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

[patches]

So two thirds of my way through a 3 week road trip around NZ from SA.

 

The good - pretty much everything. Scenery, cleanliness, safety,even the weather has been great.

 

The bad - the price of beer.

 

The ugly - the bogans. Shite there are some serious rednecks cruising the towns in their dropped suspension, drain pipe exhaust zeff mobiles.

 

Hahaha nice!

 

Where have you been visiting?

 

If you want a fun read about the places you've been, look at this satirical FB page

 

https://www.facebook.com/shittownsofnewzealand/

 

(I bought the book. A good laugh).

[MTBeer]

Hahaha nice!

Where have you been visiting?

 

If you want a fun read about the places you've been, look at this satirical FB page

 

https://www.facebook.com/shittownsofnewzealand/

 

(I bought the book. A good laugh).

 

Auckland Hamilton Raglan New Plymouth Palmerston North Wellington Kaikoura Christchurch Nelson Picton. Heading north tomorrow to Napier then Tauranga via Rotoroa then back to Auckland.

[l4y3rcake]

Flying to Wellington via Sydney on 2 Feb. Just going for 10 days to visit family and attend a wedding, 

[patches]

Auckland Hamilton Raglan New Plymouth Palmerston North Wellington Kaikoura Christchurch Nelson Picton. Heading north tomorrow to Napier then Tauranga via Rotoroa then back to Auckland.

 

Nice! that's quite the trip! You have now seen more of the country than most Aucklanders, hahaha!

 

Some of those born and raised in AKL don't even know that there's a South Island, and if they do they think it only has 1 town... Queenstown, haha

Edited January 7, 2019 by patches

[Wayne Potgieter]

Nice! that's quite the trip! You have now seen more of the country than most Aucklanders, hahaha!

 

Some of those born and raised in AKL don't even know that there's a South Island, and if they do they think it only has 1 town... Queenstown, haha

When we moved over we boarded with a family for a month or so.

 

They are ex RSA and have lived here for 18 years. Have not been further south than Taupo.

 

Thats just crazy,

[davetapson]

We did a short sharp trip to Rotarua and surrounds.

 

Couple of things we learned:

1. You can't base yourself centrally and then do day trips around - 80km in NZ is not the same and 80km in SA.

2. You can't rock up at attractions in high season and expect to get in without prior booking. This of course has the pro that you end up doing stuff you hadn't planned to do.

3. There is real pleasure to be gained in living in a place where individuals make a difference, and their legacies get passed on e.g some dude deciding the local dump is ugly and a few decades later *foom* Hamilton Gardens.

4. The sun here bites.

[davetapson]

We did a short sharp trip to Rotarua and surrounds.

 

Couple of things we learned:

1. You can't base yourself centrally and then do day trips around - 80km in NZ is not the same and 80km in SA.

2. You can't rock up at attractions in high season and expect to get in without prior booking. This of course has the pro that you end up doing stuff you hadn't planned to do.

3. There is real pleasure to be gained in living in a place where individuals make a difference, and their legacies get passed on e.g some dude deciding the local dump is ugly and a few decades later *foom* Hamilton Gardens.

4. The sun here bites.

And I need a boat. In the n+1 sense. kayaks / sail / power.

 

Also did my first ride. This place has hills like Benoni doesn't. Granny gear was my friend.

[Wayne Potgieter]

And I need a boat. In the n+1 sense. kayaks / sail / power.

 

Also did my first ride. This place has hills like Benoni doesn't. Granny gear was my friend.

On the subject of boats.

 

http://www.affordableboathire.co.nz/

 

$400 for the day. You book and arrive and the boats in the water and its yours for the day. Great if you only take the boat out a few times a year. Boats here are not cheap.

[davetapson]

On the subject of boats.

 

http://www.affordableboathire.co.nz/

 

$400 for the day. You book and arrive and the boats in the water and its yours for the day. Great if you only take the boat out a few times a year. Boats here are not cheap.

Looks like an option, for sure.

 

You done this at all, Wayne?

[hayleyearth]

Best broadband fibre deal in Auckland?

[Wayne Potgieter]

Best broadband fibre deal in Auckland?

just broadband or also power and or gas?

[patches]

Anyone used the cheaper NZ Post option to send parcels to South Africa?

It says it's non-trackable so I am a little concerned.

 

But for a small parcel (gift, value $80) it's $24, whereas the trackable equiv is $245.

Any alternate cheap reliable parcel options?

[patches]

Best broadband fibre deal in Auckland?

 

Are you leaning towards fast or budget friendly?

 

At home I use the Big Pipe Faster Pro plan.

• 200Mbps download
• 20Mbps upload
• No cap
• No throttle
• $99pm

https://www.bigpipe.co.nz/sign-up

 

At work I have set up an independent connection for one of our contractors to use. They are uploading over 160GB/day (LiDAR scans), so the line needs to be fast and reliable.

 

For that I use the Spark Fibre Max plan

• 900Mbps download
• 400Mbps upload
• No cap
• No throttle
• No fair use policy
• $139pm

I have been very happy with both.

[Wayne Potgieter]

I recently moved over to stuff fibre.

 

$99 for 900mbs down. Uncapped. First three months are discounted.

[intern]

I recently moved over to stuff fibre.

 

$99 for 900mbs down. Uncapped. First three months are discounted.

 

Stuff fibre is very good. You also get a discounted Asus router which is way better than the rubbish you will get from any of the big providers. AVOID spark, vodafone and even 2degrees at all costs. 2d's ISP used to be Snap Internet, and Snap was bloody good. But big telcos are notorious for their terrible service. Also, never do business with a company which has to bribe you to become their customer, so avoid for example the likes of Trustpower (disastrous service).

Generally, you want your ISP to be set and forget, and then with good local backup when you do have any issues. You will get that from Stuff Fibre...

[intern]

Edit to add that 2degrees bought Snap Internet as they didn't have an ISP of their own. That was maybe 3 years ago. After that, I moved away from Snap/2degrees to Stuff Fibre. Can't stand big telcos and their terrible customer service.