Monday, 22 August 2016

Upside down and backward

I have been asked by multiple people to write a blog about all of the things that are different in New Zealand when compared to the States.  Honestly it would be easier to write about what was similar as it would be a much shorter list.  Obviously this list is not comprehensive but I have tried to pick some of the things that have stood out to us.  I am not complaining about anything on this list.  I think that they all contribute to what makes New Zealand so fabulous and makes it feel foreign, despite the shared language.

Moon and stars

Having grown up in the northern hemisphere, the moon is upside down in New Zealand and it appears to cycle backwards.  In the northern hemisphere, a waxing moon (growing) has the light on the right side and the dark on the left.  In the southern hemisphere the opposite is true for a waxing moon.  The few constellations that can be seen in both hemispheres appear to be upside down compared to how they appear in the northern hemisphere.  Orion is standing on his head in New Zealand.


Driving

Given that New Zealand is a (recent) former British colony, they drive on the left side of the road.  When we first got here, we had a rental car so that we could go look at flats and get whatever large, bulky items we might need.  It was the first time that either of us had ever driven on the left side of the road, rather than just being a passenger.  We didn't get into any accidents but it was an interesting experience.  Of course as soon as we were getting comfortable, we returned our rental car and haven't driven since.


Seasons

Being in the Southern Hemisphere the seasons are reverse what they are in the Northern Hemisphere.  This means that when Ross and I arrived in mid-June, we got to New Zealand just before winter solstice.  Right now (August) is winter and spring traditionally arrives in September.  This has been a very mild winter (we've been told), so the spring flowers are starting to bloom.  There is something very surreal about seeing daffodils and crocus popping out all over in August instead of April.


 




Time difference between the States and New Zealand

There is currently an 18-hour time difference between Wellington and Colorado (MST).  We are also a day ahead of Colorado.  I tend to add the smaller difference, so I think of it as New Zealand being 6 hours behind Colorado, and a day ahead.  I find it easier to add 6 hours to our time rather than subtracting 18.  For example - if it is 1 pm on Monday here, it will be 7 pm on Sunday in Colorado.

It starts to get weird though when you factor in daylight savings time and summer time.  New Zealand goes onto summer time on the last Sunday in September.  At that point, Colorado will be 5 hours ahead of New Zealand.  When the States go off of daylight savings time in early November, Colorado will only be 4 hours ahead of New Zealand.  This process reverses itself in the spring/fall.


Zebra crossings/being a pedestrian

Being a pedestrian in New Zealand can be hazardous for your health as the general rule seems to be that cars have the right of way, rather than pedestrians.  Unless there is a zebra crossing (think cross walk but with black and white striped poles on either side), you do not have the right of way if you are on foot.  You also want to look right rather than left before crossing the road.


Units

The metric system rules in New Zealand.  This means that when you go shopping, you buy a half kilo of butter or 950g of yogurt (over 2 lbs!).  It also means that when you are looking at prices, it's helpful if you remember that 1 kg = 2.2 lbs.  When we first got to New Zealand, we didn't really buy any meat because it seemed so expensive to look at the per kilo price.  At some point it occurred to us that we didn't need 2.2 lbs of fish for just the two of us and so the prices became much more reasonable.

As a side note, if you go to a grocery store the prices at the bulk food section are going to look amazingly cheap.  Please note that those prices are per 100g, not per kilo.  100g of muesli is not very much.


Paying rent by the week

When you are looking at rent prices, they are listed by the week rather than by the month.  This was tricky when we first were looking for housing because we kept thinking that we had found a fantastic deal...and then we multiplied it by four and were often sad and shocked.  Given that Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, housing is rather pricey.  We currently live in a one-bedroom flat (not a studio, but it legitimately has multiple rooms) that is $320/week and was furnished.  I had thought that this was really pricy until we were getting a new oven installed and the delivery guys couldn't believe what a good deal we were getting.  Live and learn, I guess.

Another odd thing regarding rent - our landlady gave us her bank account number so that we could set up an automatic payment from our bank.  In the States I have never had anyone, especially someone that I had just met, email me their bank account number.


Lack of insulation and/or central heating

I mentioned this topic in an earlier blog.  Until 1978 there was no building code requiring new buildings to have insulation.  Most places don't have central heating either.  Given that much of New Zealand is cold and damp for a good part of the year, this has always struck me as a little peculiar.


Single glazed windows

It seems like most windows in residences are single glazed (paned).  Because there is no central heating, this tends to result in the inside of your windows being covered in condensation every morning.  We ended up getting a squeegee to wipe down the windows.  I like to think of it as the daily window cleaning rather than a necessity to keep the flat from molding.


Bananas + Chocolate

Ice cream flavor, croissant filling, crepe filling, etc.  It's a good combination but I've never seen it as much as I do here.  You can also find just straight banana flavoring, which I find a little weird.


Beets

Kiwis love their beets or beetroot, as they call it.  It's actually kind of nice because in the States, Ross and I often felt a little odd for how much we liked beets when it didn't really seem like anyone else did.  Beet and cashew hummus = delicious.  Beets on hamburgers = kind of odd.


Eggs

Eggs are everywhere and they aren't refrigerated.  By everywhere, I mean that it is challenging to find a hamburger that doesn't have a fried egg on it.  If an egg hasn't been refrigerated, it doesn't need to be but it is still a little odd to me to walk into the grocery store and see the cartons of eggs, hanging out at room temperature, in a shelving unit next to the sliced bread.


Mexican Food

It doesn't really exist here.  There is one brand of corn tortilla chip and one brand of salsa at the grocery store.  Also for some reason, black beans in the "international cuisine" aisle are NZ$4.50/can but in the organic food aisle they are only NZ$1.90.



Sunday, 14 August 2016

Walking Wellington Part 1: The Best View of Wellington

Overlooking Wellington from the Brooklyn WWI Memorial.
Wellington is an incredible city for walking.  From the waterfront to the museums to the shops and restaurants on Cuba Street, walking around Wellington can keep you thoroughly entertained for a long time.  If you venture away from the harbor, you will start to encounter the hills that surround Wellington.  These hills are not for the faint of heart and, unfortunately, very few of them have switchbacks so you often end up climbing large staircases.  Due to the rather rugged landscape around Wellington, you actually find many houses that you cannot drive to but, instead, have long staircases, sidewalks, or personal cable cars to get the owners and their belongings from the road to the house (more on these in a later blog).

Ross and I don't have a car and so we walk everywhere.  When we first moved to Wellington, we quickly realized that we were woefully out of shape for the hills to get back to our apartment from really anywhere.  We're at the top of a decent hill in Brooklyn, so any trip to the grocery store or the fruit and veg market ends in a trudge back to our apartment with backpacks loaded full of food.  At this point, two months in, we are in much better shape but we have had to work for it!

There are many opportunities to get into the hills right around Wellington and if you're willing to tackle the requisite hills you will be rewarded with fabulous views of the city and harbor.  In this post I'll talk about the hikes that, in my opinion, vie for "Best View of Wellington" - Mount Victoria and the Brooklyn Wind Turbine.

Mount Victoria

Located immediately east of downtown Wellington, Mount Victoria is 196m high and offers sweeping views of the city, waterfront, and harbor.  You can also watch planes take off from or land at Wellington International Airport.  The park around Mount Victoria was used for some of the first scenes in The Fellowship of the Ring, if you are a LOTR fan.  There is also a memorial to Richard Byrd (American Antarctic explorer) near the summit.  There are a number of trails leading up Mount Victoria from downtown and along Oriental Parade or it is also possible to drive or take a bus.  The top of the hill is very exposed, so this would not be a good hike/walk for a windy or rainy day.

Lord of the Rings filming locations!
Looking south at the Byrd Memorial.  It is designed to look like auroras.
Richard Byrd Memorial - The rocks all came from Antarctica.
Looking west at Wellington. 
Looking south toward the airport and Cook Strait.

Brooklyn Wind Turbine

The Brooklyn Wind Turbine is easily visible from downtown Wellington and stands approximately 300m above sea level.  Most of the walk to the turbine is along city roads and it is possible to drive the entire way.  If you walk, you will approach the turbine through Polhill Reserve and walk along the predator-proof fence that borders Zealandia (www.visitzealandia.com).  The wind turbine was originally installed in 1993 and, prior to being upgraded, was the oldest wind turbine in New Zealand.  It was originally installed as part of a research project looking at the feasibility of wind power.  The original turbine could power approximately 100 homes, while the newer turbine  generates enough power for 490 homes annually.  It has even set international generation records for turbines of it's size (http://www.windenergy.org.nz/brooklyn-wind-turbine).

Panorama from the Brooklyn Turbine (if you click on the picture, it will enlarge it).
Looking out toward Cook Strait
Overlooking Wellington and the harbor
The Brooklyn Turbine, looking toward the Miramar Peninsula
I, personally, think that the view from the Brooklyn Wind Turbine is much better than that from Mount Victoria but they are both fabulous.

Sunday, 7 August 2016

Wellington Markets


Weekly markets are a big deal in New Zealand and Wellington is no exception.  There are three main markets in Wellington that Ross and I make it to most weeks:  the Night Market on Fridays, one of the Fruit and Veg Markets on Saturday or Sunday, and the Underground Market on Saturdays.  If you come and visit us, we will probably take you to dinner at the Night Market on Friday, go shopping for local arts and crafts at the Underground Market on Saturday, and then take you to the Fruit and Veg Market on Sunday so that you can marvel at the piles of inexpensive produce while Ross and I pick up the vast majority of our groceries for the week.

Night Market (www.wellingtonnightmarket.co.nz)

The Night Market runs on both Friday and Saturday nights on Cuba Street in downtown Wellington.  Ross and I generally go on Friday nights for dinner.  There are a couple arts and crafts stalls but the real appeal of the Night Market is the wide range of international food.  So far, we've had everything from crepes to Argentinian to Indonesian and more.  It's a great place to meet friends for dinner as everyone can get whatever they want and it's all fairly inexpensive.



Underground Market (www.undergroundmarket.co.nz)

The Underground Market runs every Saturday (10am to 4 pm) along the waterfront in the carpark under Frank Kitts Park.  It is a great place to get locally made arts and crafts.  Ross and I have to limit how often we go because we always leave with something.  Lately we have started stopping by just for lunch while running errands as there are also a number of international food vendors.  All in all, the Underground Market is a great place to wander through on a Saturday.



Fruit and Veg Markets

Harbourside Market fun facts
Harbourside Market fun facts
Fruit and Veg markets are the cheapest way to buy your produce every week in Wellington.  These are not farmers' markets though.  Most of the produce has been purchased wholesale and is then stored until the weekend.  As such it tends to be a bit lower quality than what you would find in the supermarket but there isn't anything wrong with it.  As long as you shop around and go early, you can get really good produce (http://salient.org.nz/2013/04/beginners-guide-to-wellingtons-fruit-and-vege-markets/).



There are multiple fruit and veg markets in Wellington on the weekends:  Newtown, Harbourside, Victoria Street, Thornton, etc.  Ross and I normally go to the Newtown Market as it is the closest but we will occasionally stop by the Harbourside Market if we are down on the waterfront.  We eat a lot of produce so we love the fruit and veg markets.

All of this cost NZ$19 - 12 kiwifruits, 1/2 head of cabbage, 10 apples, 4 nashi, 4 bananas, 2 beets, 1 avocado, 1 head of garlic, 6 onions, 2kg of carrots, 2 lemons, and a giant head of kale.