New Zealand
- Thread starter Lanolin
- Start date
I wonder if there will be a form of transport that will supercede the jet engine one day.
I mean so much for the golden age of railway...that's long over.
I kinda just like walking using my own two legs though. Seems like a novel form of transport for many people though. In NZ the most popular pastime is simply walking.
You go to a bookshop and there's all these books about New Zealand but the ones people most want to read are the ones that show you where you can walk. I've walked from one coast to another in Auckland and it took a day. It was a pleasant stroll.
I mean so much for the golden age of railway...that's long over.
I kinda just like walking using my own two legs though. Seems like a novel form of transport for many people though. In NZ the most popular pastime is simply walking.
You go to a bookshop and there's all these books about New Zealand but the ones people most want to read are the ones that show you where you can walk. I've walked from one coast to another in Auckland and it took a day. It was a pleasant stroll.
Hello Lanolin;
Can we say walking is a lost art? I can imagine between the park and beach in Auckland walking can be a great way to spend the day. Even while visiting Stewart Island.
Over here just to drop a letter in the mailbox can be a line of cars because many don't want to walk 1 or 2 blocks.
Back in May this year my uncle was visiting from San Diego and we walked along the beach by the Golden Gate Bridge. It went by so fast because we had a great conversation.
I walk to school whenever I can (if not raining or carrying loads of books), walk to the shops, the doctors, to the park/garden, the library.
I think in some parts of the world everything is so motorised that people just get habituated to their cars even when they do NOT need them.
The only place where you can drive your car along the beach (it's a highway) in NZ is 90 mile beach - which is not actually 90 miles long, but still quite long. On some beaches you can ride horses or sail land yachts. But mostly people walk on the beach. You are never that far from the beach anywhere in New Zealand. It's a long and narrow bunch of islands for the most part.
I can go to both east and west coast beaches. Though the West coast ones are nearer to me. They have black sand - iron sand. And wild surf. The eastern beaches and bays are more sheltered.
I think in some parts of the world everything is so motorised that people just get habituated to their cars even when they do NOT need them.
The only place where you can drive your car along the beach (it's a highway) in NZ is 90 mile beach - which is not actually 90 miles long, but still quite long. On some beaches you can ride horses or sail land yachts. But mostly people walk on the beach. You are never that far from the beach anywhere in New Zealand. It's a long and narrow bunch of islands for the most part.
I can go to both east and west coast beaches. Though the West coast ones are nearer to me. They have black sand - iron sand. And wild surf. The eastern beaches and bays are more sheltered.
Here's a picture of me from almost twenty years ago when I visited NZ. I'm giving my best "Captain Kirk" pose while visiting the island of Rangitoto just north of Auckland.
Its fun island hopping - did you go up to the Bay of Islands?
I'm hoping to get to Waiheke Island this summer. The ferry is free for over 65s with a Gold Card, as is all train and bus rides after 9am. However us under 65s have to pay!
Many of the Islands are now bird sanctuaries because the dogs and farm livestock have wrecked havoc in the forests on the mainland. I wondered why not just ban dogs and then the native wildlife (and kiwis) will return. But no.
Personally I can't see much use for dogs. lol
I'm hoping to get to Waiheke Island this summer. The ferry is free for over 65s with a Gold Card, as is all train and bus rides after 9am. However us under 65s have to pay!
Many of the Islands are now bird sanctuaries because the dogs and farm livestock have wrecked havoc in the forests on the mainland. I wondered why not just ban dogs and then the native wildlife (and kiwis) will return. But no.
Personally I can't see much use for dogs. lol
I've been to Christchurch, New Zealand! I lived on 3-9 Hume St. It was fun. I had to get used to cars driving on the left hand side of the road. I love the accents there. You're almost a day ahead of us in time and your seasons are opposite ours.
The funny thing about New Zealand is that being a small nation the powers that be are always trying to imitate the bigger ones and pretending we are bigger than we really are.
For example, in local govt they are always going on about trying to make Auckland more like Melbourne, and it being named 'the worlds most livable city' which is a bit of a joke, because its livable only to those who can afford to live there - which is now being sold out to rich foreigners - not the Aucklanders themselves. Now people are being crammed into apartment buildings instead of being overcrowded in suburban houses as nobody has thought to perhaps just build another town and provide jobs instead of making Auckland even more congested and crowded.
The former prime minister John Key tried to change NZ's flag...he thought it looked too much like Australia's and that we were always getting confused with them. So he made a big referendum costing millions of dollars to put it to the vote. NZers voted to keep the exisiting one as none of the other designs appealed. Most people said why doesn't Australia just change THEIRS.
Many NZers decide that its just not working out for them here with the lack of jobs etc and move to Australia, who's economy has more thanks to larger population. Ultimatey NZ is just going to be swallowed up by multinational corporations, and will probably get sold off to the highest bidder....as is the way of the world.
For example, in local govt they are always going on about trying to make Auckland more like Melbourne, and it being named 'the worlds most livable city' which is a bit of a joke, because its livable only to those who can afford to live there - which is now being sold out to rich foreigners - not the Aucklanders themselves. Now people are being crammed into apartment buildings instead of being overcrowded in suburban houses as nobody has thought to perhaps just build another town and provide jobs instead of making Auckland even more congested and crowded.
The former prime minister John Key tried to change NZ's flag...he thought it looked too much like Australia's and that we were always getting confused with them. So he made a big referendum costing millions of dollars to put it to the vote. NZers voted to keep the exisiting one as none of the other designs appealed. Most people said why doesn't Australia just change THEIRS.
Many NZers decide that its just not working out for them here with the lack of jobs etc and move to Australia, who's economy has more thanks to larger population. Ultimatey NZ is just going to be swallowed up by multinational corporations, and will probably get sold off to the highest bidder....as is the way of the world.
I do remember when someone in govt mooted the idea that NZers should swap driving to the right hand side of the road, just to be like other nations.
Everyone was like what are you nuts.
It's a bit strange that all the time, people want to imitate what other nations are doing, instead of thinking of local solutions to local issues.
Or maybe not so strange, it's usually people not born in NZ, aka whinging poms that complain that its not like how they are used to in England.
Well obviously it's not...but they somehow expect it to be?!
I don't hear Maori complaining that they can't grow taro and coconut and breadfruit cos its too cold and trying to change the weather to make it more like where they came from originally. Or the Chinese saying they want the cities to be more crowded like in their homeland.
But for some reason, probably a vestige of the old rule Britannia, the Brits still want to impose their own rules on a nation that is only 200 years old from when they came here and make it into a model Little Britain.
Everyone was like what are you nuts.
It's a bit strange that all the time, people want to imitate what other nations are doing, instead of thinking of local solutions to local issues.
Or maybe not so strange, it's usually people not born in NZ, aka whinging poms that complain that its not like how they are used to in England.
Well obviously it's not...but they somehow expect it to be?!
I don't hear Maori complaining that they can't grow taro and coconut and breadfruit cos its too cold and trying to change the weather to make it more like where they came from originally. Or the Chinese saying they want the cities to be more crowded like in their homeland.
But for some reason, probably a vestige of the old rule Britannia, the Brits still want to impose their own rules on a nation that is only 200 years old from when they came here and make it into a model Little Britain.
I found this book called Ruach Aotearoa A call to radical prayer by Lyn Isaac.
It's about the spiritual state of the nation.
I often read about stuff that going on in my country, there are enough books flooding in the bookshops and libraries about the US's or Australia's problems. I think its because we are nearer to those english speaking nations and tend to get all their books because the cost of getting them from the UK is a lot delivery-wise.
I'm still reading another called Twelve Thousand Hours Education and Poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The thing is tourism nz only shows you the rich part of NZ. For many people, they are living in poverty. They can hardly afford to see the country the rich people see, or stay in the hotels. Actually most of the hotels have now been converted to accomodation for the homeless because we don't have enough homes for everyone who lives here, and the ones we have are badly insulated, damp and rotting.
For children, who have no choice, many would go to school hungry, no shoes, no money to buy stationery, perhaps sharing uniforms even when both parents are working all hours just to pay rent.
Secure, steady, well paid jobs are hard to find. That is the reality. A lot of people shut out of the workforce because competition is quite fierce for a decent job, will just turn to crime or hustling to pay the bills. Drug running is far more lucrative. One of my cousins is a drug runner for a pharmacy company, gets her own company car and it pays here well enough that she can now afford a house. She could have been a doctor but the doctors get snapped up by hospitals that pay more overseas. My doctor brother is now working in Australia.
Yes it is easy to start a business here but harder to sustain it and the market here is a lot smaller than other countries. Plus the wealthy here would get their luxury goods imported from overseas anyway. We could build a super yacht for you though.
It's about the spiritual state of the nation.
I often read about stuff that going on in my country, there are enough books flooding in the bookshops and libraries about the US's or Australia's problems. I think its because we are nearer to those english speaking nations and tend to get all their books because the cost of getting them from the UK is a lot delivery-wise.
I'm still reading another called Twelve Thousand Hours Education and Poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The thing is tourism nz only shows you the rich part of NZ. For many people, they are living in poverty. They can hardly afford to see the country the rich people see, or stay in the hotels. Actually most of the hotels have now been converted to accomodation for the homeless because we don't have enough homes for everyone who lives here, and the ones we have are badly insulated, damp and rotting.
For children, who have no choice, many would go to school hungry, no shoes, no money to buy stationery, perhaps sharing uniforms even when both parents are working all hours just to pay rent.
Secure, steady, well paid jobs are hard to find. That is the reality. A lot of people shut out of the workforce because competition is quite fierce for a decent job, will just turn to crime or hustling to pay the bills. Drug running is far more lucrative. One of my cousins is a drug runner for a pharmacy company, gets her own company car and it pays here well enough that she can now afford a house. She could have been a doctor but the doctors get snapped up by hospitals that pay more overseas. My doctor brother is now working in Australia.
Yes it is easy to start a business here but harder to sustain it and the market here is a lot smaller than other countries. Plus the wealthy here would get their luxury goods imported from overseas anyway. We could build a super yacht for you though.
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Speaking of walking..in the school holidays I join in with a Quaker walking group. We just walk around Auckland for the morning, have a cuppa at a cafe and then go home. It's great fun and we get to see different places together.
I know Baptists have tramping clubs where they do more serious walking (or hiking) in the forests.
You can walk the length of New Zealand now there is a now a designated walkway or trail. It's called Te Araroa
There are 10 great walks in nz that you can do and can stay in DOC huts along the way.
Walking is not a lost art in NZ, people are serious about it here. Near me there's a Hillary trail, named after Sir Edmund Hillary. He's on the $5 note. He climbed Mt Everest with Tenzing Norgay in Nepal. We celebrate our mountain climbers, walkers and runners.
Even our cyclists, and boy racers (maybe not such a good thing?!) there's a school named after a car racer called Bruce Maclaren. Unfortunately cars have taken over a lot of places with their noisy and polluting ways. Thanks Henry Ford for that invention...! Almost every boy in nz is obsessed with some form of transport or other - with my dad it's trams and buses, my brothers, yachts and vintage cars. There are transport and car museums. There's always car rallies or some sort of car related event. But what most people don't talk about is the huge road toll we have. People (and animals) die on our roads. They aren't safe for any pedestrian.
I know Baptists have tramping clubs where they do more serious walking (or hiking) in the forests.
You can walk the length of New Zealand now there is a now a designated walkway or trail. It's called Te Araroa
There are 10 great walks in nz that you can do and can stay in DOC huts along the way.
Walking is not a lost art in NZ, people are serious about it here. Near me there's a Hillary trail, named after Sir Edmund Hillary. He's on the $5 note. He climbed Mt Everest with Tenzing Norgay in Nepal. We celebrate our mountain climbers, walkers and runners.
Even our cyclists, and boy racers (maybe not such a good thing?!) there's a school named after a car racer called Bruce Maclaren. Unfortunately cars have taken over a lot of places with their noisy and polluting ways. Thanks Henry Ford for that invention...! Almost every boy in nz is obsessed with some form of transport or other - with my dad it's trams and buses, my brothers, yachts and vintage cars. There are transport and car museums. There's always car rallies or some sort of car related event. But what most people don't talk about is the huge road toll we have. People (and animals) die on our roads. They aren't safe for any pedestrian.
I'm going to be a rich tourist, I already bought a copy of a new book called New Zealand Gardens to Visit and I'm planning in doing a garden ramble (locally) and visit 8 different gardens, all the money from ticket sales goes to charity - the Hospice who look after the dying free of charge.
In my garden club we do visit each others gardens from time to time, but mostly we do trips every year to different gardens that are open to us.
Every town has a Garden Festival of some kind usually in November. But the season extends to March up north.
There are also many free public gardens open to visit any time of year.
In my garden club we do visit each others gardens from time to time, but mostly we do trips every year to different gardens that are open to us.
Every town has a Garden Festival of some kind usually in November. But the season extends to March up north.
There are also many free public gardens open to visit any time of year.
Kiwi Peter Jackson.
Lord of the rings director.
Great films
And he gave half a million to embryonic stem cell research
Lord of the rings director.
Great films
And he gave half a million to embryonic stem cell researchThis brings back memories. I recognize these streets. 
A classic kiwi road movie is Goodbye Pork Pie.
Some other NZ movies to catch (not just Lord of the Rings! ) - The Piano, Whale Rider, Once were Warriors, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Boy, Whina, Heavenly Creatures, Cousins, An Angel at My Table, Scarfies, Alex
Many non-nz films are filmed in NZ too - Bridge to Terabithia, Sylvia, Samurai, Power of the Dog, King Kong,
Some other NZ movies to catch (not just Lord of the Rings! ) - The Piano, Whale Rider, Once were Warriors, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Boy, Whina, Heavenly Creatures, Cousins, An Angel at My Table, Scarfies, Alex
Many non-nz films are filmed in NZ too - Bridge to Terabithia, Sylvia, Samurai, Power of the Dog, King Kong,
Who knew???
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Well I’m not much up on Māori Culture but the Māori certainly know how to make the most of their hero’s
Apparently that extra long winded word is the name of a hill or summit in new Zealand in which Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his kōauau(flute) to his loved one
Awesome! Longest place name in the world apparently.