Oh and of course, visit Wellington, which is the capital and is sort of known as the arts/culture capital of the country in a lot of ways. Check out the Cuba Precinct for that stuff especially.
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Paging Aussies, Kiwis and other Down-Underers
- Thread starter Sandvich Hero
- Start date
You know, I could have been dumbfounded by this lexicon, but I've luckily already been made aware of the specifics :
Yup, "cold" being a relative term here again. But that being said, since I want to hike there, I already thought about that since I don't want to have to carry too much clothes. By the time I'm there it will be well into spring already (probably beginning of November, before going to Nam, or right after coming back).
But then what about those jellyfishes ? Those spiders ? Those sharks ? Even those cute little gerbil-like long nosed maruspials have venom. Australia - Where everything has a plan to kill you.
At least I won't have to carry a rifle (pretty useless against a spider isn't it ...), I hate adding all that weight to my pack.
M'yeah that's the first you are usually told about it. Only climb it if you want to be an ass.
Yes, that's another thing I will have to take when I get there. Since I will be in the country for several months, I will need to get myself a phone if I want to manage any kind of social life I guess. Are they as anal about roaming charges there ? Ideally, I will need someway to avoid those. Is it hard to find a basic all-of-Oz plan ?
Ohhh, that stuff that produced 10 pages of discussion and poo-flinging in the food thread ? Awesome, didn't know it was popular there too.
If you're coming to NZ closer to summer (Dec-Feb here), definitely try get the The Bay of Islands up north, absolutely amazing during that time of year. If you're in Auckland, go up the Sky Tower, has nice views and is the tallest building in this half of the world. Check out any gigs at The Basement and venues like The Whammy Bar on K Rd as well, if you're into the alternative music scene (listen to bFM on 95.0 for info on those) And go to Real Groovy! A cool big independent record store. Also try get out to Rangitoto and/or Waiheke island and do some of the walks on those if you're an 'outdoorsy' person. Rangitoto island just has a few old baches, and Waikehe has a population of about 6000 I think, I think a lot of Aucklanders take it for granted a bit tbh. If you're into Mountain Biking at all, try get out to Woodhill, near Auckland, and The Redwoods in Rototua, where they hosted the world cup a few years ago.
If you are gonna be in the Sth Island, which you should definitely do, try to get to Milford Sound, which has been called the 8th wonder of the world, and check out Hamner Springs and Otago (where Lord Of The Rings was filmed), and Queenstown for Snowboarding of course, although, like someone else said, it might be a bit late in the year. The season did stay open quite late last year though, Climate Change etc etc. Christchurch will probably not be at it's best even then, though, a fair bit of the CBD is still closed apparently, and the music scene isn't hugely active, a lot of the studios have given up spaces for radio, bands have lost practice spaces, etc etc.
Hope you enjoy yourself over here!
All duly noted. Thanks a bunch.
And yes, I am a big outdoorsy person. That's a good part of the reason why I chose to go to OZ/NZ instead of more populous areas like Europe or Japan. Not that those places don't have magnificent mountains and nature as well though, I know.
We only get little nibbler sharks up here. At worst you'll lose a chunk out of your calf. Down south they'll take you off at the waist
That is true, the Australian (and I think world all tackle) record for a Tiger Shark was caught off Swansea NSW (2 hours north of Sydney for you yanks) and weighed in at 619kg/1362lb.
And let's not forget the whites, see them occasionally out at sea.
Myeah, I don't care much about sharks. If you read my first couple answers, you'd see that way before getting munched by a shark, I'd kinda have to go through all that "drowning to death" thing first
Sandvich Hero,
That is true...maybe just stick around in the surf?? The biteys don't swim in there anyway
Actually better yet, just tan on the beach. The scenery isn't too bad at Bondi
Cheers,
Jordan
That is true...maybe just stick around in the surf?? The biteys don't swim in there anyway
Actually better yet, just tan on the beach. The scenery isn't too bad at Bondi
Cheers,
Jordan
Sandvich Hero,
That is true...maybe just stick around in the surf?? The biteys don't swim in there anyway
Actually better yet, just tan on the beach. The scenery isn't too bad at Bondi
Cheers,
Jordan
You found my plan. While other dudes admire the waves, I'll be admiring the curves.
Well if you like curves, go down King st in Melbourne and check out the 'gentlemens clubs'. Just make sure you don't make sexual relations with a staff member whilst she is working, can have bad bouncer consequences. Long story there, and probably not exactly talkbass forum appropriate...I may have been pushing the boundaries with that 
Cheers,
Jordan
Cheers,
Jordan
Well if you like curves, go down King st in Melbourne and check out the 'gentlemens clubs'. Just make sure you don't make sexual relations with a staff member whilst she is working, can have bad bouncer consequences. Long story there, and probably not exactly talkbass forum appropriate...I may have been pushing the boundaries with that
Cheers,
Jordan
Finally, something interesting to do !
Sounds like a great story to tell your grandkids later though ...
Sam577 made the point of the Milford Sound. Forgot about that one. Must be amongst the best things to do here. Seeing as you're an outdoorsy person too. If you're in Wellington, tramping in the Orongorongo Valley is pretty sweet too, but you can find good tramping most anywhere in NZ
Yeah, when they turn 30. And even then, it will probably be a very awkward story to tell
+1 on Milford sound- especially the time of year you're going to be in NZ. It is crazy beautiful.
I read above that you're into outdoors stuff- NZ is the place for you. Hiking (tramping) can be found just about ANYWHERE you go and it's an outdoor nation. If you hit the wine region (upper portion of the South Island), be sure to hit Invalid Link Removed. It's gorgeous and readily accessible. That being said- a lot of my favorite parts of NZ were just little coastal tracks that weren't really marked or small trails heading out of no name towns. My wife and I used to just drive, stop the car and get out and explore. Nothing but natural beauty there.
Be sure to use sunblock though- the sun in NZ is seriously ridiculous. AU isn't much better, but based on my own experience (and confirmed by Aussies who I knew who visited NZ), there is nothing as fierce as the NZ sun. My wife is black- grew up in the Caribbean and LIVED at the beach from sunup to sundown and had never experienced a sunburn. She seriously had no idea what it felt like. When we first moved to NZ, we spent about 3hrs at a picnic in late spring with some friends. That evening she was complaining of feeling feverish, cold... then hot.... the next day she had blisters on her forehead and nose. Ended up peeling.
If OP doesn't at least go to part of the Rugby World Cup I am going to find him and smack the stupid outta him.
+1 gajillion. And if you don't hit the world cup, but hit NZ from Feb onwards, the Super Rugby season has begun.... either way, you can find GOOD rugby or rugby league anytime of the year, whether it's Super Rugby, NRL or even just local stuff.
Also- one of the best times I've ever had in my life was in Perth at a West Coast Eagles Aussie rules game... find one of those too- even if you don't understand the game (who does?!!) It makes it better if you don't understand...just go enjoy the madness.
Damn, I had to Google that one as well. The only natural definition of "tramping" my mind could figure out was "what you would do to that tramp you just met".
Be sure to use sunblock though- the sun in NZ is seriously ridiculous. AU isn't much better, but based on my own experience (and confirmed by Aussies who I knew who visited NZ), there is nothing as fierce as the NZ sun. My wife is black- grew up in the Caribbean and LIVED at the beach from sunup to sundown and had never experienced a sunburn. She seriously had no idea what it felt like. When we first moved to NZ, we spent about 3hrs at a picnic in late spring with some friends. That evening she was complaining of feeling feverish, cold... then hot.... the next day she had blisters on her forehead and nose. Ended up peeling.
Oh yeah, sunscreen is definitely one of the main item I will need to have at hand at all times, especially given my white-assed canadian hockey player status.
While it wasn't in my mind at that time, I noticed quickly in my planning that indeed, I will probably be around NZ during the rugby World Cup. While I may not be able to afford tickets to actual World Cup games, I sure hope I will be around in those days to hit some pub and "soak it in". Last time I checked (couple weeks ago), they were still announcing the new locations for several games that had to be moved due to the earthquake damage
And when you mention "Aussie rules", I figure you are referring to that weird mix of soccer/football and rugby that they are playing over there right ?!? Where they can score by either kicking the ball over the goal OR scoring a goal in itself ? From what I've read and watched about it, sure seems interesting too !
Sandvich Hero,
Being in NZ during the Rugby world cup would be a memorable time. In NZ, they would choose rugby over oxygen.
Being in NZ during the Rugby world cup would be a memorable time. In NZ, they would choose rugby over oxygen.
Tell me about it
Unfortunately we choose it over the Wellington Jazz Fest too. Not on this year, not enough sponsors cause of the world cup.
I have a cobber down in western Australia who is constantly telling me to come out and visit him. I probably should plan to do that sometime.
