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

[Wayne Potgieter]

15 hours ago, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

Thanks man, assuming this is per person or do they do a family cover?

We will be travelling on March/April 2023 most probably, never felt the need to take out travel insurance but given the uncertainties and risks it seems like it may be worth looking into.

Yeah, this was just one person.

[patches]

Happy Back to Work Day (for most of you, I'm guessing).

This December break went by WAY too fast, plus with the horrendous weather this last week has brought, I feel I'm due for another holiday already 😅

To post a holiday pic that's cycling related, here's an awesome looking bike shop down in Greytown for those that like the vintage 2 wheelers...

And for those that like a tipple and a pedal... they even have some artisanal gin in some unique oil-can like packaging

Edited January 8, 2023 by patches

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

Anyone here in the Windy Welly area?

 

[patches]

On 1/11/2023 at 6:43 PM, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

Anyone here in the Windy Welly area?

 

I can't remember his hub name (only his real name), but I do know an MTBer that moved to Wellington about a year or so before I did (c. 2014/15).

My sister also lives in Wellington. Her and her husband moved from JHB to Wellywood early 2020.

 

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

13 hours ago, patches said:

I can't remember his hub name (only his real name), but I do know an MTBer that moved to Wellington about a year or so before I did (c. 2014/15).

My sister also lives in Wellington. Her and her husband moved from JHB to Wellywood early 2020.

 

Awesome man, asking as I may need assistance with looking at potential accommodation. Daunting doing it from afar.

[davetapson]

On 1/9/2023 at 11:03 AM, patches said:

Happy Back to Work Day (for most of you, I'm guessing).

 

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... 

 

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by davetapson

[davetapson]

On 12/12/2022 at 9:12 AM, patches said:

Booked my Mom's flights. Exciting times! been nearly 5 years since I last saw her, and it'll be her first ever visit to NZ. She'll be here for roughly 6 months, so that'll be a nice break from the Joburg hustle and bustle for her.

Got a Qantas deal that wasn't tooo bad. Only about $300 more (for a return ticket) than the usual suspects (Qatar and Emirates), but with less than half the travel time than some of those flights, and an easy transit through Sydney.

 

 

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

Those Emirates flights are brutal.

[The Ouzo]

10 minutes ago, davetapson said:

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

Those Emirates flights are brutal.

That, plus what my parents have taken to doing is asking for wheel chair assist. That way you cruise through all the queues etc.

[davetapson]

4 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

That, plus what my parents have taken to doing is asking for wheel chair assist. That way you cruise through all the queues etc.

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

[patham]

1 hour ago, davetapson said:

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... 

 

 

Some good points made, we are just back from 3 weeks there. 

I will add:

Loadshedding is indeed a pain. The upper middle-class to wealthy seem to tackle it by adding back up solar, battery and inverter solutions to their homes. I am very grateful that the relative we stayed at had just installed such a system, never even noticed the switchover.

Funnily enough, even though traffic lights in Joburg are never on, or just flash, the quality of driving and navigating these hazards has improved over the years (lots of practice). I never felt there was an accident waiting to happen. Much better than Aus drivers at broken lights.

Food- also thought was expensive, and did not consider the restaurant prices were discounted relative to the prices we pay in Aus. Might reflect the quality of places I go to though.

Umhlanga may have been quiet but all the Vaalies were in Salt Rock. That was as busy as ever. G-wagons and even a Ferrari on Ocean Drive! Salt Rock is also on an essential service power grid so we had no power issues.

Mask up for Covid at airports and flights- too true. One confirmed case in the family here as of this morning- let’s see who else will get it.

[patham]

1 hour ago, davetapson said:

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

Those Emirates flights are brutal.

Direct is the only way for sissy not-so-old timers like me.  I will rather wait and earn more cash for the direct flights than save a few hundred and suffer extra hours. And those last few additional hours in the metal tube drag on forever…..

However, there is an exception I will make for the ultra long-hauls, I for one will never fly on Project Sunrise! Way too long in that same seat…

[davetapson]

11 hours ago, patham said:

Funnily enough, even though traffic lights in Joburg are never on, or just flash, the quality of driving and navigating these hazards has improved over the years (lots of practice). I never felt there was an accident waiting to happen. Much better than Aus drivers at broken lights.

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... 😂

[patches]

On 1/13/2023 at 10:28 PM, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

Awesome man, asking as I may need assistance with looking at potential accommodation. Daunting doing it from afar.

Most properties should be pretty decent. Generally (especially since the introduction of the Healthy Homes Act) things lie in favour of the tenants and their rights. There's a whole FB group of grumpy landlords complaining, hahaha

A few key things that worth looking into are

• Area (generally speaking. Is it dodgy, etc).
• Public Transport
• Insulation (newer homes will have double glazing. All homes should have a heat source)

And worst case, you're there for a year.

That said, unfortunately my sister won't be able to go round and check out places, but if you know the area or have a specific ad you're looking at, feel free to PM me the details and I can find out.

[patches]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:49 PM, davetapson said:

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

Those Emirates flights are brutal.

Easy there, my Mom is only 62 😅

But yeah I've only done the Qantas flights (JHB>SYD>CHC/AKL), which weren't too much more than Emirates and Qatar a few years back. However now, the're more than double the price.

I was soo tempted to book my Mom on Qatar, as the airline itself is great, but the layovers and total travel time (48hrs and even 64hrs in some cases) gnawed at my conscience, so I forked out for Qantas... $3500 return... ouch!

As I plan to fly my Mom out here for half-a-year at a time (until I can get her residency), I'll see how she finds the first few trips, and I may try her out on some slightly longer (but more budget friendly) routes (Singapore, Emirates, etc).

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

7 hours ago, patches said:

Most properties should be pretty decent. Generally (especially since the introduction of the Healthy Homes Act) things lie in favour of the tenants and their rights. There's a whole FB group of grumpy landlords complaining, hahaha

A few key things that worth looking into are

• Area (generally speaking. Is it dodgy, etc).
• Public Transport
• Insulation (newer homes will have double glazing. All homes should have a heat source)

And worst case, you're there for a year.

That said, unfortunately my sister won't be able to go round and check out places, but if you know the area or have a specific ad you're looking at, feel free to PM me the details and I can find out.

Thanks man, will keep your offer in mind.
Waiting on my employer to confirm location, may also be in Auckland.
Location is important for schooling, so the school selected may dictate the home.

[davetapson]

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...

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by davetapson
Typos