New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

9 hours ago, patches said:

Any Aucklanders braved Costco yet?

I had a gander on my way home from work last week.

Sure, it wasn't the same as Costco in the US, and not all the prices were great, however the range was pretty decent and definitely some bargains to be had.

My find of the day was the Brazilian cheese breads

Available in nearly every Coles, Woolies or Aldi in Aus, but I've never seen them in NZ. Highly recommend for anyone who hasn't tried them, and they're Coeliac approved so MUST be healthy 😅

We have a fairly easy recipe to make these. Crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside, especially eating them straight out of the oven!!!!

9 hours ago, patches said:

And in slightly more serious news (although Brazilian cheese breads are legit), I'm guessing the potential migrants here have seen that Skilled Migrant and Parental Resident Visas are reopening.

The 3yrs delay (partially due to Covid and partially due to an "overhaul" of the system), is a bit of a joke, as they have just rehashed a slightly different version of what they had before.

A mixed bag with some good and bad... 2500 Parental Visas processed/year (vs the 1000 they stated for the "new" system which got instantly paused 3 years ago)... but only 500 of those will be new EOI's from a ballot system (aka lucky-dip). 2000 will be them trying to get through the backlog, which will take 3-4 years.

Anyway, I think they (being the government) have finally learned that they desperately need skilled labour, they need to make it more pragmatic and offer some incentives (like quicker pathways to residency allowing or the ability for that imported talent to bring their parents over). Overall, it's good news.

Good news indeed, it does seem like there is a bit of turn but will it stick and how will the approvals be going forward. Lets see........

[Wayne Potgieter]

Well, after a few years of casual cycling and a stronger focus on running, I may have bought myself a new birthday present which will require more dedication to cycling.

 

Thankfully my new running coach is a monster triathlete and is incorporating more cycling into my program.

 

 

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

10 hours ago, Wayne Potgieter said:

Well, after a few years of casual cycling and a stronger focus on running, I may have bought myself a new birthday present which will require more dedication to cycling.

 

Thankfully my new running coach is a monster triathlete and is incorporating more cycling into my program.

 

 

Very nice, like the trail pedals..... or look like they are.

[Wayne Potgieter]

12 hours ago, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

Very nice, like the trail pedals..... or look like they are.

Thanks Man!

Those pedals were temporary as I waited for the right ones to arrive.

I have since upgraded to the best pedals EVA!!!

https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/286426/shimano-eh500-one-sided-spd-touring-pedal#

 

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

10 hours ago, Wayne Potgieter said:

Thanks Man!

Those pedals were temporary as I waited for the right ones to arrive.

I have since upgraded to the best pedals EVA!!!

https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/286426/shimano-eh500-one-sided-spd-touring-pedal#

 

All good man, nice bike.
Hope you have many happy miles on it, and Happy Birthday!!!

[Wayne Potgieter]

12 hours ago, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

All good man, nice bike.
Hope you have many happy miles on it, and Happy Birthday!!!

Thanks Dude!

[hayleyearth]

Anyone have Rands for about $3000?

You pay from your SA bank account into my moms SA bank account (Nedbank) and I pay from my NZ bank account (ANZ) to your NZ bank account with the exchange rate as is on the day of transfer?

[ByronH]

Hi all. So I have been exploring and scouting about the North Shore for some time now... A few little decent MTB gems, but nothing very substantial. Suppose I'll need to drive to Woodhill, and Riverhead for that.

I have ridden (or tried to ride). 

• Unsworth (decent, but short)
• Kauri Glen Park (frustrating, lots of steps, and flipping "dieback fences")
• Onepoto/Onewa domain, Tuff Crater, Lake road  (lekker ride, but short),
• Centennial Park (only the outer loops, the inner loops are stair ridden)

I have also planned to ride

• Eskdale Reserve (but I am sure it is "closed off due to dieback")
• Le Boys Bush Reserve

My last visit to Riverhead scared me off because of the wet and ruts, but I will try a different route next time (if anyone has some decent advice or gpx files out there?).

I have upgraded to Trailforks Pro in the hope of getting some decent MTB riding on the North Shore. 

For those interested, I have uploaded some gpx files, or you can check out my Strava profile to see my successful/and not so successful, exploring. https://www.strava.com/athletes/4620187

 

Penguin to Okura.gpx centennial park.gpx Little Shoal Eskdale.gpx Unsworth.gpx Riverhead Blue 18.5.gpx Riverhead Blue 15.8.gpx

[Slowbee]

This is a quick visit. I am alive.

PS Hayley...you get the PM?

 

 

[Wayne Potgieter]

Holy heck man. I need the summer to start already.

Need some consistent sunshine in my life.

 

Right, who is going away for December/January holidays and where are you going? #inspireme

[Slowbee]

11 hours ago, Wayne Potgieter said:

Holy heck man. I need the summer to start already.

Need some consistent sunshine in my life.

 

Right, who is going away for December/January holidays and where are you going? #inspireme

Dunedin, to go play with dolphins, get some pics of the royal albatross, spend time in the waves, in the warm pools and of course lots of tramping and exploring the back roads.
 

[Wayne Potgieter]

10 hours ago, Slowbee said:

Dunedin, to go play with dolphins, get some pics of the royal albatross, spend time in the waves, in the warm pools and of course lots of tramping and exploring the back roads.
 

There is a lovely little Italian restaurant right by that beach (I think its called the Esplanade). Highly recommend. Have a great time!

[patches]

23 hours ago, Wayne Potgieter said:

Holy heck man. I need the summer to start already.

Need some consistent sunshine in my life.

 

Right, who is going away for December/January holidays and where are you going? #inspireme

Nothing too exciting for us. The usual (or pre-covid usual) visiting the in-laws in Sydney for Christmas, then back to NZ shortly after to road trip down the east coast to the Wairarapa, across to the Kapati Coast and back up to Jaffaville.

I'm having South Island withdrawals. Looking forward to the Dusty Butt in Feb, and a bigger South Island road trip once INZ grants my mom a visa and I can get her over here (she applied for a Parent/Grandparent Visitors Visa during that period that INZ dropped the ball).

@Wayne Potgieter, did your in-laws come right with their visas?

 

[Wayne Potgieter]

4 hours ago, patches said:

 

@Wayne Potgieter, did your in-laws come right with their visas?

 

Yes

[rad006]

4 hours ago, Wayne Potgieter said:

Yes

Can I not have their Visa's instead? I will behave promise 🙂

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

Staying put for December ourselves. No travelling.
Safe travels to those able to, and post pics please.