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

[Saag]

Done

[patches]

done!

[hayleyearth]

Done

Done

Done..

 

Now I am hungry!

[bertusras]

Yeah I'm not jealous at all...

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZCxij9nZkL/

[patches]

Has anyone here road tripped from the South Island to the North or from Wellington to Auckland (or visa versa)

I have a groot trek coming up on the 2nd weekend of next month, whereby I will ride the dirt bike up form Christchurch to Auckland. a large portion of the South Island leg will be on the Molesworth Station gravel road, which I have heard is amazing.

The dirt road route is 131km shorter in distance but claims to be over 1hr in travel time. The bike can comfortably sit at 90 - 100kph on most dirt roads so I'm sure I could get that time of 6hrs down to approx 5.

 

The hard choice comes in the following form...

 

If we leave Hanmer Springs at 7:00 on Saturday morning should we:

 

1. Take our time travelling up to Picton as we would only need to board the planned ferry at 17:45
2. Leave a little before 7:00 so we can make boarding time on the 14:15 ferry. Get to Wellington around 18:00 and have a relaxed evening.
3. Do the same as above but once reaching Wellington we continue on to Palmerston North (ETA 20:00) and shorten Sunday’s leg from 8hrs down to 6hrs.
4. Spend Friday night in Christchurch, and do Christchurch to Picton on the Saturday (approx. 7hrs excluding stops). We’d still arrive with 2hrs to spare, plus we would save on 1 night’s accommodation.

Any past experience on these routes and what works best? I have heard that the Desert Road is terrible, so we may want to take that stretch easy.

 

 

[canfan]

Hey guys, what is the best/cheapest way to ship a bike from SA to NZ? Have a work colleague that is trying to get his TT bike sent over?

[Wayne Potgieter]

Hey guys, what is the best/cheapest way to ship a bike from SA to NZ? Have a work colleague that is trying to get his TT bike sent over?

probably ubag.

 

www.ubag.co.za

 

Or find someone willing to take it for you?

[intern]

 

Has anyone here road tripped from the South Island to the North or from Wellington to Auckland (or visa versa)

 

 

Any past experience on these routes and what works best? I have heard that the Desert Road is terrible, so we may want to take that stretch easy.

 

Can't help, but can say that sounds frikkin awesome.

[patches]

Can't help, but can say that sounds frikkin awesome.

 

yeah I can't wait!

 

I went to that Torpedo7 clearance sale at the ASB Showgrounds and got a pretty cool tent for nearly half price...

 

So we've decided to turn this road trip into a camping trip too. Plus I negotiated a day off with the boss (because I missed out and Auckland day, and will miss out on Canterbury day).

 

So the new plan may look something like this:

 

Friday

• Ride from Christchurch to Hanmer after wor (±2hrs)
• Camp in Hanmer

Saturday

• Ride the Molesworth trail up to Picton (±6hrs)
• Explore Marlborough a bit that afternoon and evening.
• Camp near Picton

Sunday

• Catch ferry across to Wellington (±4.5hrs including boarding time)
• Ride wellington to Taupo (±5hrs)
• Camp in Taupo

Monday

• Ride Taupo to Auckland (±4hrs)

Riding times and routes are pretty flexible and we may try link them into some of the marked trails found in these 2 maps.

 

 

 

I have also had some feedback to a post on http://www.adventureridingnz.co.nz/ with detaour and trail suggestions.

 

I can't wait!

[patches]

As a warm-up for that adventure I'll be undertaking a mini one on Labour Weekend.

 

From Christchurch along the Waimak river, through Rakaia gorgre, then onto Lake Tekapo, a bit of adventuring around Lake Pukaki and Mt Cook.

Should be awesome!

 

So many trails on the South Island. I'll miss it!

 

http://www.doc.govt.nz/pagefiles/36992/rakaia-gorge-hero.jpg

Rakaia Gorge



Mt Cook

http://bna-art.s3.amazonaws.com/www.bootsnall.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/lakes-pukaki.jpg

Lake Pukaki looking out at Mt Cook



Lake Tekapo

Damn there's some beautiful spots in this country!

[Wayne Potgieter]

I think I have made a mistake.

 

I absolutely detest my new job. The company is terrible and I have zero job satisfaction. I was made several financial commitments around incentives but these are not actually achievable.

 

Most of the commitments I was made centre around EBIT, but after spending a week with my head buried in the financials, I can now see why this is an almost impossible target.

 

Those of you that know me well, will know that I am not the smartest guy in the world. BUT I am no quitter and will make up for my lack of aptitude with hard and diligent work.

 

Here is a bit of history for you...

 

I was kicked out of school at a pretty young age and began my first full time job at 13. I later went back to school and obtained matric equivalncy and went on to study further, but this was all done either part time or correspondence. I obtained my first job in logistics in 1999. I am tired of the industry.

 

We have worked pretty hard as a family and we have some money tucked away and i could comfortably afford to take a year off of work and dip into the savings. The only cost of this way of thinking is that it eats into our savings and that money could be used for a house or an investment.

 

My wife is pushing me to take a 3 or 4 month sabbatical from work and clear my head. I have NEVER been unemployed since the age of 13. This is a very alien way for me to think.

 

I have recently been trying to recruit some staff here at work and I have really struggled. There are too many vacancies and not enough candidates. I am certain when i decide to jump back in to the working word that I would be able to obtain a job pretty quick.

 

I am thinking of a complete career change.

 

I would like to get into Health and Safety. I feel it is a growing field and there is huge consultancy work opportunities available. My plan is to take some time over the sabbatical and obtain the necessary qualifications to begin a career in Health and Safety.

 

I will give my current employer 2.5 months notice to give them as much chance as possible to replace me before the end of the year to try and reduce the impact to my reputation.

 

Anyways, not sure why i posted that, but it felt good to get it off my shoulders.

 

 

[Stretch]

Wayne.. You posted that because you NEEDED to get it off your shoulders! You are without a doubt the toughest soon of a bitch I know... And without a doubt no matter you do will find a way through it. Sometimes we have to step back to step forward.. And this is what you are doing. Go for it.

 

The bit about staff.. Are those the sa companies? Time to get rid of those?

[Wayne Potgieter]

Wayne.. You posted that because you NEEDED to get it off your shoulders! You are without a doubt the toughest soon of a bitch I know... And without a doubt no matter you do will find a way through it. Sometimes we have to step back to step forward.. And this is what you are doing. Go for it.

 

The bit about staff.. Are those the sa companies? Time to get rid of those?

SA company is no more.

 

I sold to my partner and took a step out.

 

I was trying to find a replacement candidate for myself as i moved into a new role here in NZ.

 

I looked for 6 weeks for a candidate and eventually took someone with little experience. There is really almost no unemployment here and that means that its far harder to find workers than work.

 

Thanks for the kind words BTW.

[Kranswurm]

I think I have made a mistake.

 

I absolutely detest my new job. The company is terrible and I have zero job satisfaction. I was made several financial commitments around incentives but these are not actually achievable.

 

Most of the commitments I was made centre around EBIT, but after spending a week with my head buried in the financials, I can now see why this is an almost impossible target.

 

Those of you that know me well, will know that I am not the smartest guy in the world. BUT I am no quitter and will make up for my lack of aptitude with hard and diligent work.

 

Here is a bit of history for you...

 

I was kicked out of school at a pretty young age and began my first full time job at 13. I later went back to school and obtained matric equivalncy and went on to study further, but this was all done either part time or correspondence. I obtained my first job in logistics in 1999. I am tired of the industry.

 

We have worked pretty hard as a family and we have some money tucked away and i could comfortably afford to take a year off of work and dip into the savings. The only cost of this way of thinking is that it eats into our savings and that money could be used for a house or an investment.

 

My wife is pushing me to take a 3 or 4 month sabbatical from work and clear my head. I have NEVER been unemployed since the age of 13. This is a very alien way for me to think.

 

I have recently been trying to recruit some staff here at work and I have really struggled. There are too many vacancies and not enough candidates. I am certain when i decide to jump back in to the working word that I would be able to obtain a job pretty quick.

 

I am thinking of a complete career change.

 

I would like to get into Health and Safety. I feel it is a growing field and there is huge consultancy work opportunities available. My plan is to take some time over the sabbatical and obtain the necessary qualifications to begin a career in Health and Safety.

 

I will give my current employer 2.5 months notice to give them as much chance as possible to replace me before the end of the year to try and reduce the impact to my reputation.

 

Anyways, not sure why i posted that, but it felt good to get it off my shoulders.

Health and Safety is a good idea

You need a Medically qualified partner to make it work

Feel free to pm me with regard to this

[patches]

I think I have made a mistake.

 

I absolutely detest my new job. The company is terrible and I have zero job satisfaction. I was made several financial commitments around incentives but these are not actually achievable.

 

Most of the commitments I was made centre around EBIT, but after spending a week with my head buried in the financials, I can now see why this is an almost impossible target.

 

Those of you that know me well, will know that I am not the smartest guy in the world. BUT I am no quitter and will make up for my lack of aptitude with hard and diligent work.

 

Here is a bit of history for you...

 

I was kicked out of school at a pretty young age and began my first full time job at 13. I later went back to school and obtained matric equivalncy and went on to study further, but this was all done either part time or correspondence. I obtained my first job in logistics in 1999. I am tired of the industry.

 

We have worked pretty hard as a family and we have some money tucked away and i could comfortably afford to take a year off of work and dip into the savings. The only cost of this way of thinking is that it eats into our savings and that money could be used for a house or an investment.

 

My wife is pushing me to take a 3 or 4 month sabbatical from work and clear my head. I have NEVER been unemployed since the age of 13. This is a very alien way for me to think.

 

I have recently been trying to recruit some staff here at work and I have really struggled. There are too many vacancies and not enough candidates. I am certain when i decide to jump back in to the working word that I would be able to obtain a job pretty quick.

 

I am thinking of a complete career change.

 

I would like to get into Health and Safety. I feel it is a growing field and there is huge consultancy work opportunities available. My plan is to take some time over the sabbatical and obtain the necessary qualifications to begin a career in Health and Safety.

 

I will give my current employer 2.5 months notice to give them as much chance as possible to replace me before the end of the year to try and reduce the impact to my reputation.

 

Anyways, not sure why i posted that, but it felt good to get it off my shoulders.

 

just about anything to do with Heath and Safety in NZ will be a success.

 

Just look at how much construction is going on in Auckland and Christchurch.

 

Last year I had to do the Site Safe consultants course (approx. 4hrs). I have yet to use my Site Safe card as I sit behind a desk all day, but the knowledge gained there was pretty valuable.

 

NZ's construction industry is considered "unsafe". (that is by UK and Aus standards). But by SA standards it is incredibly safe. In SA we used to have multiple serious injuries, and almost 2-3 deaths a year across our projects.

 

I think the attitude towards safety is a lot more serious here. And those WorkSafe fines are no joke! They can cripple a company if they are found to be in violation.

 

Each job we undertake has to have HESP forms willed out for even the most basic of site visits. We put together risk registers to make sure we consider safety in design.

 

Health and Safety is everywhere, so I'm sure you'll make a success of it!

 

What sort of direction are you thinking of taking? Consulting? Training (like Site Safe)?

[Wayne Potgieter]

 

 

What sort of direction are you thinking of taking? Consulting? Training (like Site Safe)?

Honestly dont know.

 

The plan is to do the NEBOSH Certificate then get into the industry to start gaining work experience while doing the 2 year diploma.

 

Thats the plan at least.

 

My wife reckons that i have 30 years of work left in me so she says taking a few months to make a proper career decision is a great investment of time.

 

She is right. I suppose thats why we have savings right...