Originally posted by Watt Dabney
Hi Alan,

Glad to see you are settling. I have just read your post out to Ian and he is gutted. He has been looking forward to MotoGP and did not realise it wasn't going to be on as it was on last year (he is doing a lot of muttering as i type this). I will just have to get my mum to tape it and send it over from the Uk, along with the Robot Wars she already tapes for Jack. If we can arrange it I can send the tapes on to you after if you want.
Ian is selling his bike at the moment, don't know anyone who wants to buy an immaculate ZRX1100 do you? We are doing a bit of finacial juggling but hopefully he won't be bikeless for long. Looking into bringing over my step-dads Ducati Mike Hailwood replica which needs some TLC. Maybe race it for fun when its finished.
I'm looking to do a teacher aide course so hopefully I'll be earning soon too.

Take care

Paula

Originally posted by garrisondamn
Well, here we are still enjoying life in NZ, Nelson to be exact, what can I say except we don't regret it for a moment!

It was quite difficult to find our feet in the beginning, but we got there. Deciding on a location to settle in & then finding a house proved frustrating.
We decided to stay here in Nelson because it is such a beautiful area, but it is also one of the most expensive places to live, certainly as regard housing as the average price is about $300,000 so no chance there at the moment!
We all (3 of us) found good jobs within 2 months, which pay better money than we anticipated & in my job, I get to see alot of NZ, north island & south, which is nice, on a bike occasionaly too

The cost of living here, compared to UK is a little cheaper in our opinion, but some things we have found expensive.

The weather (in Nelson anyway) is way better than the UK, lovely sunny days (most of the time) although the humidity (like now) can be a bit much at times & the suns rays are very intense due to the lack of ozone! So it doesn't take long to be a lobster!
Winter (we came here at beginning of July) can still be cold, morning frosts, then mild days ave. about 10 degrees.

People are, on the whole, friendlier, you go to the bank & they ask how your day's been, which is nice, even if they don't really give a shit!
Public services however can prove to be just as frustrating as in UK, getting things sorted, like direct debits, Telecom, you know the sort of thing, can be a pain in the arse, they cock it up here too!!
The driving IS worse than UK, I ride a motorcycle & am very vunerable & aware to the crazy driving I've seen, they drive all over the road, tail-gating is a national sport! & no-one seems to know what the little orange lights on the sides of your car are for! Oh & the revenue intake for speeding fines must be the worlds highest, speed traps a plenty!

We work hard, if not harder than we did before, but life seems more chilled out somehow, the "lifestyle" is good, near the sea, near the mountains, different activities are on your doorstep.

Things seem more accessable here, I have started road racing my bike here, which would have eaten every last penny back home, but here its a fairly inexpensive hobby. Track days (if you're intersested) are about $50 per day!!!
Trail riding everywhere, sea kayaking, swimming, kite surfing, its all here. The countryside & scenery is stunning.

I miss my family & friends & occasionaly some things about England, I wish it wasn't so far away. Other trivial things too, TV is not as good (SKY) sad I know, but I love my motorcycle racing & they're not going to show MotoGP this year, I'm gutted!!!

Mind you, the commercials are hilarious & near the knukle too, so is the radio, which is better here, long live "The Rock FM"
Beers good & cheap too.

But hey, its a small price to pay for what we have, we love it here so far & I know that we are not past the "holiday stage" yet, but we are all working long hrs (inc weekends) and have only had stat days off so far, but are still enjoying life, things are not perfect, what is?

So for those of you who are thinking about it, all I can say is give it a go, what have you got to lose? apart from your life savings, your job, your house
We said **** it, lets do it! & here we are.
But this is just my view, goodnight!, sleep tight & don't let the White-tails bite!

Originally posted by garrisondamn
Hi Paula, long time no see! We came to Ch/ch a couple of months ago & stayed at Woodend beach campsite. We called into Kaiapoi & knocked on yer door, but you were out. We could hear the speedway at Woodford Glen, so we guessed that was where you were.
Should be down your way soon for more racing, so will call in.
If you could pass the MotoGP tapes onto me, that would be GRRREATTTT!!!!!!
It is a real blow about Sky not showing it, Ian can voice his opinion to Sky about it (like I did) by going to http://www.silver-bullet.co.nz/ and look for the links.

Good luck with the teaching & just holler if you need a rider to race that Hailwood rep!!!

Originally posted by Gingacaz
Hmm... thought as much!

Met the real Gazza a couple of years ago at York races. My mate asked for his telephone number & he wrote it on her hand. Called later - and it was Jimmy 5 Bellies!

Won't get to bump into many celebs in NZ - except Michael Barrymore. He got in because of his Kiwi male partner - perhaps you could try THAT route?!