Wet Ears

Thanks Frosty, you would need a pretty early start time though tio do it unofficially

Any idea as to the process if you want to do a double loop?

I was just about to start a post about Vittoria Barzo and it feeling sketchy upfront and then I saw this. My bike came with a Minion up front and Ardent on the back. When I replaced them recently I found Vittorias on special and decided to give them a go as have heard good things. Put the Mezcal on the back and seems to "roll" better than the Ardent. My issue is the the Barzo up front, it feels like I am continually going to wash out around corners and I find that if lifting the front wheel is it far less forgiving if you don't land flush. So I guess my question is - is a Barzo not a great option up front or have I just become used to 3 plus years of a Minion which is more forgiving perhaps?

Congrats Wayne, great news for you and your family!

Some dark horse money on Martin Bain Venn - think this is his 4th Munga so got some experience and learnt from Guy as they are mates, has improved every year and last year came in 6th. His secret weapon, he is a school teacher so has had f*kol to do from March to August except train hard! Before I get roasted I know teacher's took big strain during lockdown and possibly worked harder than usual! Go Marty

Where does it state that you need to be a "paid up parent"? So old boys cannot ride there or people frequenting Higher Ground?

Holla Trails appears to be open as received a mail from them saying great to have everyone back but they noticed that several people were riding without permits ie had not paid to ride (not lockdown related permits!).

Oh, I also hooked it to the West Coast ie Piha and Titirangi - amazing that those places are like an hour from the CBD. Also did a hike in the Waitakere Ranges - beautiful and peaceful. Corona has obviously cocked a lot of things up but when I was in Piha they were setting up for the Piha surf classic and that whole town relies on that event which is now binned - so sad.

Looks like I managed to get in and out just in time - I landed back in SA on Saturday! Wayne and Patches, sorry we didn't get round to that beer/coffee but the few free days I had actually got taken up with unexpected meetings, rather coffees, discovered the Kiwi's love an informal coffee, with some peeps in the banks that the recruiters managed to line up. Spent my fist week in a very cool loft in Grafton/New Market and really enjoyed the vibe of the city and all those scooters and e-bikes that you can just hop on and get around. That AT App is better than sliced bread too, really enjoyed my stay in that area and had a lekker night out in Ponsonby - draughts are not cheap though! Then went and stayed with a mate and his family in Murray's Bay and he drove me around the North Shore over the weekend so I got my bearings. I was fortunate to have the use of another mate's car during the week so I then went and checked out all the bays on the North Shore in a little more detail. Really dig how each Bay has it's own little beach an then a few roads in it's own little "village" - granted Brown's Bay is a tad larger! I liked the feel of Torbay to be honest. Didn't really dig Long Bay that much, felt like a smaller, ungated version of Waterfall estate! I really enjoyed the North Shore but if I stayed there then my view is you really need to make an effort to get down to the beach during the week or else what is the point? One spot that stood out for me was Greenhithe - seemed a bit more insular and that Wainoni Park felt like one of those commons in the UK and the pony club and walks around the neighbourhood are awesome. The Malt could also make for an ideal local and you have access to the water. Getting into CBD you could cycle to Hobsonville and hook the ferry into Britomart - I must say I am really leaning towards Greenhithe. Was curious as to your guys views and if you had heard anything about Greenhithe - I heard that they have a good community gees and have quite a few community get together type things. Other than that, what can I say, the place was clean, people follow the rules, pace seems far less frenetic, obviously safe, you can see where peoples tax money is going and I had a great time - on the other hand, it costs you to breathe and my eyes are still watering at the type of house you get for R15m!

Just my luck, was heading to NZ off the back of a work trip to Singapore at the end of the month, now work is looking at cancelling all trips to that part of the world due to our friend corona! Issue was that work was footing the bill for business class and I just had to pay the difference to get to NZ which was roughly same price as what I am now going to have to pay for an economy ticket in my personal capacity!! Was really looking forward to that long haul in comfort - fark!

Perfect, thanks Wayne

Back to the discussion of going to interviews when there on a visitors visa - a mate warned me last night of carrying anything on me that may suggest I am looking for a job as customs could hoof you. I checked my visa conditions and it simply states I cannot work. I am there on a recce mission and holiday primarily and would simply want a meet and greet with some of the recruitment agencies and maybe a bank or two HR dept just so they know I am serious and can put a face to a name. I most certainly do not want to start working whilst there. It seems to be accepted that you can interview whilst on a visitor visa but is it worth the risk of carrying a cv, job spec etc with you in case you get that overly zealous immigration officer - would it be safer to print once that side through customs or is it a non event?

Thanks guys, great tips, much appreciated. I am going to be in NZ for 2 weeks checking things out so guessing I will be making a few calls and then obviously your usual data stuff ie maps, Google etc - any recommendation as to how much data I would need to purchase or is it easy enough to top up data and calls

Just checking on how easy it would be to get a SIM that side to make some local calls and to have data when not in free wifi area?

Greetings all in Kiwi Land! Apologies for spelling etc, sent on phone. Before I continue just want to give a massive shout out to Patches and Wayne for their invaluable insight to date and a big thank you for fielding all my mundane queries – it really is appreciated. Thought I needed to cast the knowledge net wider on this one as would appreciate input on schools and/or suitable suburbs. Just to provide some context - I will be visiting NZ in early March to do a bit of a recce mission to get a better understanding of all the good, bad and ugly of NZ and would really appreciate some input as to how best to structure/plan this trip. Essentially I am over to get a better understanding of whether NZ is somewhere I would want to move my family to and if so then where to live and what schools to look at. I am in the banking sector so 90% probability of being based in Auckland (assuming I can find gainful employment your end), that said is it worth trying to get down to Wellington to have a squiz? i) How long do you think I would need to be in NZ to scope everything out – I was thinking 7 – 10 days? ii) Does it make sense doing Airbnb in the various suburbs I would be considering to get a feel for the places or would it be better to be based centrally and go and check out the various burbs? iii) Would it make sense to hire a car or should I rely on Uber/public transport? iv) I have been told identify a school and then look for a house in that “zoning” district - does this make sense? v) What schools would you recommend – I have two boys aged 7 & 9 - currently at St Peters in Joeys? I have been told not to bother looking at Pvt Schools as they are simply a waste of money – how do the State Schools in NZ compare to Pvt Schools in SA i.e are the like the Pretoria Boys, KES of the world? vi) What suburbs should I be considering – I believe the commute into Auckland can be painful but I am happy to jump on public transport and catch up on mails, read a book etc Thank you advance for any feedback provided. Later

Awesome, let's hope the extra support helps!

What's the vibe like there after the rugga? Think they may take it even more seriously than we do as they are used to a team that consistently performs well.

M

And would your view have been different if it was a fat snot nosed brat on a pedal powered bike? Maybe the oke just has a *** sense of humour - who the fak cares!

Aiming for the Descent - missed the early bird entries so will try and snap on up when entries open on 1 March.

Power bank charging stations do become a dog show so rather take one or two of your own (power banks not charging stations). Sleeping tablets for first night as a lot of people snoring for the first team and the tents are in very close proximity. Second night in the orchard is not as bad (in my view). Cash for the bar - if you take enough cash you might not need those sleeping tablets!

That's what I have done - chose to do Berg&Bush this year as opposed to Sani - not enough leave I tell you!!! But Sani is an awesome race with great vibe, particularly the Adventure and the Notties beer and gin truck

FOMO!

On the question of safety - I ride it alone from Riverside shops to Emmarentia and have never had an issue - touch wood

First time I have seen those cycle lanes - awesome!