys around Puhoi. You can park in Waiwera and pretty much ride to the other side of the country and back in 80km. I'd offer, but I'm fat and unfit, and too scared of the spiders on my bike to chase them off.

I'm quite impressed by NZ school uniforms - the 'golf' shirt style. They last better than you'd have any reason to expect, and the kids love their school fleeces - they'd wear them before any of their civvie fleeces - long and warm. Those get washed just about every week and after a year and half of that treatment are beginning to sun-fade on the backs, but otherwise still in good nick. School shoes (sneakers), now that's another story. Best plan is to make friends with a kid leaving the school and take over that kit, or else the second hand shop. Also school socks - they evaporate. What's up with that?

Following on from this - had the suspension set, first by Dave Moss, then by Adrian at Restorace (Dave suggested I go to Adrian for a new rear spring, Adrian said the stock one is fine for my purposes.) Also made a huge diffs. Between the torquier motor and suspension, it's night and day compared to stock. Trying to decide if I should replace the header (which has catalytic converter) for a straight through. Very tempted.

Yeah, agree with all. We were in PA over Christmas. All those three story mansions that should be full of vaalies causing grief with their big 4x4s, sk boats, quad-bikes and jets ski's..? Empty. Nada. Like a ghost town.

I chucked a Fuelx Pro onto it. Riches up the fuelng at low revs - transforms it. Still not a 500 tho. Dave Moss was in town and had a suspension tuning session after a Shiny Side Up event. That also transformed it. It's now a lot of fun - but still not a 500. In any case, it's perfect for what I use it for (commuting), as opposed to what I'd like to think I'd use it for (touring). I did some riding around the Waitak's the other day, and North of Albany another day. The damage to the roads is extensive, and all over the place. Typically slips on the down hill sides of the road, talking part of the road with it and reducing roads to one lane all over the place. There is s lot of fixing to be done, with a lot of shoring up work needed where the slips have occurred. I think it's way worse than is immediately obvious, certainly in terms of cost to repair.

Would you like a hipster boost by taking a ride of the Svartpiel? I'd be interested in your opinion. I'm slightly underwhelmed, but I think I'm used to 'old-timey' thumpers with long strokes and massive torque. Maybe I should see if they have a diesel version. I've added a ecu override chip (Fuelx Pro) which has made it much more rideable around town (is underfuelled, esp at idle, to meet emissions standards.) Maybe I expect too much of a 373cc. But all the fancy stuff, ABS etc is just AWESOME!!

Yeah - my one abiding memory of our visit to SA is dark malls. A dark mall is an unpleasant place.

Yeah, I think that's exactly it. Here, if you are not academic, there are other options - trades, police, army, stuff that is no longer an option in SA. And, as they say, chicks dig Tradies... 🙂

Kiwi education is just different. They seem to absorb knowledge rather than have it 'beaten' into them. I was beginning to despair about times tables etc. but know at beginning year 8, they know their times tables well enough. When and how they learned them, I do not know. I think Kiwis think that the kid will do as well as the kid will do. They do have quite a lot of extra support in the classrooms (that as long as they are not overwhelmed, depending on who's in the class) that helps your kid where they are struggling. They don't do pressurizing thing, which is what drives Saffa's mad. We feel kids should be driven to exceed and when the schools here don't do that, get all upset. Personally I'm not completely convinced the Kiwi's are wrong. Which is not a popular opinion.

Same for us - not much damage, just a puddle in the back of the garage where water seeps through the cinderblock wall which is set into the hillside. No drains or waterproofing, because why would you in a country that turns to mud for six months of the year...?

Interesting. Our kids moved from Mairangi Bay Primary (38) to Murrays Bay Intermediate (139), within walking distance of each other, and I can't say that I've noticed much of a difference. Also you never hear much of Takapuna Grammar, but it looks like it could be awesome, if that sort of thing is your cup of tea. Heh - last time she was globe-trotting with her entourage, she was show having a meeting with some international body (WHO, UN? Can't remember) and somebody, maybe Barry Soper, commented "yeh, she's organizing her next job, she'll resign before the next election and take this job." So watch this space...

It kind of kills the helping the budget thing, but if you turn the transfer into a layover, then the longer flights become more pleasant. And assuming the layover is somewhere pleasant. When we were looking for flights to SA over Christmas, I found cheap flights via the US(!) which would have given us the advantage to visit my brother - I was told that it would be a step too far, probably correctly so... 🙂

Ha - the old schooling debate. Saffas are really wound up by this - us included. Kiwis, not so much. Bottom line, if you live in a decent area, the schools are likely to be just fine. I work with a guy who has 5 kids, who have just about all gone to different schools and he has no real feeling for any of those schools - they were all 'fine'. You will pay a premium to live in a 'desirable' school zone, particularly if the Chinese community find the schools desirable - they will pay over the odds for any pile of junk just to ensure they have an address in the school zone. It seems more important to choose a school that suits your kids character e.g regimented for kids who need structure (Westlake Boys) more flexible for those who don't (Rangitoto College) smaller for kids who are not mainstream (Rosmini College) There are private schools (Kristin College) that are allegedly a cut above the rest. We would probably send our kids there if we're had the means, but I'm not sure it would really make a difference. If you have aspirations, you'd probably want to find an address in Auckland Grammar zone... 🙂 Edit: and it's actually about the teacher, not the school - good school, bad child/teacher fit and it's a misery. And that combination is just a roll of the dice...

Yeah - in SA you hardly even notice if the light is on or not, just react appropriately. In NZ they are clueless when the traffic lights are off. Everyone stops, Then somebody makes a dash for it - and the three people behind him see his bravery and make a dash for it too. Then somebody else has a go... 😂

Yep, my mom too. Miss the queues, no stress about finding terminals/boarding gates....

Having done both, direct flights are (IMHO) the only way for old timers. Those Emirates flights are brutal.

Not quite, but nearly. Took best part of a month off to go back to check on aging parents and fit in a few days on a houseboat on Kariba... 1. Loadshedding. It's no joke. Those guys spend more time figuring out when the power is going to be on/off than thinking about any other single thing. Cell phone/data drops when there is no power - it's a problem. Folks use lightbulbs that charge up when the power is on, automatically come on when the power drops - last about two hours. The first couple days I didn't hit one mall with the lights on (Benoni, East London, Port Alfred). A dark mall is not the most inviting place. Non-essentials shops must be taking a serious blow. And the likelihood is that this is as good as it will ever be, so good luck there. 2. Booze. Cheap. Real cheap. 3. Food. At the supermarket (Woolies), not cheap. At restaurants, still relatively cheap. 4. Fuel. Not cheap. R25/l. That's not far off here? 5. Dorpies - have become seriously Africanized. (Yeah, don't get your knickers in a twist, if you know, you know.) Economies of small towns look pretty shot. Roads between Port Alfred and the N1 (Smithfield, Springfontein) were basically empty. Where is everyone? 6. Christmas in PA - should have been vaalies everywhere, pissing everyone off with big vehicles, driving too fast, spending too much money, jet ski's etc. Nothing. Empty. Umhlanga the same thing, ostensibly from the sea being e-coli'd, but looking at 'talfred, I suspect that the folk that would be there are probably on Manly/Browns Bay beach instead, Maybe Clifton, but not even sure of that. Any left are probably at home trying to figure out the load-shedding schedule. 7. Roads - potholes becoming a problem. 8. Morale, esp. old folk. Pretty dire. The future is not pretty, and doesn't look like becoming pretty. 9. A number of times restaurants didn't have items on the menu - they must be running with really low stocks - I suppose having the power off half the time makes maintaining cold chains tricky. Nice for a holiday (if not somewhat depressing), can't really see the appeal of staying unless you have circumstances that swing the decision. Zim: chugging along on USD's ( can draw them from the ATM's) - there are still some seriously rich white folk as determined from the houseboat demographic - I think entwined business wise with the ruling folk. Bob's legacy being re-thought. Seems he was a moderating influence on the 'Generals' who are now un-moderated and behaving like their brethren down South. With Zim, every time you think "oh well, at least it can't get worse", it does. I think SA is following that pattern. 18hr load-shedding. Think about operating under those conditions. Local yokels becoming seriously disenchanted. Sydney: (took a couple of days to recover there on return from the flight halfway around the world to catch the flight halfway around the world) what an awesome spot. Somewhat jealous of what they have. When I'm rich, I'm buying a flat there. Edit: Tips - 1. We've been locked up here for years. Check your kids passports - they only last five years from issue. 2. Aus eVisa's on Brit passports are a piece of psss - (don't) smile at your phone, take a picture of your passport, you're pretty much done. Instantaneous. 3. Aus holiday visas on SA passports, esp. for kids, is a pain in the arse, should you be trying to get them three weeks before you leave because you didn't check to see if their British passports were still valid. 4. Interestingly enough, it takes less than three weeks to renew a British passport. Except if they don't like how you've scanned 'any other passport you have' and want you to re-scan it. Only NZ$200 odd for courier per transaction. Scan carefully. And then it takes longer than three weeks too. 5. If you are travelling single parent with kids out of SA, the same 'have you got unabridged birth certs and an affadavit' malarky still applies. Seems that photo's of unabridged birth certs are acceptable for both SA and Aus Home Affairs. 6. It might be worth masking up on flights or at least in congestion areas in airports - else you might catch covid. Don't ask me how I know...

Got weather from the NE which is apparently unusual. Got a corner of the lounge/outside courtyard that is perfectly positioned to catch that, and lo and behold, the roof is leaking. Sometimes I'm glad to be in a rental.

When I first got to NZ, it seemed to me that there were a bunch of REALLY ugly Toyotas driving around. Then I heard that in Japan, they try out all sorts of models, and if they don't work, they can them straight off. Sort of using the Jap car buying market as a consumer group poll. Maybe only the successful ones, or pretty to the Western eye models make it to SA. and the ugly, discontinued ones make to to the NZ second-hand Jap car market...

Toyota Estima's are popular here - ugly as sin, but often converted to campers. Buddy bought one with one of his mates for $2k, took out the back seats to fit bikes (I think they can stand upright) and it's their 'go to places and ride' machine.