DawieO

It isn't paranoia when someone really is watching you.

There is a very active long-distance swimming scene in Auckland and it is supported by a weekly clinic on a Sat morning. They kick off in early spring. Cool swims like Rangitoto to Mission Bay, Bean Rock lighthouse and back, and so on. Well organized and supported. Come and play!

It isn't called "The land of the everlasting sunshine".

Nah no fight from me.

So is this where we we kill the best thread on thehub by baiting the mods for doing their jobs?

So what was the answer? Did plastic exist when you were a kid?

Jammer oom @eddy! My Pa het my al die stories vertel van hoe mense met griffel en lei eksamen geskryf het...

Yip, us too. Just sent off the last of the paperwork. A bit of a pita, but when it's done it's done.

That's a great idea.

Hey @eddy, watter jare was jy op Helpmekaar? Ek was '88 tot '90 Voor dit in Randburg, saam met die klomp van Orkney Snork Nie!

HAHAHAHAA! All upside down! Love it.

Hey all you Hubbers! Thank you all for coming out to our first TheHub meetup and ride in NZ! Great to put names and faces to Hubnames, and shoot the breeze (wheeze). @HayleyEarth, you are a machine, and next time just shout for a lift, you really don't need to ride halfway across the country to come ride! This was the best ever medicine for that S.A.D.ness Wayne! @Intern we missed you mate! Fortunately we had plenty of skinner about you so it was almost like you were here. Hope the Wiggles were awesome... @Saag honestly man, describing yourself as the "dodgy-looking one" didn't make it easier for anyone @canfan , @clippies , @nolipoli who else did i miss? Let's make this regular thing! Cheers folks! Before After (I have fond memories of when "after" would actually show hemet-hair...) GROUP!

Yip. T's & C's apply in case of Snow, torrential downpour or then end of the world.

What shoe size? I have extra shoes, pedals, helmet and camelback. Just rent a bike. Ps they have really nice rentals at Woodhill, and not expensive.

Complete BS. http://www.snopes.com/military/lighthouse.asp

Sunday 16th, 0930 it is!

The most aggressive form of personal confrontation is the sternly-worded note left in your mailbox...

There isn't actually any real "news" to report here at all. Just the way we like it.

Stonefields, Glendowie, St Heliers, Kohimarama. In order of convenience to your commute to East Tamaki

Woodhill was gorgeous this morning. All foggy, just right for Hobbitses...

This is freakishly similar looking damage! USS Porter collision with a tanker in the Gulf in 2012. http://gcaptain.com/intense-bridge-conversation-porter/ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/us-navy-ship-collides-with-tanker-in-gulf/news-story/034965f03f31279f785bee34bb00b2ff

Wow that looks bad. From where the damage is, it looks like they were in a crossing situation, with the freighter coming from starboard. If that is so, the destroyer would have been the give-way vessel, and should have made an early and obvious turn to starboard to pass behind the freighter. An overtaking situation, with the destroyer overtaking the freighter,, also requires the destroyer to keep well clear of the vessel being overtaken. The only potential situation where this isn't the destroyers fault, is if the freighter was overtaking, and even then the destroyer is imminently more capable of avoiding a collision than a freighter. Having spent nearly ten years driving warships, the bridge on a warship is normally MUCH more heavily manned and managed than any freighter, so the doodoo is going to fly thick and fast regardless of the interpretations of the rules of the road. The tanker hit the destroyer in one of the softest and most vulnerable spots, and did so with her bow and anchor, the hardest. Would have gone in like a knife, in the very area where a number crew quarters are. Thoughts and hopes for the missing sailors, and sadness for those lost.

Reckon it may be time to move this thread to an NZ forum... Alas, this is probably one of the best around, so not many options... We have been in Nz for just over 2 years, and the experience has been a great learning journey. We love it here, and haven't for a moment considered leaving this amazing, gorgeous, surprising, place (see all other glowing reports, they are all true in the main). That said, there is a barely discussed element that we tend to gloss over because it is a raw nerve, and that is a certain sense of existential threat (even now), that failure would be catastrophic. Conversations that, back in SA, would be easily dismissed, surface much stronger emotions when you have thrown everything into a significant move like this. Imagine the scene where, in passing, the boss says something like:"team, if we don't get this sorted we may not be around to sort it...". Pretty common management scaremongering normally, absolutely terrifying when you have uprooted your entire existence to move halfway around the planet. So, once you manage to get that constant feeling of living on the ragged edge managed to just below hysteria, and you can focus yourself to react half-rationally, THEN you can start to savour the amazing opportunities offered to smart and hardworking folks who get **** done. This is an amazingly privileged and developed place, where people are welcoming and friendly, and yet are just people after all. Beautiful scenery, amazing sporting opportunities on the water and in the bush, great coffee and restaurants. Maddeningly narrow and winding roads, albeit mostly beautifully maintained by your tax. I meet many fellow-Saffers here, and most often I find that we fall broadly into 2 categories: the first are those who are here running hard at it and opening opportunities, the others are those who spend life whining about how tough it is back home. My family and I, like most of those who have posted on this thread, have chosen to have a good go and make a life here. The girls, being my wife and daughter, are loving every minute of it, while I love almost every minute, except for the odd ones that are the cold-sweat inducing terror minutes. Once we progress from residents to citizens, I hope those will disappear. On the other hand I wonder if those aren't just the normal fears of being a parent trying to make a future for your family. Peace everyone, and greetings to those back in SA. Dawie

Awesome, I had the one of those! Loved that bike