Silvrav, I too bit the bullet and took a 3 week visit to see if it is something I would be keen on. Now, if I may "bomb" your thread a bit, here are a few of my observations...
My first WTF moment was when I was still trying to locate the baggage carousel Christchurch airport and I walked straight into my mate, who was collecting me. He took me to the carousel in the open public area. I mean donner, every bag would have been swiped if were SA
Thereafter, the honesty tills etc still impressed me. My house in Stellies has a more secure perimeter that Christchurch International Airport and the only "Jakkalsproef" fence around the airport is to keep the sheep out.
The next, and I had to take a video, was the friendly "stop-and-go" operators (they are fixing their quake damaged "N1" along the South Island coast)- They wave, with a smile, to each individual vehicle coming past. Side note: the land pushed up 2m and a lot of the nice crayfish dive spots are now above the water surface
I had my first 6.8 magnitude Quake 3 weeks ago too...
Christchurch is now built in such a way that it will be influenced very little by a quake and the only reason it suffered so much in 2011 is because they never knew it was on the fault line.
Biking is big and so is camping. Campsites everywhere and everybody has Campervan or Caravan. I personally would not see the need to buy anything bigger than a 650 class bike. Max speed on a highway is 100km/h and cops are very tense on speeding. Besides, the roads are very twisty and don't lend themselves to KTM1290 performance.
Hunting and fishing is huge. Hunting in public parks is free and I was told that I could chuck my skippers license as it is not required there. Fishing is fantastic and cheap. Boating is also huge.
Golf courses, for those that care, are PLENTIFUL! They are long and very undulating but lush and in good nick. The Kiwis do not have our culture of halfway-house stops and beer afterwards. You smash 18 and head straight home. Also, DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! You get bust, it is your license for at least a year and $2500 in fines and legal fees. Also, DO NOT slip $50 in your ID book to the cop, you will meet Jesus (the tattooed one from South America) in a cell.
I joined my mate at Touch-Rugby and a few rounds of golf and I found the Kiwis very welcoming in general. You do have to learn that the word "C*nt" gets used very liberally though, by mom, dad and kids
In general, mannerisms are different to ours and it takes getting used to. You say "Good morning John, Pete here. How are you and did you have a good weekend?". John says "yeah-yeah mate, whats it?". Also, they do not have the same come over for a braai culture so expect to invite a lot but not get invited.
When earning dollars, it is no more expensive than when earning Rands in SA and SA is cheap when earning dollars. Beers are averagely priced and wine is expensive by comparison (and not as good as what we get here at the price). I spent time in Marlborough and it is beautiful. Auckland, although more moderately weathered, did not tickle me at all. You wont get hijacked but they will steal from your car in Auckland. Traffic is also crap. Hamilton was nice too. Didn't make it to Wellies and the other places.
When taking all the above into account, the only thing that determines a persons ability to adapt in different places and cultures, is your attitude. I personally loved the country and its people and if all goes well, I will hopefully be in Christchurch toward the end of January.
I am sure there will be challenges too but then again, we all come from a line of versatile, adaptable explorers and have a proven ability to deal with them.
Topic: Life in New Zealand - The move has been made... (Read 74658 times)
