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

[arabsandals]

From a practicality point of view

• Spark $20 roaming pack (1GB data and 200 minutes and 200 texts). Vodaphone will have an equiv if you're with them.
• Used my bank cards everywhere. Muricans aren't big on paywave. Costco was the only place my card didn't work becasue it was Mastercard and not Visa.
• Used Uber and Lyft a LOT. Compare prices for each trip. They can vary by up to 50%.
• If you rent a car (dirt cheap) be prepared to go into full JHB driver mode. NZ has made me soft and those Vegas drivers are terrible at indicating before changing lanes. The I15 freeway is your friend when getting around most places.
• Tipping... once again, NZ has made me soft/stingy and not used to tipping people, haha!

From an exploration point of view:

• The Strip. It's why most people visit Las Vegas.
• See if there are any good shows on at Caesars Palace (I went and saw Seinfeld live there).
• The High-Roller ferris wheel is also a cool way to see the city at night. Look out for Groupon type vouchers on it (and most other touristy things you may want to do).
• Belagio fountains at night.
• Carroll Shelby museum. It's free, and has 2 guided tours daily. I went and saw it, then Ford vs Ferrari the next day.
• Old Las Vegas. Freemont street etc.
• Outlet Malls. there are 2 (Premium North and Premium South). I wouldn't say it's worthwhile to visit both though. 

As I was visiting locals I spent much of my time in the suburbs (Henderson, Green Valley and Summerlin). Many locals only go down to the Strip if they have to. Most will find entertainment elsewhere. Local malls, casinos etc.

 

I have heard there are some good hikes out at Red Rock Canyon national park (not too far out of town).

If you book well in advance you can camp down in the grand canyon. We went once and would have lved to but only found out about it when we arrived, which was too late; https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/camp/bright-angel-campground

[Kranswurm]

From a practicality point of view

• Spark $20 roaming pack (1GB data and 200 minutes and 200 texts). Vodaphone will have an equiv if you're with them.
• Used my bank cards everywhere. Muricans aren't big on paywave. Costco was the only place my card didn't work becasue it was Mastercard and not Visa.
• Used Uber and Lyft a LOT. Compare prices for each trip. They can vary by up to 50%.
• If you rent a car (dirt cheap) be prepared to go into full JHB driver mode. NZ has made me soft and those Vegas drivers are terrible at indicating before changing lanes. The I15 freeway is your friend when getting around most places.
• Tipping... once again, NZ has made me soft/stingy and not used to tipping people, haha!

From an exploration point of view:

• The Strip. It's why most people visit Las Vegas.
• See if there are any good shows on at Caesars Palace (I went and saw Seinfeld live there).
• The High-Roller ferris wheel is also a cool way to see the city at night. Look out for Groupon type vouchers on it (and most other touristy things you may want to do).
• Belagio fountains at night.
• Carroll Shelby museum. It's free, and has 2 guided tours daily. I went and saw it, then Ford vs Ferrari the next day.
• Old Las Vegas. Freemont street etc.
• Outlet Malls. there are 2 (Premium North and Premium South). I wouldn't say it's worthwhile to visit both though. 

As I was visiting locals I spent much of my time in the suburbs (Henderson, Green Valley and Summerlin). Many locals only go down to the Strip if they have to. Most will find entertainment elsewhere. Local malls, casinos etc.

 

I have heard there are some good hikes out at Red Rock Canyon national park (not too far out of town).

My daughter and her partner did Route 66.Landed in Chicago,hired a Mustang and drove to Las Vegas.All Vegas had to offer was poker and shows

[patches]

If you book well in advance you can camp down in the grand canyon. We went once and would have lved to but only found out about it when we arrived, which was too late; https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/camp/bright-angel-campground

 

A day trip to the Grand Canyon could also be an option for Vegas visitor.

 

I rented a car, drove to Williams Arizona (about 3hrs from LV), then took the Grand Canyon train tour. Great way to see the canyon if you've only got 1 day.

 

And as mentioned before, car rental is dirt cheap compared to NZ, so it was only a little bit more to upgrade form a Corolla to a 370hp Dodge Charger (which was pretty fun to drive).

 

 

My daughter and her partner did Route 66.Landed in Chicago,hired a Mustang and drove to Las Vegas.All Vegas had to offer was poker and shows

 

I also nearly hired a Mustang. They only had the 2.4L versions so I opted for the big V8 Charger in stead... as they say, "when in 'Murica"

Edited December 15, 2019 by patches

[intern]

You okes are brave. I am far too scared to drive on the right, was offered a SL500 mercedes for the day in Phoenix, said no thank you, I will uber! Small thing but even while running I still had no idea which way to look when crossing a road or whatever...

[intern]

Just found out I need to attend a conference in April in Las Vegas.

 

Will be my first time going.

 

Any tips?

Take your wife with. Go see a show. Spend one night wandering around on the strip, but then have a definite plan to see a show or go clubbing or whatever. The problem with Vegas is there is so much going on that you can end up doing nothing because it's difficult to choose.

So choose and stick with it!

And have a jol - Vegas is cultural appropriation on a massive and unapologetic scale and it is unique and impressive in all its gaudiness.

[patches]

You okes are brave. I am far too scared to drive on the right, was offered a SL500 mercedes for the day in Phoenix, said no thank you, I will uber! Small thing but even while running I still had no idea which way to look when crossing a road or whatever...

 

Oh yeah, it took some thinking. Especially with that weird middle turning lane they have, and the fact that one can yield and turn right at a red traffic light.

 

I was a passenger in my sister's car for a good few days before I plucked up the courage. And even then, I mostly drove on the Interstate, which is easy as there's a big divider to keep you on the right.

[intern]

Oh yeah, it took some thinking. Especially with that weird middle turning lane they have, and the fact that one can yield and turn right at a red traffic light.

 

I was a passenger in my sister's car for a good few days before I plucked up the courage. And even then, I mostly drove on the Interstate, which is easy as there's a big divider to keep you on the right.

 

Bet you almost said left 

[davetapson]

And even then, I mostly drove on the Interstate, which is easy as there's a big divider to keep you on the right.

There is of course the chance that if early enough in the morning to still be a bit dopey, dark enough not to be able to see the road markings and quiet enough that there is no traffic (at that moment) that one might turn to the wrong side of the divider, and then wonder why the hell the oncoming traffic is driving in your lane... [emoji51][emoji51][emoji51]

 

Was camping in Florida and booked an early morning fishing trip. Blood still runs cold at the memory.

Edited December 15, 2019 by davetapson

[patches]

There is of course the chance that if early enough in the morning to still be a bit dopey, dark enough not to be able to see the road markings and quiet enough that there is no traffic (at that moment) that one might turn to the wrong side of the divider, and then wonder why the hell the oncoming traffic is driving in your lane... [emoji51][emoji51][emoji51]

 

Was camping in Florida and booked an early morning fishing trip. Blood still runs cold at the memory.

 

hahaha! indeed! My drive to Arizona commenced at 4am, but fortunately the fear had me wide awake!

 

And you mention road markings... that's something that Las Vegas definitely lacks. Hardly any solid and dashed lines painted on the roads. Only some crusty old catseyes.

 

Add their weird middle turning lane in and it becomes pretty tricky to figure out where you're meant to be.

[Kranswurm]

You okes are brave. I am far too scared to drive on the right, was offered a SL500 mercedes for the day in Phoenix, said no thank you, I will uber! Small thing but even while running I still had no idea which way to look when crossing a road or whatever...

Just do a crash course of driving or walking in downtown Johannesburg with its one way streets and bus lanes and you will be ready for anything.

[Stretch]

You okes are brave. I am far too scared to drive on the right, was offered a SL500 mercedes for the day in Phoenix, said no thank you, I will uber! Small thing but even while running I still had no idea which way to look when crossing a road or whatever...

I'm the same.... when I was in LA there was no way I was driving!.. traffic there is unreal

[davetapson]

There is of course the chance that if early enough in the morning to still be a bit dopey, dark enough not to be able to see the road markings and quiet enough that there is no traffic (at that moment) that one might turn to the wrong side of the divider, and then wonder why the hell the oncoming traffic is driving in your lane... [emoji51][emoji51][emoji51]

 

Was camping in Florida and booked an early morning fishing trip. Blood still runs cold at the memory.

 

Worst thing of all is that I wasn't just in the wrong lane, I was on the wrong side of a two road motorway.  When I finally figured out what was going on I managed to find a crossing point and jink onto the correct side.

 

I still got to wonder what folk thought of a someone driving against the traffic.  This included a cop cruiser who turned his lights on as I came past, but I noticed didn't turn around to stop me...

 

But the worst thing is parking lots, because they tend not to have lane markings - you never know where you are supposed to be.  Except to figure out that the side of the car you are sitting on should be in the middle of the road. Which is hard to figure out at the same time you're trying to change gear with the door latch.

Edited December 16, 2019 by davetapson

[Honkdonk]

Hello all Kiwi folk. I'm coming over a visit to my kids in early Jan for 3 weeks.

 

I have my budget in place but want to ask those in the know about the best way to pay for things? Do our SA FNB VISA debit cards work anywhere? I know our banking system here is leagues ahead of most.

Cash is obviously easier to manage as when the wallet is empty of the days spending then its home time until the next day.

TIA

[BaGearA]

Just a humble user.

 

Started off with 3D AutoCAD models back in 2002. Worked many years for an engineering firm specializing in industrial plant design (so used lots of AutoCAD Plant 3D, P&ID, Inventor and Navisworks). That firm, being large and global, has an ELA (Enterprise License Agreement) with Autodesk, so we always had access to the latest goodies.

 

Moved over to Revit when I moved to NZ about 4yrs ago (worked for the same firm but transferred to Building Services). Became the BIM Manager there so was responsible for C4R (Collaboration for Revit) and BIM360 administration.

 

...aaand then I moved client side, public healthcare sector, where we have a grand total of ONE license, and I open Revit/AutoCAD/Navisworks maybe once every 2 weeks 

 

My role now is more around workflows, strategy and governance so my involvement with Autodesk is simply to keep my finger on the pulse, understand what technology is out there, as well as compare alternatives.

 

Only reason I went to the conference was because I was visiting my sister in Vegas for her birthday, and it happened to coincide with Autodesk University, so I bought myself a 1 day pass to go see what all the fuss was about.

 

Long answer, but yeah!

 

And you? In the engineering field? Revit, CAD, Inventor (my favourite)?

Late reply soz

 

Im just barely starting to get into fusion360 , just for fun I don't have any intention of taking to a level where I'd work with it but I've gone around and looked at all the software they do and it's super cool to me 

[MrJacques]

@Honkdonk

 

You can have a look at services like Tranferwise.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Hello all Kiwi folk. I'm coming over a visit to my kids in early Jan for 3 weeks.

 

I have my budget in place but want to ask those in the know about the best way to pay for things? Do our SA FNB VISA debit cards work anywhere? I know our banking system here is leagues ahead of most.

Cash is obviously easier to manage as when the wallet is empty of the days spending then its home time until the next day.

TIA

Hi,

 

When you go to pay for goods and you use the card terminal (we call it an eftpos machine here) you will need to select the Credit card option. Even though you might be using a debit or cheque card, you still need to select CC.

 

This means that some vendors will add 1-3% to the cost of the goods or in some cases some of the smaller shops like the Kafee (we call them dairy's) wont accept CC type transactions.

 

All of the big stores accept them.

 

Getting a cash passport card wont help this as they are seen as CCs too.

 

Generally, having a FNB card and some cash will be more than enough.