New Zealand

Originally posted by GarryB
“Yes and they’re all on the bloody Dole”

I was not aware of this terminology so I had to go ask the wife to fill me in.

“Yes and they’re all on the bloody Dole”

Yeah, like Russel Crowe…

There are more kiwi’s in Oz than NZ
Yes and they’re all on the bloody Dole

“Did ya’ll know Dunedin is actually the real name for Edinburgh

Ie the gaelic word for Edinburgh”

Actually we are told here that “Dun Edin” means literally South Edinburgh and that its proper translation is Edinburgh of the South. The area was largely settled by the Scots quite some time ago. In fact it was money from Dunedin via Central Otago gold that actually built Auckland… though they seem to have forgotten that.

“And how many billion Sheep? Something like 16Million?”

Actually from memory I think it was something like 30 million… less than half the number Australia has.

The Scottish comedian Billy Connolly married a Kiwi… Pamela Stephenson (spelling). I have heard a tape of his talking about the scots… they came originaly from Ireland and one of his ancestors pointed north to the rain and wind and said lets go that way… and all through this skit he talks about everywhere the Scots have setting in the various countries it has always been to wet and windy places. He mentions Dunedin in the skit… he said something like “and in New Zealand you go to the North Island and it is beautiful weather, and half dressed beautiful native girls… where did the scots go… way down south to Dunedin in the wind and the cold”. Blah blah blah.

I have to agree that the weather here is quite changeable, but as I mentioned above in a previous post out climate is quite mild… we don’t take out farm animals inside at night… of course with most sheep or dairy farms here have several thousand animals on them… the little farmer fred outfits in Europe with a dozen sheep or so just wouldn’t work here… our farmers get no subsidies, and very few breaks regarding exports.

Of course even I have to admit to the foolish belief that the further south you go the colder it gets. Every time I have been south to Invercargil or even further to Stewart Island I have gotten sunburnt and the weather has been wonderful. I normally don’t mention it to Those in the North Island… if they knew how nice it was down here and how cheap it was to live they might come down here!!!! and it just wouldn’t be the same.

(I can tell you though… tourists are OK… 🙂 )

“”Don’t” the bloody place is full of Kiwi’s”

Hahahaha… you and me both know there are more Kiwis in Oz than in NZ… and you like it too.

What’s wrong with Kiwi’s Steve? You guys beat them in the Rugby World Cup before losing to England, so in theory, you can’t be mad at them. Had they beaten you, then it would be ok.

Originally posted by greekdude1
I’ve stopped in AKL numerous times en route to Australia, but never left the airport. I will one of these times. I like the greenery.

“Don’t” the bloody place is full of Kiwi’s

Did ya’ll know Dunedin is actually the real name for Edinburgh

Ie the gaelic word for Edinburgh

Bit of trivia there 😉

Originally posted by GarryB
The population difference is rather stark… about 60 million in the UK compared to about 4 million in NZ, with about 2/3rds of those 4 million living in the North Island.

And how many billion Sheep? Something like 16Million? 😉

I’ve stopped in AKL numerous times en route to Australia, but never left the airport. I will one of these times. I like the greenery.

If you put us in the northern hemishpere we would be about the mediterrainian… we are half way between the equator and the south pole. Because we are surrounded by water we don’t get very hot or very cold usually and have quite a mild climate.

Ask anyone from the north island of New Zealand and down here in the south it is cold and wet. Of course ask someone who actually checks the stats and you will find that Auckland gets more than three times more rain than we do here in Dunedin.

The temperature two days ago was 38 degrees Celcius. Ths is very unusual, though it is summer here now. Normally it is 20-30 over summer and 6-15 over winter. Near sea level it might snow once or twice every two years. It is fairly rare for the snow to last more than a day (normally it snows overnight and by lunch time it has all melted away.). In higher country like Central Otago there is much more snow during winter and some great ski fields. The temperatures up there are higher in summer and lower in winter than at sea level. The North Island has lots of people with the largest population centre (Auckland) and the capital and government centre (Wellington), while the South Island is mostly open space with a few cities and lots of country to explore and enjoy… do I sound like an advertisement yet? 🙂

To put it in perspective New Zealand is roughly the same size as the UK, though the UK is further north than NZ is south (ie 41 degrees South for NZ vs 54 degrees North for the UK).
The population difference is rather stark… about 60 million in the UK compared to about 4 million in NZ, with about 2/3rds of those 4 million living in the North Island.

What is the weather like down there? Did you fly Air New Zealand getting there, as well?

Yea Air NZ mostly operate service between the mains towns of Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin, Rotorua, Hamilton and the rest is served by Air NZ link!

Lucky you 🙂