It’s no secret that I think moving to New Zealand would be one amazing adventure. And I love reading stories from others who have decided to make that journey for themselves. So I am very excited to read through all the stories and information that two Canadians have posted about their move to Wellington in their blog, Living a Kiwi Life. Best of all, it’s not just text- there are lots of photos, videos, and even an interactive travel map.
Enjoy!
I’ve added a new page of useful links, which you can see just up to your right, next to the “About” tab. I’ll keep this updated as I find something useful but for now it’s got links to pages for jobs, finding a home and learning Maori. Like this entire blog, this is more to help me consolidate materials that will be helpful for me to (eventually, maybe??) move to New Zealand.
Please send me anything else you think might be helpful!
Less than a month until Christmas! Are you ready? I’m not, but I’ve always been a procrastinator. If you happen to know someone like me that is obsessed with books and New Zealand, here is a fantastic list of possible gift ideas! I’m quite interested in the Wild About New Zealand by Gus Roxburgh and Rivers by David Young, but I’d be more than happy with any of them (hint, hint!). I’ve had a bit of trouble finding them online to purchase but they seem to have been published just this year so hopefully they will become more widely available in the coming months.
A pohutukawa tree, also known as New Zealand’s Christmas Tree
There’s something about foraging for food that has always appealed to me. Perhaps it’s the strong independent streak in me but the idea of being able to feed myself on my own outside of a store is something I wish I could do better.
Today I ran across an article about “edible hikes” including one for New Zealand. The hike was for the Nelson Marlborough area and people created a Google map for public fruit trees in the area. Here’s the link to the map. There’s quite a variety listed!
Cool video I discovered on one visitor’s trip to New Zealand! And extra special bonus points on using M83 music.
Once I go to New Zealand, I’ll end up on Air New Zealand. They are the major airline to fly to and from there. And as much as I hate flying, that’s a trip I’ll be looking forward to. Mainly because Air New Zealand has made a name for themselves recently with their fun and incredibly creative safety videos.
Most likely you’re one of the millions that saw this Lord of the Rings based video:
It’s a fantastic video that manages to be interesting and fan pleasing while still getting all the important safety topics in.
There’s also this silly one starring Richard Simmons:
See more of their videos on their YouTube channel.
Also, follow them on Facebook or on Twitter. (Recommended- they’re always posting pictures, contests, and other helpful information!)
And there’s always their official website for fare and flight information.
So let’s say you’re making the jump. You’ve thought about it, you’ve researched the country, maybe you’ve even got a job offer. What now?
Well, the New Zealand government has put together a handy website full of things to take care before coming to the country. You enter some general information so they can personalize the list and voila! All sorts of handy tips and suggestions on what to expect living in New Zealand, what sort of documentation you need, how to find a living space, how to find a job, etc.
How very handy! And something I will definitely be playing around with myself!
I have sadly neglected this blog. Not from lack of interest, or even lack of material. Just got distracted by other things I suppose.
One of my favorite time wasters is to look at homes in New Zealand. Not only do I get to see the inside of some really beautiful homes but I also get to see the stunning scenery around the homes. The best website I have found to do this is Realestate.co.nz, which also happens to be New Zealand’s official real estate website.
Looking at the professional pictures on the tourism websites is great but looking at pictures on a site like this means that we get to see what a country is really like. This is where and how people live, this is what they see when they drive to work, this is where they spend their time. My favorite part of all is that most listings have the option to look at the house on Google Street view. So you not only get to see what the house looks like but you get to see the street it’s on, the neighborhood it’s in, and just keep on going through the local scenery if you like.
Like I said, it’s a great way to waste time!
One of the reasons I’m so in love with New Zealand is the beautiful scenery. Here’s a short movie highlighting some of that scenery in the South Island.
Gorgeous scenery + Lovely music = Great way to spend 5 minutes!
You can find the original posting here.
Australian? Isn’t this a blog about New Zealand?
Well, bear with me a moment.
I had the good fortune to win a pair of (free!) tickets to go see the Australian Chamber Orchestra at Emory University’s Schwartz Center this past weekend. I was given a promotional flyer with the tickets and looking over the set list I noticed that they were having a special guest at the concert, Teddy Tahu Rhodes.
Now I’m not an opera aficionado, but according to the flyer Rhodes is the “operatic world’s rising star from New Zealand”. Pretty cool, huh? And he really was good. He’s been in plenty of productions throughout the world so clearly other people think he’s pretty good too. I ended up sitting in the fourth or fifth row, dead center. So I not only had a great view of the musicians, but also Rhodes when he came out to sing.
The music was lovely, both from the Orchestra alone and from Rhodes. He sang during two numbers. The first was a selection of children’s nursery rhymes called Songs Before Sleep by Richard Rodney Bennett. After the intermission, he came back out to sing a few songs in German from Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte. (See the full program here.) Not only did he do an amazing job singing but he also managed to convey the humor and beauty in the songs. It was a lovely concert.
So now I guess the question is, do New Zealand-related things happen to me because I am fated to visit there one day for the most amazing vacation ever? Or do I just see it because I want to? Me, I think I’ll believe the former.
Obsession: New Zealand 