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.
Still no Ikea in NZ, but…
Filed under: Cost of living, Getting to New Zealand, Life in New Zealand
straight from the Facebook Page “I want IKEA stores to open in New Zealand” comes a link for a new company in Parnell Auckland that is shipping IKEA products from Australia for you, MYKEA. (Now called MYFLATPACK)
(Please read the comments below before buying from this company).
The Idea is that you visit the Australian IKEA website, fill in a form with MYKEA telling them what you want, and they send you a quote telling you how much it will cost to get it delivered to you, including all costs (taxes, shipping etc). You can then place the order or not. They have a minimum order of $150 AUD, and you cant any item less than $10 AUD, but all in all it looks like a good system to me.
Now you are going to pay a premium for this obviously – not only are you covering IKEA’s profit, but also MYKEA’s, but hey – nowt wrong with that. They are being enterprising, and offering a service that many NZ’ers really want. Good on ‘em. And lets face it – you can always judge for yourself whether the quoted prices suit your pocket, or are fair. Given the numbe rof people I’ve met taking flights to Aussie just to go get stuff from IKEA – I’d say they could be onto something in saving you money on airfairs and excess baggage fees!
Actually they aren’t the first to do this. When we first arrived 5 and a bit years ago, there was a company doing the same thing, and another company that was actually just importing container loads of stuff and selling it the old fashioned way. Both of those stopped trading – Ive no idea if it was because they went out of business or went on to do other things. But it does suggest that there may be a window here in which to make the most of this opportunity.
Depending on whether we make out “city living” arrangement permanent after a few months of trialling – I am sorely tempted to splurge (once we have cleared the credit cards!) and buy some decent storage! NZ is woefully short on decent affordable storage I’m afraid. And to be honest – when you have kit out a second home -you need access to something that isnt going to rob you blind on the costs. The nearest similar store to IKEA in NZ is Freedom Furniture – but its a lot more expensive. Arguably the quality is better, especially if you compare it with the cheaper IKEA ranges, but when the budget is what matters – there really isn’t a good alternative.
If you have IKEA bookshelves – or indeed IKEA anything - what ever you do – bring it with you! You will regret it if you don’t. Even if you don’t want to keep it – bring it and sell it on Trade Me.
By the way: apparently the reason we cant have an IKEA store in NZ is becuase teh Auckland council reckons they cant cope with the traffic chaos that will inevitably ensue when 4,000,000 kiwis descend the place. Sheesh.
(Edited: Thanks John for the update on the website. MYFLATPACK now carries a small inventory of stock in Auckland. Prices are expensive, but ho-hum. And postage is based on a % of the total order – 10% for North Island deliveries).
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Fathers Day In New Zealand.
Warning: Its on a different day.
So is Mothers day. Which means you need to make sure someone in the UK reminds you about a week in advance of the respective days over there so you can arrange cards and flowers or whatever else takes your fancy. Bear in mind, that you will be unable to find said cards in New Zealand at the same time as UK mothers and fathers day. Its all a bit of a drama, added to the fact that you aren’t anywhere near your parents.
This is the first time I’ve even been in the same hemisphere as my dad for Fathers day in 5 years – so it was a real treat today. Missing Birthdays and special days with family has always been one of the hardest things about emigrating for me to deal with.
It’s been a stunning spring day here in the Wairarapa. We did have an icy burst of winter last week, but today the sun was shining and it was lovely and warm. So we went for lunch to the nearby Gladstone Inn, and sat our in the “Garden Bar” (aka the garden).
You don’t go to the Gladstone Inn for fine dining and poncy food. You go there because it’s a country pub, that sells decent food in a lovely location. It’s quite a haunt for bikers. We came home for pudding because there was only two choices, and neither of them appealed, but other than that – it was a wonderful lunch out.
I hope everyone had a wonderful day today, whether fathers were near or not.
And here’s the present that I didn’t buy my dad:
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Last Night of The Proms – Kiwi Style.
Well, in a much need break from immigration stress and finding out that I’m breaking the law – some friends invited us to a night of sheer unadulterated patriotism and Britishness.
I’ve never been to a Last Night of The Proms – and very rarely to a Proms concert in the first place. The nearest I ever got was the Schools Proms – where each night was basically a last night.
Well, Wellington holds its own Last Night every year, and for the first time we got to go. Now – it has to be said that I’m one of those migrants that does miss the UK. I actually love the UK, and I am proud to be English (as distinct from hubby who considers himself British). I’m proud of our culture and heritage, and our amazingly colourful history. So something like this is right up my street. And oddly enough – it helps with any lingering homesickness.
It was also a bloody good concert. It was the first time I ever got to hear the New Zealand National Anthem: God Defend New Zealand. (Possibly because I don’t watch rugby – or indeed any sport which is up there with watching paint dry in my book). It’s sung in Maori and then English. And it’s rather beautiful. It was followed by our Own National anthem. One thing I did notice: the New Zealand anthem is about the country, the UK one is all about the queen. Not bad in my book as I’m an unashamed monarchist – but I can imagine that it would peeve some people.
Then the first part of the concert got underway. Some of it did nothing for me, but the rousing Polovtisan Dances were right up my alley. The rush for the loos and the bar in the interval were as expected – but something did make me laugh: there was free tea available! How typically English! And the Morris Dancers who were in the standing section put on some entertainment (much to the utter disgust of one of our friends – an Englishman through and through who has no time for that sort of silliness!) I thought it was rather good myself.
But the second half is where the fun begins, in keeping with the whole Last Nigh tradition. The flags come out; people talk and laugh, bob up and down and sing their hearts out and stamp to the Hornpipe. Flags were available for a $1 donation for those of us too tardy to bring our own, as were streamers. (Note to self – stock up on party poppers next time).
What really made this a stunning event were things like the Conductor – an American, – who had a real sense of humour – he also took a break for some tea during the second half, while we got a lullaby from the oboes. And Helen Medlyn who sang some arias in the first half but some Noel Coward in the second. She was a right scream – hammed it up for all she was worth and then led the crowd in Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia dressed in a union jack pant suit.
Seriously – we had an amazing night. Good friends, food, and a great night of entertainment. Something I heartily recommend.
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Beach report – Riversdale 26th July
Since one of our favoured past times since we got to NZ is bumming around on the beach, I figured it was time to start an ongoing series of beach reports.
So today, having spent weeks working our butts off with a variety of issues, I decided it was time to take a day out and head to Riversdale.
So, I can report today that;
1. The beach was busy – there was at least 20 people I saw on the beach while we were there
2. It was bloody cold! Fortunately the wind wasn’t strong enough to whip up sand into the face, it was still darn cold requiring a blanket to sit on the beach despite the glorious sunshine.
3. The waves were pretty shallow, and not that huge or choppy. And there was no one in the water, not even the singular hardy surfer.
4. It looks like there has been some storm erosion of the dunes, which means that instead of the nice slopes going down to the beach proper. The dunes are like they have had a slice taken off, just like the slips on the side of hills pouring mud down onto roads, rail tracks etc.
Still, it was gloriously sunny and the air was fresh, so we felt quite relaxed while we were there.
Being able to head to the beach is one of those things which helped Avalon with the home sickness. While I was never much of a beach person in the UK – lack of swimming ability being one area of caution – I’ve grown to really enjoy being at the beach. On honeymoon we started touring round some of the beaches, and I rather enjoy being in the choppy waves at Riversdale now.
Another water baby converted by NZ’s beaches.
12 days and counting.
Filed under: Getting to New Zealand, Property & General Investing
In 12 short days, the rest of my family arrives in New Zealand for what we sincerely hope is the final time. My Parents already have their permanent residency, and we will be sponsoring my brother as soon as he has a suitable job offer. (Let the fun begin).
In the meantime – I am running around like a blue arsed fly trying to make sure the house is suitable for 5 slightly-crazy adults, and they are packing up their UK lives for the last time and saying their goodbyes. I’ve got electricians and
builders still to come in and do a few bits: thankfully the heatpump is installed and our house is cosy and warm ready for their first blast of a New Zealand winter. They have clients to deal with (some of whom have just figured out that this is really happening and this time they won’t be coming back), and getting ready for the shippers.
At this point I am truly grateful to have a slightly oddball family: they sold their UK home 4 years ago, put a chunk of the money into the house over here in New Zealand, bought a static Caravan to live in in the UK and spent the UK summer in that and the NZ summer over in the house. Which means that as soon as the residency was approved – they were able to move without having to sell a UK home in a ghastly market.
It takes something of a special constitution for them to have believed in us so much that they would take that risk believing that we could make a successful life over here.
While we were working through Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book, we came across a part of it which talks about burning your bridges behind you so that you cannot go back. This was one of those things: not allowing for the possibility of failure. When we emigrated – we sold our UK home rather than keep it and rent it out. Given that we then became property investors – the question has been asked: why on earth did we do that??? But I know that it would have been a lot easier for me to give up and go back home on the tough days of homesickness if we had not sold the house. Burning that bridge meant we had to succeed, and I had to work through the homesickness.
For us, emigrating to New Zealand was always about the whole family doing it. It can be an incredibly hard thing to achieve – but it is so worth it!
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The Taupo Jousting Tournament.
One of the things we really miss from back home in the UK is the medieval fairs that we used to go to. I love our history – mainly because it’s so outrageously gory and interesting. And because we have the worlds most stonking castles. It is something that you just cant get in New Zealand – where the only “castle” is in Dunedin (Lanark Castle) – which may just pass for a small manor house in the UK.
When we first arrived in New Zealand, back in 2005, and I was having the most horrendous homesickness, we found that there was a Jousting tournament being held in Upper Hutt. We couldn’t believe it. Of all the paces to find an “international” jousting festival – you really don’t expect it to be in “The Hutt” (Just north of Wellington).
So we went. For about 5 minutes. It was a bit small, and not what we expected. To be fair – our idea of a Medieval fair is something like the Tewkesbury fair – which is huge. But our biggest letdown was the fact that the market stalls were not in the least bit Medieval. There was a small gypsy market off to the side, and a few food stalls – as long as you wanted a hot dog (a New Zealand hot dog which is a battered sausage on a stick), or samosas, or chips. Where was the spit roast????
So it was with a slight bit of trepidation that we trogged off on the 5 hour drive to go to the Taupo Event this weekend. I can only say that we needed a break, and I was desperate.
I have to say – it was much better. About 5 times the size of the Hutt event, and it was lovely to see so many people dressed in costume. The living history camp looked amazing, and the smell from the cooking fires was just what was needed to bring the place alive. The lack of authentic market stalls still lets it down for me – as there really isn’t anywhere here to buy proper medieval goods. I guess we have been a bit spoiled with being able to buy goblets, leatherwork, pottery and ironwork made by re-enactors for re-enactors. Not to mention the costumes .
And the food and drink were also missing. The Beer tent was selling Export Gold. Not exactly your typical “Gut Rot Fair Special”, and the mead tent had only 2 types of mead. Now I love mead. I can happily be friends with a bottle or two of the stuff – but New Zealand mead just doesn’t cut it for me. It tastes like honeyed water – not like it would blow your brains out! So it looks like I’m going to have to keep importing bottles of Moniack whenever I head back to the UK.
On the whole though – I think the Taupo fair was a really nice day out, and I would love to go again.
The best bit was defiantly the WMD’s – Weapons Of Medieval Destruction. For $5 you could launch missiles from 3 of them. Unfortunately you weren’t allowed to used the “Don’t Point That Thing At My Castle” really big one – but ho hum.
Where can I buy UK food from in New Zealand.
Whether it’s Walkers crisps, Marmite (yuk!), rich tea biscuits or proper tea, for a lot of Brits coming to New Zealand, there is just something that they can’t help wanting from back home. This can be one of the things that causes a lot problems with homesickness when you first arrive, and is often the subject of a lot of meanness on the forums; with some people thinking that you should be hung drawn and quartered for wanting a taste of home.
Stuff that. You want Walkers crisps – go get ‘em.
The only problem is you can’t get meat products – so my eternal quest for Bacon that doesn’t taste sweet, and sausages that don’t have ginger in them is still ongoing.
However – I recently went to our local Pak’n’Save in Masterton – and shock-horror – we now have a UK food aisle! Now, I’m not a fan of Pak’n’Save, but blimey – now they have my attention. I have seen the “UK food aisle” once before thanks to a Trip to Sylvia Park in Auckland and a very helpful tip-off from a friend – Sal. But to get one in Masterton of all places – well that is something!
Not only that – but its massive.
Take a look:
That is just some of it. There is actually about twice this much.
The downside of course is that you do generally have to pay big bucks for that taste of Britain. Look at some these items – it has the UK price showing – and you can see just how many $$$ it’s gonna cost. It sure as hell ain’t using a 3:1 exchange rate.
Nearly $15.00! You can get it for $10 if you shop around.
- 99p = $4.98
£1.69 = $7.24
£1.99 = $12.28 (actually thats quite cheap)
There are some online stores you can get you UK foods from as well. I Have never used them as I just tend to get “care parcels” from home every so often, for the odd item I just cant get an equivalent for.
McPhee’s - home of everything Scottish.
Portobello Road. [edited 30/6/2010, Portobello Road website no longer available]
Funnily enough – I tried to get some Atora Suet sent to me in a care parcel ( you can get Atora Lite – the vegetarian version here). It got stopped at Customs as it is a meat product. Yet somehow – it was available at Pak’n'save. Things that make you go Hmmmm.
Only In New Zealand: Orion doing a head stand.
Since coming to New Zealand, I have seen and experienced things which just make my mind boggle. These are things that tell me I’m not in Kanzas anymore, and when I experience them, the phrase that pops into my head is “…only in New Zealand!”
So from time to time, my blogs are going to be about these things – because I guess migrants might find them amusing, and maybe Kiwi’s will find it interesting to see the things that just stand out and make New Zealand such an oddball place to live sometimes. And because I just think these are the things that make New Zealand just a bit cool.
So, first on the list – what the hell is Orion doing standing on his head???
He’s a hunter. He’s not gonna shoot much game if he’s busy doing cartwheels.
The first time I saw this, I was in the Jacuzzi at Cavalli Bay Beach house on our honeymoon. It was a wonderful night – a clear sky but very stormy winds. I looked up at the stars and there he was. The constellation that is so easy to spot – and yet it looked wrong.
Here is the Northern Hemisphere View of Orion.
And the southern hemisphere view.
Of course – if you like stargazing – you will love it here. There is relatively little light polution, and the good weather means we get a lot of clear skies. You will have to get used to completely new constellations though. For the time ever, I have no idea what the hell im looking at. I was very lucky to have lived most of my life in places with clear skies, so looking up at the stars is nothing new. Its just the view has changed somewhat.
Picture Credits:
Constellation picture taken from: Clickable Orion
Painting by Joe Tucciarone, available at Novaspace
How to make Clotted Cream in New Zealand.
One of my long time pet peeves here has been the lack of Double Cream and Clotted Cream, especially given that I eat low carb and high fat so I don’t feel at all guilty at eating the stuff. :pig2:
It has always struck me as really odd that a country famous for its dairy industry has just 2 types of cream available: Cream and Thickened cream (which to make matters worse is just the standard cream with gelatine added to thicken it.)
So – what is the problem? Well, the cream that you can buy here is basically whipping cream. Its 38% fat, and behaves in the same way as UK whipping cream. So it will whip up to form basically a light fluffy cream, but it’s just not as thick or rich as our double cream.
UK double cream has a fat content of 48%, so you can see there is going to be a difference. Clotted cream has a fat content of 55%!
You can cook with New Zealand cream – it will happily boil without curdling or splitting, it’s just not as rich.
Anyway – I found a recipe for making clotted cream out of supermarket bought Milk and Cream, and I thought I really had to share it. With the best will in the world – if you ever do want clotted cream, then thickened cream just isn’t the same. It’s not difficult to turn cream and milk into “clotted” cream – it’s just a lengthy process.
If you can get fresh unpasturised whole milk from a farmer, then that’s the best. But this was a recipe to do it without getting raw milk.
To Make with raw milk.
Put whole raw milk in a pan and heat on the lowest temperature possible for several hours.
A yellow skin will form.
Put the pan in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, skim the clots of cream off the top and store in the fridge.
You should be left with nice creamy milk as well.
If you haven’t got a friendly farmer nearby.
All you need to do is buy full fat milk from the supermarket and a bottle of pouring cream.
You need 2 parts milk to 1 part cream
(1 litre cream for every 2 litres milk)
Heat the mix on the lowest temperature for at least 5 hours.
A yellow skin will form.
Put the pan in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, skim the clots of cream off the top and store in the fridge.
You should be left with nice creamy milk as well.
I made this with 1 litre of milk and 500ml of cream and it made enough for 5 of us to have a cream tea!
As a bonus it also turns the homogenised whole milk into UK style split full fat milk where the remaining cream forms a separate layer on top of the milk. Most milk in New Zealand supermarkets is homogenised – which means that the cream is dispersed within the milk and you don’t get a separate layer.
I hope you enjoy it 
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