Only in New Zealand: Fish & donuts (??)
I was passing through Auckland airport the other week and happened to glance at the Dunkin Donuts stand. {as you do, on the way through.. Apart from the batter & sugar a donut is great for a low carb, high protein diet}
Anyhow, I spotted they had a special new donut.
With a chocolate fish on it.
The only irritating thing was that I forgot to take a photo. I wasn’t about to buy a tray and gob them all myself on the next flight otherwise I could have flown there without a plane on the sugar high. And I may have remembered to take a photo.
So I had a quick look at their NZ Website, to try and find you a photo.
Without luck
I did however find two gems;
Yes, read it again. You’re never far from a DD’s, unless you’re anywhere outside of Auckland. Ho hum. In fact it is not unknown for some folks from Auckland flying down to Wellington for the day, to buy a couple of insulated cartons. Holding about four boxes of two dozen donuts each. What a way to win friends & influence people in the capital, with 16 dozen donuts!
On the plus side, the DD international website does provide some redemption for us.
You’re never far from a DD’s in Australia, as long as you’re nowhere outside of Auckland.
The Aussies may have Ikea, but at least NZ Auckland has DD’s.
Air New Zealand 1: Listener Magazine 0.
It seems that the New Zealand Listener magazine ran an article saying that Air New Zealand was heading towards become a budget airline on its flights to Australia. Personally I can actually attest to the fact that the flights have improved – you now get a choice of movies to watch and personal screens.
In answer, Rob Fyfe, CEO of Air New Zealand took out a 1 page ad in the papers last week (part of it shown here):
And for those of us who cant read that – take a look at the video here.
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What have we sold to the Aussies?
Theres a small (and I mean small) piece in the Sunday Star Times today about the Overseas Investment Office. This is the body that was set up a few years ago to “protect” New Zealand from greedy overseas investors intent on buying up huge tracts of pristine NZ. If I recall correctly – after an unholy furore when Shania Twain bought a rather large hunk of land near Lake Wanaka and wanted to not be seen by the local plebs.
Essentially if a foreigner wants to buy large properties here, they need to get permission from the OIO.
It seems that in their latest list of transactions that they have approved, one is so sensitive, that they wont actually say what it is that has been sold, who sold it, or who to.
Nothing except as the article puts it: “something, somewhere, was sold by its New Zealand owner to an Australian Buyer”.
Hmmmm – have we sold Christchurch I wonder? Got rid of Auckland? Sold the Government?
Answers on a postcard….
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More much needed comedy relief.
Most NZ tv adverts are dire -- but sometimes they come out with a gem.
So here is Export Gold’s Thirstfighters ad:
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Some much needed comedy relief
I thought we could do with a bit of unadulterated humour round here.
So, courtesy of Mitre 10 -- here’s a funny TV advert.
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Only in New Zealand: The Prime Minister auctions a doodle.
To cut a long and very complex story short – the Flag of New Zealand is always a topic of argument and occasional news, because it contains a Union Jack and some people hate to be reminded of a colonial past. So John Key, our Prime Minister went on Breakfast TV this morning and doodled his preferred alternative. Its supposed to be a Silver Fern by the way: 
And it is now being auctioned on Trade Me to raise money for charity.
How cool is that?
Can you imagine Gordon Brown doing that?
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And talking of christmas trees…
On Saturday night we went to Cuckoo in Greytown - home of the best pizzas in the Wairarapa (and a cook who doesn’t mind making the wonderful Eggs Napoli breakfast dish – minus the bread and with an extra egg- at any time of day because I can’t eat Pizza!).
Cuckoo has recently been taken over – the owners Tim and Chelsea having skipped off to Melbourne - so no more visions of Tim frenetically running round the place. But the menu remains the same and is well worth a visit. Most people visiting Greytown go to the White Swan because its well known. However its pretty crap – so forget that and go have a decent meal at Cuckoo.
Getting back to the point – while in there – we took a photo of thier christmas tree. The New Owners (Brian and Janine) certainly have a great sense of humour. For all those people who like are a fish out of water doing a southern hemisphere chistmas – I thought you might enjoy it:
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Only In New Zealand: A christmas message from the police.
Today in the post we got what I can only describe as the oddest Christmas letter ever – from the police. I’m showing it as a scan – just in case you don’t believe me – cos to be honest I’m not sure I can quite grasp it myself.
What does this say about life in New Zealand???
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New Zealand joins the space race :)
Courtesy of Slashdot – (news for nerds) and I would just like to pint out that it was hubby who found this and not me.
“Private New Zealand aerospace company Rocket Lab completed its final ground-based test today and is now ready to launch New Zealand into the space race with its Atea-1 launch vehicle. The first high-altitude launch of Atea-1 is scheduled for the end of November this year. Once Atea-1 has successfully concluded the development phase it will be the first privately built rocket launched from the Southern Hemisphere to enter space.”
The funniest thing about this is the comments:
What I do remember well was when the builder was asked if he would fly in it, the answer was along the lines of “hell no”.
But they are on the bottom of the planet – won’t they be firing the wrong way?
Of course not, it’s a huge advantage, they just have to drop the rocket. They’ll save loads of fuel.
Rocket: Oh Noo, Oh Noo, I’m launched Broo. I’m launched es. Satellite: Hey Broo, Hey Broo, what are you doing broo? Rocket: Dude, I’m launched es. Satellite: Ah Haw Shit. Your launched es! Rocket: Tell me something I doo’nt noo. Satellite:…. Broo, you’re heaps launched es! Rocket: Soo launched. Launched es.
We should have never given these people the technology to make movies. They’ve progressed in only one generation from filmmaking to building rockets. Who knows what shenanigans they may be capable of in the next generation.
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Only in New Zealand: Building roads 1km a year!
I’ve lived in this house for 4 years now – and since them, or road has being a semi-constant construction site as the road crews “improve” the road. It’s 3 km long, and with very little traffic on it – it being a dead end. (It ends in a river as it happens).
And when I say semi-constant – it goes like this:
- Trucks turn up and rip up the road or the sides of the road for about 300 yards..
- Trucks go away.
- Months go by.
- Trucks come back and dump a load of gravel on the road which we then have to navigate for month without skidding off into the fields.
- Trucks go away.
- Months go by.
- Trucks come back and seal the road.
- Calm descends till the next time.
So it was with some amusement – but unfortunately not great surprise to read in the local rag a few weeks ago that the mayor of south Wairarapa says:
with around 300 kilometres of gravel roads in the district, there has been an ongoing programme of trying to seal around a kilometre a year.
I kid you not – 300 years to seal all the gravel roads in the Wairarapa!
I wouldn’t mind – but there’s actually nothing wrong with our road – it’s not a gravel road – so why are they “improving” it (actually making a right bloody mess of it in fact).
The mind boggles.
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