Quirky Kiwiana!

After spending over a year here, we have found that just like any country, New Zealand has its own quirks, traditions and phrases. Admittedly some of these are similar to ones used across the Tasman Sea (on the Western Isle) but we feel that, for our readers back home, they are different enough to warrant space on the blog. Here are some examples that we have noticed, starting with a rather 'out of season' one.

Mid Winter Christmas - "So what?" I hear you say. You may well say that, until you remember that our winter is from June to August. So, in June/July some people put decorations up, buy small presents for each other (a good thing), cook a turkey, go on work dos and pretend it is the festive season. I suppose celebrating 'Christmas' during the Southern Hemisphere's winter means there is a higher chance of snow and gives kiwis a feel of proper Christmas weather but it's still wrong! HO! HO! HO!

Hot Dogs - This sounds pretty normal but a NZ hotdog is actually a battered sausage skewered on a stick. Not good, as the sausages are invariably cheap, nasty ones made from the parts of an animal you would rather not eat. Hot dogs as we know them are called American Hot Dogs!

Charity Chocolate Bars - A somewhat dubious practice in which schools raise money by selling chocolate bars (Dairy Milk, Moro - like Mars ) for $2. The profit goes towards whatever project the school is saving up for (evidently, not health care) . Eat your heart out Jamie Oliver!

Dental clinics at schools - This may have something to do with the above. In New Zealand, many schools have a dental clinic (think of Pete's old M.J.S. Hut) and dental nurse on site so that schoolchildren can receive free dental care. The dental nurse can carry out many minor procedures, like drilling and pulling teeth. Children with bad problems are referred to a dentist.

The Right Hand Turn Rule - Perhaps this riduculous driving rule exists in order to make driving more exciting and eventful for all, particularly unwary or forgetful tourists. Essentially, vehicles turning right have the 'right of way' over oncoming cars turning left into the same road/entrance/etc. I think the idea is that traffic flow is improved as vehicles are not stuck behind somebody waiting to turn right. For this to work well, signalling is vital and vehicles going straight on must not sneak around ones turning left into the path of the one turning right. Apparently, New Zealand is the only country that has this rule. I think that says it all!

Sausage Sizzle - To raise money for charity etc. groups of people will stand outside a shop (The Warehouse, Rebel Sport, etc) selling sausages for $1 or $2. What you get is: A slice of the cheapest white bread, a sausage and onions. Sauce is optional. Enjoy!

Hokey Pokey - The kiwi name for honeycomb. Hokey pokey flavoured ice-cream is gorgeous! Particularly, when enjoyed up at 'The Sign of the Kiwi', on a warm, sunny day!

City to Surf Run

After months of training, Sunday 25th March was 'The Day" for the annual 'City to Surf' run. The 'City to Surf ' takes entrants along the River Avon to the Queen Elizabeth II stadium; a journey of 12km. One can choose how to participate; you can walk, run or use inline skates. Many companies use this opportunity to promote themselves, and Meridian Energy was no exception. They paid the entry fee for staff and family, supplied us all with nice, breathable running tops, and laid on a BBQ afterwards.

Pete and Mark competed in this event last year so Pete had high hopes of bettering his time and beating Mark again. This year, Helen looked after Ryan and Emily so that Lisa could compete, too. And yes, even I turned up to join in this 'fun' activity.

The starting hooter sounded before we had made our way to the start line, so we just continued walking to the start line, trying to find a clear path through the masses of people. I never even saw Pete, but managed to glimpse the backs of Lisa and Mark until approximately the third km.

Even though it was a warm morning, I was running at a good pace, and by the time I had reached Porrit Park (the 7km point) I knew I had to keep going. I was not going to walk. Tiredness eventually set in but as soon as I saw the stadium I found some more energy and managed to sprint down the track to the finish line. During my sprint, I heard side line encouragements from Pete, Mark and Lisa. I collected my certificate and 'trophy' - a bottle of Pump- and went in search of my supporters.

Pete told me my finishing time; I completed it in 72 minutes. Not bad considering I was aiming for 80 minutes. Pete was slightly disappointed. He had hoped to do it in less than 50 minutes, but he came home in 52 minutes. What was even worse, Mark finished 20 seconds before him. Lisa ran it in a very respectable time of 53 minutes. We then made our way to the corporate area, and found the Meridian Energy BBQ. We only had to wait a short while before Helen and the kids turned up. They had missed us finish, but joined us for the barbecue anyway.

After we had munched on a few burgers, we all headed back to our house to enjoy a beer in the sun and bask in our self-rightousness. The rest of the afternoon was spent undoing all the good work at the 'Dux de Lux' eating nachos and enjoying their finest ales!

All in all, it was a great event, and I guess we will have to continue training, so that we can do this all again next year!

Goodbye to the Honky Mobile

After thirteen (t)rusty months together, the Honky Mobile has come to an end. As mentioned in a previous article, our journey to Hokitika involved a bump on the rear, which according to the insurer caused structural damage. Not that that stopped us from driving the Honky Mobile for a further two weeks! It seems that we do not seem to have much luck with this model of car: remember how the Cavalier came to its end?

Yes, structural damage means that the insurance company will write off the car, and de-register it. That's not particularly bad news, as we will receive a nice cheque in the post, soon. What's more the compensation will be double the amount we originally paid for the car!

In any case, Pete and I have been thinking of buying another vehicle for a while. The plan was to eventually have two vehicles. One was to be a small, cheap car (preferably red) to get us around town, and the other one was to be a four wheel drive vehicle; to make driving up the mountains easier during the winter ski season. However, the unfortunate end of the Honky mobile put a spanner in the works, and so there we were, looking for a vehicle, slightly sooner than we had anticipated.

Armed with a mental shopping list, we went to the backpacker car market hoping to buy a bargain car: something either small, or with four wheel drive. Even though we managed to purchase a bargain (we hope), our new vehicle does not fulfill either the small or 4WD criteria. We are now the proud owners of Audrey, a Mazda MPV Efini. It is another thirsty beast as it has a 3 litre V6 engine. The attached link will show you a car very similar to ours:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Mazda/auction-92636383.htm
Yes, it is a multi pupose vehicle. Considering there are only two of us, and we have no immediate plans to extend our family (Tinkerbell is enough for now), I am not quite sure how long we will be driving Audrey. We are still looking for a four wheel drive, and possibly a small, red car to get us around town!

Audrey