brussels_sprout

On the good side - FREE Public Toilets everywhere - Clean and working as you would expect (you must pay $$$$ for a pee even in Macdonalds in Brussels )!!!

On bad side - Shops close at 2 pm on Saturdays, Many bars, cafes close early at 5-6 pm at least here in Nelson and Motueka, everyone goes shopping on Friday evenings and Saturday morning

sky

I was sat in the pub at 9.25pm last night (I made a note of the time) and they were mopping and vacuuming up around us

brussels_sprout

Hehe , yes, i was in the Interisland ferry terminal and the cafe closed in the departure terminal 1 hour before the ferry left, just as everyone was arriving thirsty to catch the ferry

sky

Have you noticed most of the toilet paper is scented here without having to pay big bucks for it ... just one observation that I really liked .
I love the little differences, don't you

happynz

I was pleasantly surprised that a single scoop here is a double or triple elsewhere in the world. Huge massive scoops of the best ice-cream anywhere and only something like NZD$1.20 at many dairies around the country. Lucky I watch what I eat or I'd be a real tub of goo here, easy.

sky

Washing machines are musical .... mine is anyways

happynz

True enough. Our two budgies and one cockatiel get especially active chirping and squawking when the front loader is on the spin-cycle.

brussels_sprout

Yeah i noticed that , that would be the number 2 choice of pleasant unexpected things, i thought that the Dairy owner had made a mistake at first, a TipTop cone in a dairy costs 1 NZD here, huge and very tasty too, "Hokey Pokey", is a unique NZ-Oz flavour of Vanilla with pieces of cinder toffee
Away from cold things, in the Fish and Chip shops "Fush and Chups", real parwa patties, blue cod, battered mussels, John Dory fish are excelent, try not to buy the "Rigg" which is basically Shark cartillage !
Bad unexpected things is the pricing of Mobile telephones, costs very high and the credits only last 3 months

But they are just small things after all

sky

Having mates who give you a huge frozen bag of white bait is nice and very unexpected ... even more so was me liking the taste of them in patties

Agreed on the icecream .. I love it but it's well fattening isn't it so steer clear, Rocky Road is my fave

brussels_sprout

Bizarrely, the supermarkets around here open at 7 am !! NZers evidently go to bed early

cherry

.

ERM is that before or after use

sky

They do, they're very obedient here, haven't you noticed?

sky

I went to play Housie (Bingo) the other night and non of the kiwis were drinking cos they were just concentrating on winning ffs!

sky

Not that I ever played Bingo much in the UK you understand ... I'm far too cool to do that
I just was amazed that it was so serious and no fun or chat was to be had

Andrew Cross

Ah bingo, I used to love playing it with my mum. Time to chill out with no kids and have a natter and a bicardi and coke....lol

I love the fact that I can park in the malls and carparks and dont need to pay, no worrying if I have enough change...
Coca cola is cheap, in pak n save it was 99c for a 1.5L bottle which is roughly 30 odd pence.