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

[davetapson]

I think you are being very charitable describing Rosedale as equivalent to Sandton...

 

  It's all relative...

[intern]

Did you get schnacked by a white tail Dave? Squashed one this morning, haven't been nibbled in 10 years here so far...

[hayleyearth]

Another Bad/Good/Strange...

 

Bad: spiders.  They bite.

 

Good: they know how to treat you

 

Strange: you can claim against ACC - the govt accident compensation thingy - 'because you didn't intend to get bitten by a spider, so it's an accident'.

 

Howcome if I don't intend to get cancer it wouldn't be an accident.  However, I'm not complaining.  Luckily I don't seem to need need any ACC'ing.

 

Because it falls under the "New Zealand doing harm to you " (when a spider bites you) area 

[davetapson]

Did you get schnacked by a white tail Dave? Squashed one this morning, haven't been nibbled in 10 years here so far...

 

I don't really know. I didn't much notice until my hand started going vrot... antibiotics fixed it quick sticks tho. 

 

Actually what made me pay attention was that the tendon in one of my fingers got stuck in it's tunnel near the bite, and when I opened my hand, the whole skin on the back of my hand would move back with the tendon.  Was a bit freaky.  Seems to have gone back to normal thank goodness.

[davetapson]

Hey Intern, speaking of Whakatane

 

We're going to be in Napier for a week or so over Christmas, and then up to Oputere for the first week of the new year so we have a week or so in between to kill - we can either go home and catch up on stuff, or stop off some where in between - maybe some where on the East Cape.

 

Are there any places around there that you'd reckon are particularly worth a visit.  Camping is fine.

 

Otherwise might try get a site in Stony Bay or Fletcher Bay on the Coromandel...

[patches]

Hey Intern, speaking of Whakatane

 

We're going to be in Napier for a week or so over Christmas, and then up to Oputere for the first week of the new year so we have a week or so in between to kill - we can either go home and catch up on stuff, or stop off some where in between - maybe some where on the East Cape.

 

Are there any places around there that you'd reckon are particularly worth a visit.  Camping is fine.

 

Otherwise might try get a site in Stony Bay or Fletcher Bay on the Coromandel...

 

I went camping at Oputere earlier this year. Nice campsite, and Whangamata is a nice little town.

 

The kayak to doughnut island is worthwhile too.

[Ramrod]

Patches, what is the enduro (motor bikes) scene like there?

[intern]

Hey Intern, speaking of Whakatane

 

We're going to be in Napier for a week or so over Christmas, and then up to Oputere for the first week of the new year so we have a week or so in between to kill - we can either go home and catch up on stuff, or stop off some where in between - maybe some where on the East Cape.

 

Are there any places around there that you'd reckon are particularly worth a visit.  Camping is fine.

 

Otherwise might try get a site in Stony Bay or Fletcher Bay on the Coromandel...

 

Ohope beach Top 10 is real nice; Te Kaha is awesome, Tolaga Bay worth a nosey. Gisborne, too, is fun, esp if you like vineyards and bike riding (yeh...who doesn't!) and any of the little spots between Te Kaha and Opotiki (include Waihau Bay) wont' disappoint! Sounds like a fun trip. If you hit Whaka and have time, come for a braai.

[intern]

The bad - the deputy PM and NZ First. Up to his old tricks, the filthy curmudgeon.

Mind you I don't think much of the PM, either. She's weak, ineffective and ill-informed.

[Wayne Potgieter]

The bad - the deputy PM and NZ First. Up to his old tricks, the filthy curmudgeon.

Mind you I don't think much of the PM, either. She's weak, ineffective and ill-informed.

Hey Intern - Not trolling or anything, but I quite like Ardern. In as much as someone can like a politician

 

What are your thoughts on the upcoming election and who are you leaning towards and why? Genuinely interested in your perspective. Whilst I like Ardern and think she is a good ambassador for NZ (she is a PR specialist after all) I do question some of what goes on in the party. I really liked John Key (except for the pony tail thing) but don't really like Bridges much.

 

I know you follow the NZ political scene quite closely so I am quite interested in your opinion and not trying to troll or anything....

 

I was going to say that you don't have to answer if you want to keep your opinion private but then realized that's not your style  LOL

[Kranswurm]

Hey Intern - Not trolling or anything, but I quite like Ardern. In as much as someone can like a politician

 

What are your thoughts on the upcoming election and who are you leaning towards and why? Genuinely interested in your perspective. Whilst I like Ardern and think she is a good ambassador for NZ (she is a PR specialist after all) I do question some of what goes on in the party. I really liked John Key (except for the pony tail thing) but don't really like Bridges much.

 

I know you follow the NZ political scene quite closely so I am quite interested in your opinion and not trying to troll or anything....

 

I was going to say that you don't have to answer if you want to keep your opinion private but then realized that's not your style  LOL

Stop beating around the bush and ask the man who he is voting for..

[Wayne Potgieter]

Stop beating around the bush and ask the man who he is voting for..

but that’s not what I am asking.

 

I am interested in his thoughts on all parties.

[intern]

Hey Intern - Not trolling or anything, but I quite like Ardern. In as much as someone can like a politician

 

What are your thoughts on the upcoming election and who are you leaning towards and why? Genuinely interested in your perspective. Whilst I like Ardern and think she is a good ambassador for NZ (she is a PR specialist after all) I do question some of what goes on in the party. I really liked John Key (except for the pony tail thing) but don't really like Bridges much.

 

I know you follow the NZ political scene quite closely so I am quite interested in your opinion and not trying to troll or anything....

 

I was going to say that you don't have to answer if you want to keep your opinion private but then realized that's not your style  LOL

 

Haha, you're right that's not my style!

As someone who follows politics closely, there is a LOT to not like about Ardern. She is an airhead, has a very poor grasp of detail and policy, has little control over her party and especially the coalition partners, is routinely loose with the truth and of course she is a socialist and 'if only we had some sort of example in history about how well socialism might work'. 

 

I will concede, she does do a very good frowny concerned face. But she is a poor communicator with all the 'and again, um ah, uh, as I've said', with shocking diction.

 

I will vote once again for the ACT party and David Seymour. He has done sterling work standing up to the knee-jerk gun policy rushed through after Christchurch and he has been exemplary in standing up for the erosions to free speech also happening in the wake of CC, where 'offense' and hurty feelings trump the right for people to express perfectly valid, or even perfectly invalid, opinions.

 

ACT stands for small government, low taxes and less state intervention in the affairs of people and the economy. It might be a minor party, but its values are most closely aligned with my own, and so to ACT my vote goes.

 

Also helps that when you pop David Seymour an email, he always replies personally. And I have his phone number, too, he takes my call and I am a nobody.

[intern]

On National; I like Simon Bridges, he is a dad just like us, which I discovered when I met him at McDonalds in Mt Maunganui where we had a dad chat while watching our boys play in the jungle gym there. But I feel National has drifted too far left, especially with signing to the Zero Carbon Bill. They are also too generous with welfare, although handle it far better than the Labour lolly-scramble.

 

NZ First? Winston Peters has always been a charlatan going back to when he first entered parliament in - get this! 1978! There are many scandals attached to his coattails and every government he has been a part of, he has also brought down (3x, IIRC). Very shady, very dodgy...and an absolute mongrel when it comes to decency especially when dealing with the press.

[patches]

Patches, what is the enduro (motor bikes) scene like there?

 

Bigger than I thought (but not as big as SA)

 

About a month back I went for an organized trail ride up near South Head. There must have been about 150 riders there. Myself and my buddy were the only fools on plated bikes. Everyone else was on a dedicated enduro/mx machine.

 

The ride offered 4 loops. Kids, Novice, Short Loop (10km), Long Loop (30km).

 

The terrain was very similar to the thick forest areas in woodhill (it's basically the far north end of that forest). Tight twisty tracks. Loads of trees. Some good steep sandy rutted-out hill climbs.

 

I've also done organized trail rides on farms up near Warkworth. Those are more like XC races. Rolling green hills, almost no trees. A little more flat out. Also about 150 riders in attendance.

 

I'm no race-ist so I don't know what the competitive scene is like. but here's a link to most pf the stuff on the NZ calendar

 

https://www.silver-bullet.co.nz/events.php

 

As you can see there's a fair bit on. Especially in the Waikato.

 

As for fun outrides (non-events) within 1hr or so of Auckland: the Sandpit (near Woodhill), Thundercross Valley (near Mercer), and Honda Park (near Maramarua Golf Course) seem to be the most popular. Or riders just head to Muriwai beach and mess around there (or over on certain sections in the dunes).

 

If one is in Christchurch then there are a TON of outride options and a pretty decent sized hard enduro scene there. But yeah, I'm guessing you're asking about the North Island, so I won't go into detail.

 

One last thing I can say, is that enduro bikes are CRAZY EXPENSIVE. Especially the popular Austrian ladies. For example:

 

$17,000 (approx. R160,000) for a new Husky TE 300 TPI. Same bike in SA R133,700. So yeah over R26,000 difference. It's insane!

 

If you are moving back and want to ride... BRING A BIKE WITH YOU!! (and maybe one for me, hahaha).

[Ramrod]

Bigger than I thought (but not as big as SA)

 

About a month back I went for an organized trail ride up near South Head. There must have been about 150 riders there. Myself and my buddy were the only fools on plated bikes. Everyone else was on a dedicated enduro/mx machine.

 

The ride offered 4 loops. Kids, Novice, Short Loop (10km), Long Loop (30km).

 

The terrain was very similar to the thick forest areas in woodhill (it's basically the far north end of that forest). Tight twisty tracks. Loads of trees. Some good steep sandy rutted-out hill climbs.

 

I've also done organized trail rides on farms up near Warkworth. Those are more like XC races. Rolling green hills, almost no trees. A little more flat out. Also about 150 riders in attendance.

 

I'm no race-ist so I don't know what the competitive scene is like. but here's a link to most pf the stuff on the NZ calendar

 

https://www.silver-bullet.co.nz/events.php

 

As you can see there's a fair bit on. Especially in the Waikato.

 

As for fun outrides (non-events) within 1hr or so of Auckland: the Sandpit (near Woodhill), Thundercross Valley (near Mercer), and Honda Park (near Maramarua Golf Course) seem to be the most popular. Or riders just head to Muriwai beach and mess around there (or over on certain sections in the dunes).

 

If one is in Christchurch then there are a TON of outride options and a pretty decent sized hard enduro scene there. But yeah, I'm guessing you're asking about the North Island, so I won't go into detail.

 

One last thing I can say, is that enduro bikes are CRAZY EXPENSIVE. Especially the popular Austrian ladies. For example:

 

$17,000 (approx. R160,000) for a new Husky TE 300 TPI. Same bike in SA R133,700. So yeah over R26,000 difference. It's insane!

 

If you are moving back and want to ride... BRING A BIKE WITH YOU!! (and maybe one for me, hahaha).

Thanks. You have helped a lot.  I have an opportunity to possibly come back to NZ so will see what happens. IN the process of buying myself an FX350 and my son a TX 65. Will definitely bring them over. Even bought a fold up trailer so that I can park it in the garage and still park the cars etc.