Silver
18th April 2012, 07:42 PM
Family and I were in the Sth Island for 2 weeks, and the North for just under a week, and I reckon I saw 5 shortie GQs, 3 Safari Wagons, and 2 or 3 GUs.
Our Kiwi friends must have them all off road having a ball. There were heaps of Surfs and other similar vehicles, and I can well see why a fuel efficient vehicle makes extra good sense with fuel prices - petrol at N2 $2-60 +- and diesel about 50 cents cheaper, but one has to buy a tax thing from the post office - a bit under $250 for 5000ks .
Turning to the holiday, we had a ball. A lovely place, and ama2ingly, we did not meet one single rude Kiwi in the entire time.
As an example, we wandered down to a beach one day, and there was a very impressive electric winch with heavy mono in a tidy alloy frame on the shingle beach. Nipper and I looked for a while, then wandered up and asked if we could have a look. The crew were very kind and explained how it all worked - 27 hooks towed out be a floating electric torpedo quite a few hundred meters East of the beach, that turned itself off after a pre set time.
After the explanation, I was offered a beer, which out of politeness I didn't feel I could accept - the carton seemed barely keeping pace with the crew, and we had already established that the line would be reeled in when the beer ran out.
There was the usual Kiwi/Aussie banter - which throughout the whole trip got no worse than references to rugby and cricket, and comments like "you Aussies are welcome, but you can take your b@@%% possums back whenever you like.'
Then, a just opened can was thrust into my hand, which of course I had to consume - another Kiwi pleasure.
Sadly all 27 hooks came back empty...... and there were references to dingos, which I took to be to my Western Plains 2oo Tshirt, which did have a magnificent dingo family depicted thereon. Nipper and I got away with our skins intact, and an invite to the next running of the torpedo long line :-)
To all the Kiwis we met, and are yet to meet, and to those on here, 'Kia Ora!!'
Rick
Our Kiwi friends must have them all off road having a ball. There were heaps of Surfs and other similar vehicles, and I can well see why a fuel efficient vehicle makes extra good sense with fuel prices - petrol at N2 $2-60 +- and diesel about 50 cents cheaper, but one has to buy a tax thing from the post office - a bit under $250 for 5000ks .
Turning to the holiday, we had a ball. A lovely place, and ama2ingly, we did not meet one single rude Kiwi in the entire time.
As an example, we wandered down to a beach one day, and there was a very impressive electric winch with heavy mono in a tidy alloy frame on the shingle beach. Nipper and I looked for a while, then wandered up and asked if we could have a look. The crew were very kind and explained how it all worked - 27 hooks towed out be a floating electric torpedo quite a few hundred meters East of the beach, that turned itself off after a pre set time.
After the explanation, I was offered a beer, which out of politeness I didn't feel I could accept - the carton seemed barely keeping pace with the crew, and we had already established that the line would be reeled in when the beer ran out.
There was the usual Kiwi/Aussie banter - which throughout the whole trip got no worse than references to rugby and cricket, and comments like "you Aussies are welcome, but you can take your b@@%% possums back whenever you like.'
Then, a just opened can was thrust into my hand, which of course I had to consume - another Kiwi pleasure.
Sadly all 27 hooks came back empty...... and there were references to dingos, which I took to be to my Western Plains 2oo Tshirt, which did have a magnificent dingo family depicted thereon. Nipper and I got away with our skins intact, and an invite to the next running of the torpedo long line :-)
To all the Kiwis we met, and are yet to meet, and to those on here, 'Kia Ora!!'
Rick