For a few weeks now Georgia has been getting more and more excited about school camp. She and 59 other classmates are off to Huntly on the West Coast to Lakewood Lodge. They would be enjoying 4 days of out door fun including an overnight survival, fire building and cooking on it, horse riding, kayaking, swimming and orienteering plus the all important disco and Singstar challenge. Of course being away from home with your friends, having midnight feasts and toasting marshmallows are the main attractions - a 3 night sleep over - great!
So we decided that while the child is away the adults should play so we booked a hotel in Auckland, jumped in the car and headed off for a couple of days in the capital city. By European standards Auckland is small, tiny even but compared to Mount Maunganui its a metropolis. People, noise, big shops, office tower blocks, central Parks. Like most, if not all, towns and cities in New Zealand though, it is lacking a centre, or heart. European cities grow from the inside out around a central market place, but New Zealand cities tend to be extended main streets stretching out in a long line. There is the usual Central Business District but its not quite the same.
Anyway, the weather was beautiful so we were going to make the most of it and being just the 2 of us made a nice change. When you are away with children, you tend to look for somewhere to go and something to do - the zoo, a museum, a park, whatever, but when you're on your own its a refreshing change just to wander about, nipping in the odd pub (I mean odd pubs), browse the shops without buying anything or just sitting in the park chilling with out being asked 'what are we going to do now'. So we probably would have gone to the zoo and the museum had Georgia been with us but we will save that for the next visit when shes with us.
The marina in Auckland was quite recently revamped and tarted up very nicely to host the Americas cup. No matter where you are in the world marinas have a peaceful, tranquil feel and Aucklands is no exception. Huge cruise liners dock alongside million dollar launches as well as more modest craft and because the marina is right on the edge of the city and the city is on the edge of the sea the passengers of the liners have the great advantage of actually walking off the gangplank and straight into town.
We got on one of the town buses to Parnel, a small suburb. Its very pretty with boutique shops, bars and cafes. Lots of cobbled paths and hanging flower baskets over shop windows. Very quaint, very expensive. We did manage to stumble on the token Irish bar though with the wonderfully appealing name 'The Bog'.
Well a couple of hours later back to the hotel then out to hit the night life. Lots of people about, we follow the crowds but they all seem to be going home. Its only 9pm! Oh well, this pub looks ok......
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
bikes and burns
The weather is warming up now as we move into summer so we took it upon ourselves to dust off the push bikes and go for a pedal today. I have a great aversion to cycling up hill so we headed out to Papamoa mainly because it is the coast road which is very flat but also because there are lots of coffee stops on the way. The road really is the road to nowhere, just one long stretch of tarmac ending at a farm gate with a sign telling you to turn round and go back the way you came.
We started from the Mount and cycled past the dunes which are particularly pretty at this time of year with the dune flowers out in bloom. After what must have been at least 2 hours but turned out to be 20 minutes we stopped at Fashion Island for our first caffeine intake.
Million dollar houses sit on both sides of the road, some almost on the beach. Some of these houses are very strange looking, individually designed by private architects with windows in odd places to ensure a view or peep of the sea even if this means towers on top of 3 storeys. New Zealanders will go to great lengths to ensure a house by the beach even if this means living in a house built in someones back yard.
Heading on to Papamoa East houses become smaller with much more space between neighbours. Its a very peaceful and relaxed almost sleepy district.
We eventually reached the ominous farm gate and turned round to head back for lunch at a roadside cafe then of course back to Fashion Island for another coffee.
Our legs and butts were aching by now so we had a rest on the beach and watched a couple of fishermen using one of those remote controlled fishing lines (seems a bit of a cheat to me) then cycled back home.
The air temperature was very pleasant all day and we didn't get over heated but we had become victims of the fierce sun. After the 30km round trip we both did excellent impressions of red and white pandas. Fortunately after a couple of pints of Murphy's Red we were convinced we looked sort of 'rugged' and 'out doorsy'.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
house sitting?
Moving permanently to another country is a big step, we all know that. For a lot of people who consider the move; the upheaval, hassle and leaving behind the comfort zone is just too much and never actually take the step. But perhaps that could be something they might regret later on in life.
The only way to know what it is like to live in another country is to actually do it. But how do you know if you will like the area you have chosen without committing to either buying or renting a house or apartment? No matter how many hours you spend looking at places on the Internet it just isn't the same as living there.
Renting is pretty easy in New Zealand and a good option before deciding where you would like to live. Lots of nice rental accommodation is available both furnished and unfurnished, long term and short term. But have you ever considered house sitting? This is something I hadn't really heard of before we lived in New Zealand but it is very popular here. You live in someone else's house while they are away, keeping the place clean and tidy, doing a few light jobs such as mowing the lawns and usually looking after the family pets. It doesn't cost you anything except your utility bill usage and can be for anything from a week to 6 months or more.
Our friends Norman and Linda have house sat a few of times here and has been a great success for them. One place they looked after for a couple of weeks was up in the hills just out of town in a lovely house set in pretty gardens with spectacular views all round. They had to look after the dog and cat and feed the chickens. Norman kept the lawns nice and they had fresh eggs for breakfast everyday. How hard is that? What they gained from the experience was that, although it was nice to live in a quiet rural area they wouldn't want to do it permanently. Valuable experience for them. A bit like try before you buy.
I decided to investigate this further and discovered that house sitting is available all over the world.
It could be the perfect option for 'living' in an area in a non-committal way before taking the permanent plunge.
The house Norman and Linda house sat had a horse paddock
Beautiful views from the deck
Georgia getting a lesson on chook keeping from Norman
Below - looking after Rosie the dog was part of the house sit deal. She was lovely!
The only way to know what it is like to live in another country is to actually do it. But how do you know if you will like the area you have chosen without committing to either buying or renting a house or apartment? No matter how many hours you spend looking at places on the Internet it just isn't the same as living there.
Renting is pretty easy in New Zealand and a good option before deciding where you would like to live. Lots of nice rental accommodation is available both furnished and unfurnished, long term and short term. But have you ever considered house sitting? This is something I hadn't really heard of before we lived in New Zealand but it is very popular here. You live in someone else's house while they are away, keeping the place clean and tidy, doing a few light jobs such as mowing the lawns and usually looking after the family pets. It doesn't cost you anything except your utility bill usage and can be for anything from a week to 6 months or more.
Our friends Norman and Linda have house sat a few of times here and has been a great success for them. One place they looked after for a couple of weeks was up in the hills just out of town in a lovely house set in pretty gardens with spectacular views all round. They had to look after the dog and cat and feed the chickens. Norman kept the lawns nice and they had fresh eggs for breakfast everyday. How hard is that? What they gained from the experience was that, although it was nice to live in a quiet rural area they wouldn't want to do it permanently. Valuable experience for them. A bit like try before you buy.
I decided to investigate this further and discovered that house sitting is available all over the world.
It could be the perfect option for 'living' in an area in a non-committal way before taking the permanent plunge.
The house Norman and Linda house sat had a horse paddock
Beautiful views from the deck
Georgia getting a lesson on chook keeping from Norman
Below - looking after Rosie the dog was part of the house sit deal. She was lovely!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Orca on the beach
There was huge excitement on the beach at Papamoa today. A huge whale (named Nobbie, for some reason) was washed up and stranded on the beach. Loads of people rushed to help it. I've never seen one of these creatures so close up and he was HUGE! The only beached whales I've ever seen are the 2 legged variety, usually pink and on the Mediterranean beach.
Anyway, Nobbie was desperately trying to breathe and volunteers were trying to keep him wet with buckets of sea water. Someone dashed off and brought some blankets and quilt covers to protect him from drying out and he looked very smart in the blue flowery one you can see in the photo. A digger was called in and dug out a trench ready for the tide to turn and take him back out to sea. Apparently he was chasing a sting ray and got stuck on a sand bank as the tide was going out. It was a thrill to see him swim off again safe and sound and probably not too badly affected by his ordeal. But as I've said so many times before, its events like this that give me more reason to keep out of the sea.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
investing in property
Having lived in New Zealand now for almost 5 years I am often asked if I have bought a house yet. It seems that you can't be settled properly if you don't own a property and lain down 'roots'. Well, we have settled here but haven't bought our own property and to be honest I don't think I ever would. New Zealand houses are way over priced for what they are and mortgage rates are far too high.
At the moment we rent a lovely sunny town house 2 minutes walk from the beach, shops, pubs and our workplace. We pay our rent each week and enjoy hassle free living without the millstones of mortgage repayments, repairs, DIY etc.
But I do believe that property can be an excellent investment and that a lot of profit can be made in a relatively short time if you choose the investment wisely.
With that in mind I have bought a beautiful brand new villa off plan in Brazil. (See picture above) Why Brazil, I hear you say! Well Brazil is fast becoming a very popular holiday destination especially in the North East near the city of Recife. We have a lot of lovely Brazilian friends in New Zealand and all of them agree this part of Brazil is very beautiful, extremely safe with a relatively cheap cost of living. There is an international airport just been built close by as well as golf courses and of course fantastic beaches. The villa is on a complex being built right on the beach front - one of the first in the area. Property prices are already increasing by 20% each year and as I got an excellent price on the villa I know that once its built (work starts 2009) and I resell I will make a very handsome profit.
The bargain prices are obviously limited to buy off plan so if you are interested then you would need to have a look now.
I am very excited that I have got in on something big at the start. Having never done anything like this before I was impressed with the way this firm helped me through the legal processes of purchasing Investment Bonds then property. It was quick, easy and not stressful at all.
So move over pizza shop I'm a property investor now!!
food for kids
With summer now on its way business in our pizza shop is on the up again. More families and visitors are heading to the Mount at the weekends. This is great for us and signals more good times ahead but with the increase in people comes the endless round of the same questions I get asked every year...'do you sell phone cards?'....'what time do the buses run to town?'...'do you do fish and chips?'....'are you from Ireland?' and my favourite 'what food do you do for children?'
I answer these questions pleasantly and to the best of my knowledge but the last one never fails to amuse me.
In our shop we have a wide range of pizzas, paninis, toasted sandwiches and burgers. We don't do anything fried and we use fresh ingredients for all the recipes. I make the pizza dough from scratch and make the burgers with fresh mince from the local butchers shop.
When a family of say 2 adults and 3 children come in to order dinner, Mum and Dad usually select a pizza each or a hot meat roll, the oldest child will maybe have a pizza, the middle one a burger but when it comes to the youngest out pops the question 'what do you have for kids?'
'Well, what does she like?' I say
'Oh, the usual things that kids like' comes the reply.
'What about a toasted sandwich or a small Hawaiian pizza'
'Hmm...do you do hot chips?'
'No'
'Wedges?'
'No'
'Chicken nuggets?'
'No'
And so it goes on. Now the point is this - why do children have to have a different menu to everyone else? Why do adults happily choose fresh baked pizza for themselves then want their children to eat frozen reconstituted chicken mush deep fried in breadcrumbs full of fat and sugar?
I know that chips and chicken nuggets and other such things may seem like an easy option to the parents of a fussy child but if they are not conditioned to having different food to adults then they would expect just to have the same food and be willing to try more. There is no reason why children should eat 'kids food' its just the TV advertisers telling us thats what they want.
I answer these questions pleasantly and to the best of my knowledge but the last one never fails to amuse me.
In our shop we have a wide range of pizzas, paninis, toasted sandwiches and burgers. We don't do anything fried and we use fresh ingredients for all the recipes. I make the pizza dough from scratch and make the burgers with fresh mince from the local butchers shop.
When a family of say 2 adults and 3 children come in to order dinner, Mum and Dad usually select a pizza each or a hot meat roll, the oldest child will maybe have a pizza, the middle one a burger but when it comes to the youngest out pops the question 'what do you have for kids?'
'Well, what does she like?' I say
'Oh, the usual things that kids like' comes the reply.
'What about a toasted sandwich or a small Hawaiian pizza'
'Hmm...do you do hot chips?'
'No'
'Wedges?'
'No'
'Chicken nuggets?'
'No'
And so it goes on. Now the point is this - why do children have to have a different menu to everyone else? Why do adults happily choose fresh baked pizza for themselves then want their children to eat frozen reconstituted chicken mush deep fried in breadcrumbs full of fat and sugar?
I know that chips and chicken nuggets and other such things may seem like an easy option to the parents of a fussy child but if they are not conditioned to having different food to adults then they would expect just to have the same food and be willing to try more. There is no reason why children should eat 'kids food' its just the TV advertisers telling us thats what they want.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Banking - the big rip off
Its not very often I read books on financial matters. In fact I don't think I had ever read one previous to a little book called 'At What Cost' by Robert Anderson. Michael got it from the library the other day and as it was small, with big text and cartoon pictures in it I thought I would have a read through.
It was pretty interesting I can tell you!
It gave a basic insight on the huge scam that we are all being conned by the big world bankers to ensure countries and the people are crippled by debt. Debt is of course the way we are are being controlled. We want things so we have to work, pay tax, borrow more, pay interest, work more, pay more etc. etc
I have often wondered why the Government can't just print more money for public projects or infrastructure and apparently they can but the foreign banks insist that the Governments borrow money off them at huge interest rates. Why do the Governments do this? Well basically because the banks own the Governments and they ensure that the leaders are bought and sold before they go on to 'lead' the country.
New Zealand was one of the last countries to have independent banking right up until the 1980's when the Labour Government came into power and sold off the small independent banks to the big boys such as ANZ and Westpack.
Up until this time New Zealand financed its own money lending and interest on loans was kept within the country to the benefit of everyone. Now it borrows from foreign banks and pays back obscene amounts of interest to them and of course we pay for that with increased food and petrol prices and high taxes. It just doesn't make sense.
But it is one of those situations where you feel a bit powerless. What can be done about it? I suppose awareness is a start.
A lot of British people come to New Zealand unaware of the taxation system here with its no free pay and high interest rates on mortgages and loans and then to discover that the reason for it is to pay off unnecessary interest to international banks is tragic.
It was pretty interesting I can tell you!
It gave a basic insight on the huge scam that we are all being conned by the big world bankers to ensure countries and the people are crippled by debt. Debt is of course the way we are are being controlled. We want things so we have to work, pay tax, borrow more, pay interest, work more, pay more etc. etc
I have often wondered why the Government can't just print more money for public projects or infrastructure and apparently they can but the foreign banks insist that the Governments borrow money off them at huge interest rates. Why do the Governments do this? Well basically because the banks own the Governments and they ensure that the leaders are bought and sold before they go on to 'lead' the country.
New Zealand was one of the last countries to have independent banking right up until the 1980's when the Labour Government came into power and sold off the small independent banks to the big boys such as ANZ and Westpack.
Up until this time New Zealand financed its own money lending and interest on loans was kept within the country to the benefit of everyone. Now it borrows from foreign banks and pays back obscene amounts of interest to them and of course we pay for that with increased food and petrol prices and high taxes. It just doesn't make sense.
But it is one of those situations where you feel a bit powerless. What can be done about it? I suppose awareness is a start.
A lot of British people come to New Zealand unaware of the taxation system here with its no free pay and high interest rates on mortgages and loans and then to discover that the reason for it is to pay off unnecessary interest to international banks is tragic.
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