New Zealand - 100 % scary!

Australia has a fairly well-deserved international reputation as a land of danger. After all, there are venomous snakes, red-back spiders, people-eating crocodiles, boxing kangaroos, stingers and sharks.
When we first arrived in NZ, I was rewarded with huge admiration from Miss 6’s friends when I fearlessly scrambled under a flight of stairs to retrieve a toy they’d dropped.
“But there are loads of spiders under there,” they said breathlessly. But who cared? It wasn’t as if there were funnelwebs, redbacks, or snakes to worry about! I would never have been so brave back home...
In the same way, Missy also received much praise when she calmly dealt with a cockroach that ran across a desk at school one day. The rest of her friends were screaming and running for cover, as she casually flicked it away from them.
“We get much bigger ones in Australia,” she explained.
And it’s true. Australia has a host of scary wildlife, and I breathe a sigh of relief whenever we're out walking that I don’t have to watch out for snakes any more!
But as the months fly by, New Zealand is sharing a few of her own scary secrets.
A few weeks ago, beaches on the North Shore were closed after five dogs died after licking rocks on the shoreline. Dead penguins and hundreds of fish also washed up on the beaches.
Tests have been done, and at this stage the experts believe the mass poisonings are due to tetrodotoxin, a poison found in puffer fish. The beaches are still off-limits while they work out exactly how the poison is getting there.
More recently, deadly porcupine fish have washed up on the Petone foreshore on the South Island. Again, the beach is now closed to kids and dogs, because the fish are toxic.
And in May, the deaths of hundreds of Ray's bream and snapper on a 60-kilometre stretch of Kapiti Coast beach were linked to wild seas pushing the fish from their normal depth.
And that’s not all. Lately, there seems to be an earthquake or avalanche every week somewhere in New Zealand. Though most of them are thankfully mild, there have sadly been some deaths, and some people have had to evacuate from the homes due to earthslips. Television ads frequently warn Kiwis to prepare emergency kits – non-perishable food, water, batteries, first aid kits etc – in the event of an earthquake or volcano eruption. We’re regularly reminded that a major disruption could occur at any time.
One of the kids’ favourite attractions at the Auckland Museum is a volcano eruption simulator. They squeal with delight as the earth shakes and moves, but to me, it’s just a little too lifelike!
Luckily, the worst disasters to engulf our family have probably been swine flu quarantine, and my busted hand. (By the way, thanks for the inquiries. It’s mending well, but I’m still having physio and have to wear a splint for a few hours a day. The physio involves dipping my hand into hot wax, which sounds weird, but feels gorgeous. The heat just seeps into the ligaments and bones, which makes them a bit stretchier when it comes to exercise them.)
Speaking of gorgeous, we've learned a little more about our kitty visitor - or "Catty" as H. calls her. She's a pet which was left behind, either accidentally or on purpose, when a family moved out (Hard to believe, isn't it?)
She's taken to following our complex manager around as he does his rounds, and divides the rest of her time between him, us, and a couple of other cat-loving families. She's been named Dora, after Dora the Explorer, because she is also exploring the complex and making friends. Whenever she is hungry, thirsty or needs company, she turns up on our doorstep and miaows to be let in!
Don't worry, if any of us move out, the manager and his family are happy to give Dora a permanent home.
Here she is, enjoying an afternoon snooze on H's bed...

Do the Hokey Pokey with C...

C. learned to make a New Zealand favourite at school this week – Hokey Pokey.
Kind of like our honeycomb but crisper, Hokey Pokey is an iconic sweet beloved by generations of Kiwi kids.
That afternoon, he rushed home to show off his new skills.
It was really too sweet for Husband and I (and probably the kids, for that matter), but his enthusiasm was infectious. And messy.
When K. got home that night, he took one look at our sweet-spattered kitchen and declared Hokey Pokey Making to be banned!
Speaking of school, the kids are officially on holidays as from this afternoon. They’re looking forward to a couple of weeks of play dates, swims, vacation care, and possibly a few trips and outings. (If they’re good!)
The last day of school each term is always great fun, with discos, games, videos and in C’s case, a shared lunch. I went all out making spaghetti muffins for his class, but predictably, he and H. declared them ‘gross’! (They were actually pretty nice. Honestly).
Anyway, C. went off quite happily with a Tupperware container full of mini pies, sausage rolls and quiches instead.
The kids have a special treat in school holiday time to look forward to: A visit to the school dentist! Yes, the dental van comes to the school during the break, rather than during school time as we’re used to.
C. has already had to go to another school’s dental clinic for an x-ray and a clean in preparation for the visit, and let me just say, I hope the mobile van is a little better equipped.
This one was like something out of my childhood, with daggy, old-fashioned chairs and equipment.
After the dentist scraped away the tarter and cleaned C’s teeth with that foul-tasting toothpaste they use, she gave him a glass to rinse with. He went to spit it out, like we do at the dentist at home …Except there was no sink like we’re used to! As C. looked around wildly, the dentist said calmly: “It’s okay, just drink it.” Eww.
I guess avoiding the dentist is another reason to consider limiting the making of and eating of Hokey Pokey at home!
And I couldn't leave without mentioning the ongoing Queenstown winter festival.
The latest attraction was a race where the participants wore their undies. As you do.
Check it out at http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2557487/Eyebrows-up-blowup-dolls-down-in-Undy-500

Spotted in Grey Lynn...Are they actually selling S**t, or is the sale just crap? Hokey Pokey - reminds me a bit of the previous photo for some reason...


The Masterchef in action - with Mastereater about to pounce!

He's such a good stirrer ...

Impressions of Auckland

Ready for school in their new T-shirts

So we’ve been here two months already, and everyone is asking what living in NZ is really like.

We’re still feeling our way really, but so far, so good.

Funnily enough, I had assumed that living in New Zealand would be very similar to life in Australia. And in some ways that’s true. We speak the same language, for example, and a lot of the foods are similar (in NZ, Kiwi Kids Are Weet Bix Kids)!

But so far I've found the culture and surroundings – have more in common with England than Australia. There are American influences too – for example, it appears that Halloween is celebrated here fairly widely, if the barrage of advertising and television programming is anything to go by.
School life is much the same...

I love the fact that there is water aplenty, and unlike drought-ravaged Brisbane, we can now enjoy guilt-free baths (well, at least until we get the electricity bill! We have an old-fashioned hot water system here, not a solar one!)

To my horror, wine is generally more expensive than at home, particularly cleanskins and boxes. But I’ve found the supermarkets often have fabulous specials that make it possible to drink nicer wine more often. The other day I stocked up on a couple of Jacobs Creek wines for NZ$6.99. I don’t think I’ve ever paid so little for Jacobs Creek wines at home!

Beer is slightly cheaper too. Kyle picked up a six-pack of Corona the other day for NZ$10.99.

Medical and pharmaceutical costs have been the real surprise. Our first doctors visits cost NZ$85, and a follow-up was $75. Many medical services that are bulk-billed at home, like x-rays and routine bloodwork, can cost hundreds here. And prescriptions and over the counter medicines are frightfully expensive. For example, kiddie panadol is more than twice the price. A simple 50-pack of paracetamol was on sale for NZ$9.99 yesterday (I used to pay AUS$2.99 at epharmacy for 100). And a ventolin was NZ$20 (I could get two for AUS$13 at home). Apparently costs come down once you’ve been with the same doctor for three months. But I hate to think how pensioners and people on low incomes survive. They literally can't afford to get sick!

The kids have really embraced the lifestyle and are happily making friends, which was one of our biggest concerns. But they still miss their friends and family back home, and often tell me to take a photo to put on the web so their loved ones can see what they've been up to.

They love getting phone calls and emails, so imagine their surprise yesterday when a parcel arrived from Grandma and Pa-pa.

They were so thrilled they insisted on wearing their new shirts to school today!

Home-wise, we’ve settled in well. Strangely, after all that downsizing and sorting out prior to our move, I wish we’d brought a few more things over. For example, all the lunchboxes came – but none of my pantry Tupperware. You know, usefull stuff like containers to store flour and sugar and cereal in. I don’t know how that happened!

And I wish we’d brought more photos and pictures, particularly for the kids’ rooms. We only brought a few thinking we wouldn’t be able to put them up in a rental home, but there are loads of hooks and the walls are looking bare. We're hoping to slowly start adorning them with bits and pieces of Kiwi art which we'll collect on our travels.

So far, apart from family and friends, it's the little things I miss about home:
Sunrise (I know, but I liked to catch-up with the world in the background while we got ready for school and work, and the Kiwi version is horrid);
The Courier Mail and Sunday Mail (I can read them online, but it's not the same as leaving sections scattered throughout the house to annoy my husband!);
Our pets (Even though we still think we made the right decision by not subjecting them to a move, I miss them desperately. Particularly Daisy! I would give anything to give her a big cuddle and hear her snoring at my feet.)
The river and parklands behind our house (though we now have a cool park nearby, and the harbour is within walking distance)
Our barbecue and outdoor setting (but hopefully we will get a replacement here soon).
Aussie TV - Our free-to-air telly programming back home is far more entertaining than we're getting here. Mind you, I guess that just gives me more time to blog!

My Wine Of The Week

mmm....chardonnay ...