It's not what you know, it's who you know

This blog post has been written an unintentional follow up to my original post about working in New Zealand. One of the biggest attractions about working in Queenstown is that it's the place to be in New Zealand; it has stunning mountain scenery, year-round adventure activities and hedonistic nightlife - all in all its a town driven by tourism.

So, apart from the main cities (Auckland and Wellington) and regional seasonal work, Queenstown is a good place to look for temporary work. The best time to look for work is before the two main seasons, summer and winter (with spring and autumn being the shoulder seasons), where you can get jobs such as working for local adventure activity companies, jobs at Coronet Peak and the Remarkables ski fields, or even general work in the hospitality sector. It is possible to find other jobs in the town during the main seasons because of the high turnover of backpackers passing through with working holiday visas. As long as your prepared to work unsociable hours for the minimum wage, there are plenty of jobs in bars, restaurants, convenience stores, retail shops, etc.

Personally, I've found it quite a difficult experience to find work in Queenstown having dropped off lots of CVs into shops, hotels, the local cinema - basically anywhere which had a job going and for work which isn't particularly challenging, especially when it would be easy to pick up quickly with some on-the-job training. So far I've had trials at a pizza restaurant and a convenience store both with their own "interesting experiences".

My first trial was at The Cow pizzeria on Cow Lane, working as a kitchen hand. I found out that there was a job available through the hostel we were staying at - this can often be the best way of finding out about jobs in Queenstown, through word of mouth as well as checking out the Lakes Weekly Bulletin, and job search websites such as Seek or Indeed. Having arranged a trial with the chef, I spent three hours in the kitchen rolling out pizza bases till my arms ached, as well as being shown the ropes by the current kitchen hand. Having impressed enough to be asked back the next day, I was given the impression that the job was mine for the taking as I was asked to bring my IRD number (for paying tax) and bank details with me. Returning to the kitchen the following day it was another arduous exercise of making pizza dough and rolling out bases to within an inch of their life. However, after three hours I was told that I could go as the restaurant had some more people they wanted to trial and they would be in touch soon having taken my contact details - a complete turn around from the day before when I thought I had bagged the job!

The Cow restaurant on Cow Lane

It came as no surprise that after a week I still hadn't received a phone call, not even to say "thanks, but no thanks" - a text message might have even sufficed! So I decided to go back to The Cow to get an explanation, however, I was fobbed off with a convenient excuse from the main chef that they were still trialling another person and that he had lost my phone number but would let me know soon. What really drives me mad is when people can't even be up front about not wanting you for the job. If the chef had at least been honest and said "I'm sorry but you're not the right person for the job" then that would have been fine, it's worse when people string you along and toy with your emotions especially when you're dependent on finding a job to get some stability. To be fair I'm not sure if I would have been suited for the job as it was quite hectic with all the tasks that needed doing, and in all honesty the kitchen hygiene standards left a lot to be desired, with the regular kitchen hand eating the soggy salad with his fingers before preparing the next set of pizzas. The boards that the pizzas were served on weren't even washed between servings, just the remnants of the last meal scraped off, and last but not least the gluten free pizzas were just frozen pizzas bases!

My other experience was at one of the City Express convenience stores in town. The job was advertised in store and the manager was keen to meet potential applicants after screening their CVs. Personally, this was my least preferable choice of job as the hours were largely unsociable and the store manager was very condescending at the best of times. Having worked a couple of 3pm - 1am shifts, to say it was quiet would be an understatement  - it was pretty much the ghost shift! However, this is possibly due to the lack of people visiting Queenstown because of the shortfall of snow throughout the winter season, which has had a big impact on all the ski fields and local businesses, but that's another story...

City Express on Church Street a.k.a. the Kwik-E-Mart

Its a pretty soul destroying experience working into the early hours of the morning on your own whilst the rest of Queenstown is having fun, but needs must! Every so often you might get a group of customers break up the monotony but as the evening progressed they'd be getting more and more wasted. Pretty much all the products in the store are unashamedly overpriced (although the prices aren't on display so it's like your stereotypical corner shop from the 90's!) but the tourists who use the store are too lazy to shop around and are frivolous with their money as they're on holiday. The tedious list of staff rules were a joke, with one particular rule stating "No friends or family to visit whilst you are working".

The abridged version of the prison staff rules - part one...

...part two of the grammatically inconsistent nonsense

I found out quite quickly how serious the company were on enforcing the rules when Lizzie dropped into the store to say "Hi" on her way home from work one evening, after about 10 minutes I got a phone call from the store manager explaining that the security company had called him to say there was a person hanging around by the checkout for too long - FFS talking about taking surveillance to the extreme! I though the security cameras were there to keep an eye on the customers not the staff! In all seriousness I felt that I was being constantly monitored with 7 cameras in the store, especially when I had to open up the store at 7.00am one morning and I got a text message from the store manager at 7.02am trying to find out why the store wasn't open despite having just putting my key in the door...

Fortunately, I have managed to find a better job in the meantime but when I think about the store manager and how he had penny-pinching down to a fine art, with cost cutting measures and a massive mark-up on the goods in the store, it reminded me of Apu from The Simpsons and his Kwik-E-Mart. Especially, when the store manager was justifying that you could still sell microwaved frozen pies which had been put under a heated lamp for 10 hours because "it's what they do in Mobil garages!"

The next time you're tempted by a convenience store pie, think about how long it's been sitting in the heater!

Continuing back on the theme of looking for jobs, one of the best sources of local information is the Lakes Weekly Bulletin, which is published every Monday around 1.30pm on the website and is available in print every Tuesday. However, it's best to be on the internet waiting for the online edition as it seems quite a lot of people are all searching for the same jobs and it can pay to be the first off the block with casual work. Quite a lot of the jobs advertised will be part-time (often 20-30 hours) so you might find yourself trying to juggle two part-time roles at once or even working for accommodation if you're staying a hostel.

Quite often I've found prospective employers don't have time to read through reams of résumés/ CVs very thoroughly so it's worth pointing out your relevant experience and skills when dropping off your CV. Also, if you haven't heard back after 3 or 4 days it's always worth doing a follow up to keep your submission fresh in the employer's mind, plus it makes you seem keen and eager for the job, but you can also come across as annoying if you don't get the balance right.

There are a number of job agencies in Queenstown, however, we've really had mixed experiences with these as they often talk the good talk but rarely go out of their way to push work in your direction. I guess it's because so many people register with these agencies when they first arrive in town that you're often just a name amongst hundreds of others. I got a phone call from the Queenstown Job Agency the other day, 6 weeks after I first registered with them asking if I was still looking for work! What a joke! If we hadn't found a job by then we would have tried our luck back in Wellington or Auckland instead - it's such a waste of time for everyone involved that it takes so long for recruitment staff to actually get back in touch with you just to find out if you're still looking for a job...

However, sometimes finding a job can come down to who you know more than based on your own merits, as I found when I mentioned to a housemate that I applied for a job at a zipline eco-tour adventure company. He kindly offered to put in a good word to the course manager as he was mate, but I felt if I was the right person for the job then I should be offered the job based on that and not anything else. I also had a very different experience when I applied for video editor role at local sky diving company called Nzone. Not only didn't I receive any sort of acknowledgement to confirm receipt of my application (which was submitted a week ahead of the closing date) but also I had to call the General Operations Manager, Jon Rowe, to find out that my application hadn't been considered properly because of my work visa...

After convincing the manager to take another look at my application I asked him when he would be getting back in touch to which he said that he would get back to me the same day. Two days later I phoned up again to find out what he thought of my application only to discover that the position had been filled as New Zealand residents get first priority for full-time jobs and that no one else had even been considered outside of this criteria. I was pretty cheesed off that I had to ring him up twice and so I sent a strongly worded email to express my opinion and make a complaint. A couple of hours later I actually got a phone call from the man himself as he was pissed off that I had called into question his professionalism, which also involved him threatening me, that "Queenstown's a small place" - implying that I shouldn't mess with him as he could make my life difficult here because of who he knows...which comes back to my original point and something that has fast become a cliché from my experiences here: "It's not what you know, it's who you know".

Having gone round and round in circles on the phone I at least got him to concede that the job advert didn't describe the role as being permanent, if it had I wouldn't have wasted my time and he wouldn't have had so many other pointless applications to wade through. This is the actual job description taken directly from the Lakes Weekly Bulletin:

Unless I'm mistaken where does it say "for New Zealand residents only"?

What really puzzled me was Mr Rowe's definition of a "full time job", to him this meant it was a permanent role - this is different to my understanding, and was particularly surprising coming from someone who is involved in hiring new employees. He claimed that people on working holiday visas that myself and Lizzie are on couldn't apply for "full time jobs", however, this contradicts the work we did in the Bay of Islands where we working up to 60+ hours a week. For someone who is involved in recruitment he should really get a better understanding of the difference between the terms "permanent" and "full-time" before trying to make someone who has taken an interest in an exciting job opportunity, feel like a second-class citizen. Overall it was a pretty disheartening response, especially considering the current situation with young Kiwis emigrating to Australia for higher wages and a better lifestyle, whilst those travellers who are willing to fill the gap in the market are overlooked.

To add insult to injury, once you've been in New Zealand for more than 183 days on a working holiday visa, you no longer eligible to claim all the tax money you have paid back, but only a proportion on the earnings where you've overpaid tax! So you can't apply for permanent jobs because you're not a New Zealand resident but you're not entitled to a full tax refund because you're considered a New Zealand tax resident - go figure!?!

Last but not least, some jobs tend to carry a gender bias and women might find it easier to get jobs in bars,   cafés or doing housekeeping work, whereas guys might find it easier to find labouring jobs or kicthen-based work. It's technically against the law to employ staff based on their gender, but it seems to happen more or less everywhere.

Queenstown is a fantastic place to live, however, it seems that it's the English expats who have come to New Zealand for a better life and opportunities, are the ones spoiling the experience for everyone else. As one friend quite rightly pointed out, Queenstown can be a bit of a C.U.N.ext T.uesday soup!

Once you've got over the hurdle of finding a job, don't expect to save much money especially with the combination of minimum pay work, part-time shifts and spending your wages straight back into the town. However, I guess its the "Queenstown experience" that attracts people here in the first place!

**Since writing this post, I've been lucky to get a couple of better jobs and although I stand by my original view, at least I've been able to try things that I wouldn't have considered at home, plus there have been some small perks of the job...**

It's not all bad when you're out and about picking up stock from the airport on a beautiful day 

Up to the Bay of Islands

It's with a heavy heart that we have to leave Hawke's Bay to find some work up in the Bay of Islands, in time for the start of the kiwifruit picking season, which runs from April to June. Napier has been our home for the last 5 weeks, and there have a lot of highs and thankfully only a few lows.

We've met some brilliant people at our hostel, Archie's Bunker (the same hostel we stayed at on our original trip!) and we even managed to find some temporary work, although the whole apple picking fiasco was the only sour point of our stay. It eventually turned out that despite what you're told, employees are entitled to the minimum wage in New Zealand even on piece rates and if you don't get this then your employer is breaking the law.

For the last three weeks I've been working for Judd Dougan Team Architects (originally Natusch and Sons), one of the original members of the Associated Architects in Napier who were the principals of the four major architecture practices. It provided an interesting insight into the architecture industry in New Zealand, which isn't dissimilar to the UK in that there has been quite a slow down in the last couple of years, but it's showing signs of recovery from the global recession.

One of the last things we did on our final weekend in Hawke's Bay was to scale Te Mata peak, located a short distance from Napier (25 km away) on the outskirts of Havelock North. Legend tells us that the ridge is meant to be the body of the Māori chief, Rongokako, lying down after having choked on a rock as he tried to eat his way through the hill. At the very top of the peak you can get beautiful panoramic views across the Heretaunga Plains - on a clear day it's supposedly possible to see Mt Ruapehu in the heart of Tongariro National Park.

Lizzie in front of the 399m high limestone bluffs

View looking back to Napier

Hopefully we'll be back in Napier before too long, but for now Kerikeri is our ultimate destination as we head up to the most northern region of the North Island to check out the much touted Bay of Islands. Famous for its sub-tropical weather and beautiful blue waters with around 150 islands punctuated throughout, the area also holds enormous historical significance for the Māori as well as the first Europeans who settled here, when the British started colonising Aotearoa or New Zealand as it's now known.

Driving north of Napier along the Thermal Explorer Highway (State Highway 5) where we stopped off in Rotorua via Taupo to see some familiar sites at Kuirau Park (a public park with lots of geothermal activity) and down by Lake Rotorua - the second largest lake on the North Island.

Continuing along State Highway 5, we eventually stopped off at Hamilton to break up the journey and spend the night there, although I can't say I was impressed by the small part of Hamilton we saw and I don't think we'll bother making a return trip!

Kuirau Park is a good place to see free geothermal activity in Rotorua

The next day we left early to drive up the motorway through Auckland, as it was still another 5 hours to Kerikeri. Taking a brief detour to avoid the Northern Gateway Toll Road, we briefly joined the Hibiscus Coast Highway where we stopped off in Orewa for lunch. From there we drove State Highway 1 all the way up to Kerikeri for roughly 210 kms.

The place we're staying at is on the outskirts of the town, called Kerikeri Farm Hostel. It's an animal lovers paradise so Lizzie feels very much at home! There are two dogs at the hostel, a one year old Labrador called Nika - she's a lovely dog who's very excitable but also likes to jump up at you and chew your hand if she gets too carried away! There's also another dog called Weewee who is a little older and very affectionate, although she's a little overweight and is currently on a diet. Apparently, there's an elusive cat around called Mr Stink, however he's quite shy and we haven't seen him yet.

Throw Nika a stick and she'll be your new best friend

Weewee loves her back being scratched!

The farm hostel also has two female kunekune pigs (which means 'fat and round' in Māori), a sheep called "Fluffy" and a whole host of free range chickens, which are quite tame and friendly.

These were once cute little piglets. Oink oink!

The cockerel is a reliable morning alarm clock

This chicken wouldn't look out of place in the film Tron!

Exploring the local area we ventured 2 km from town down to the Kerikeri Basin, which was the site chosen by Samual Marsden for the Church Missionary Society's second mission in New Zealand. The site is home to New Zealand's oldest standing European buildings - the Stone Store and  Kerikeri Mission House (Kemp House). The Stone Store is the oldest surviving stone building in New Zealand and was constructed in 1836 - it kind of reminds me of the old wool mill buildings back at home in Witney, Oxfordshire. The store served as a central provision store for the Church Missionary Society. Nearby is Kemp House, which is New Zealand's oldest European building constructed between 1820-21. Although, it's less than 200 years old, Kemp House still pre-dates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (New Zealand's founding document) by almost 20 years.

The old Stone Store across the Kerikeri River

More info about what the store was used for can be found inside

Opposite the Kerikeri Basin Reserve is the start of a walk along the Kerikeri River to Wharepuke Falls, where we got an awesome view of a Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus).

A Pukeko (New Zealand Swamp Hen) on the opposite side of the river

The Kingfisher is also known by its Māori name, Kōtare 

Wharepuke Falls are a 20 minute walk from the Stone Store 

The track follows the north bank of the river, passing through some kiwi habitat and regenerating native trees such as kauri and tōtara. Further up the river are Rainbow Falls (or Waianiwaniwa, which in Māori means "Waters of the Rainbow"), which are 27m high. There's a decent lookout from the top and the falls certainly lived up to their name as there were lots of rainbows created by all the mist in the air. It's possible to walk to the base of the falls but you are guaranteed to get a little damp from all the water vapour drifting in the air!

A rainbow formed from the spray of Rainbow Falls

There's no safety barriers to stop you falling in if you get too close!

A short guide to buying a budget car in New Zealand

Buying a second-hand is never easy and this is can be especially challenging when you're doing it in another country! Apart from having to get used to the terminology and requirements for ensuring your vehicle is legal to drive (road tax, owner registration and vehicle road worthiness), there's your list of ideal requirements, knowing when to spot a lemon or bargain which looks too good to be true, and the slight awkwardness in trying to agree an asking price with the person your buying from.

To begin with, I think the most important thing to point out is that the car market is completely different to other Western countries. Unlike it's bigger brother Australia, New Zealand doesn't manufacture it's own cars so be prepared to shop around for a lot of Japanese imports including Subarus, Toyotas, Nissans, Mitsubishis, etc, although you can get Holdens or Fords as well as a limited range of European makes.

The majority of cars for sale are automatics with large engines - I haven't found a particularly good reason why the cars don't have gear sticks but my preference would be for a manual car. New Zealand doesn't really do small city cars either and most of the budget cars that are advertised for sale will be either station wagons (estates), sedans (saloons) or vans.

The vehicles at the lower end of the price range are in need of some TLC and will have some sort of minor damage to the body work, whether it's a dent or two in the body, some scratches, some faded paintwork or maybe even a new bonnet or door. So, it is worth lowering your expectations as you'll be paying more for cars which are essentially older and have done a lot more miles - I'll go into more depth further on.

For example, back at home £900 GBP (or $1,680 at the time of writing) would have bought us a 1.2 litre Renault Clio (2000) with 98,000 miles/157,715 km on the clock. This included a 12 month MOT, one month's worth of road tax and it had been owned by three previous owners.

Our beloved Renault Clio which we had to sell before the trip

Having been to New Zealand before and used the InterCity coaches flexi-pass to get us around the North and South Islands, we decided that we wanted to buy a car second time round as it would open up more possibilities to see parts of the country that we wouldn't have been able to get to by coach.

Having resisted the urge to buy a car as soon as we arrived in Auckland, we held off for a couple of weeks to get a feel for what kind of motors would be within our budget and then we looked at the following cars:

Option 1: Holden Ballina (1995)

The equivalent of the Vauxhall Corsa in the UK, this car had 193,000 kms on the mileometer (or the odometer as it's known here), a 1.4 litre engine, licence ("rego") valid for a month and a half, and WOF due in 3 months. The asking price was $1600 ONO.

The main issue was the loose exhaust pipe, which rattled against the underside and made a lot noise with four passengers in the car on the test drive but it didn't have a hole anywhere else in the pipe.

A small car of this age is almost a rarity but you can see the superficial damage in the bonnet

 Option 2: Toyota Cynos (1992)

A sporty little 2 door coupé with a 1.5 litre engine, 240,000 kms on the odometer, licence valid for a month and a half, and WOF due in 6 months. The asking price was $1800 ONO.

There was nothing obviously wrong with the car based on a visual inspection apart from a bit of wear and tear on the driver seat and a bald tyre on the front passenger side, otherwise it was a smooth ride.

This is the best photo I could find of a Toyota Cynos not too dissimilar to the one we looked at

Photo courtesy of hytam2 from flickr licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

Option 3: Mitsubishi Lancer (1996)

A popular seventh generation Lancer with 1.5 litre engine, four doors plus a boot, 202,000 kms on the clock, licence valid for a month and a half and WOF due in 6 months. This asking price was the most expensive of the three cars we'd seen at $2200 but there were no major problems that we could find having taken the car for a test drive.

This car was owned by a local who had it for just under 4 years

Presented with all three choices which one would you choose? This isn't a trick question as there's no right or wrong answer but based on our experience we went with option 3, having put both the Mitisubishi Lancer and Toyota Cynos through a pre-purchase inspection. This is a vehicle inspection which is a useful way of finding out the condition of the car you're potentially buying as it gives you all the facts when you're making your decision. A pre-purchase inspection can cost anything between $25-$100, depending on where you get it done and how thorough an inspection you want the garage to carry out. We paid $35 each for our checks at a local independent garage and neither of the owners of the two cars had any objections to having the check done, plus were both happy to take their cars to the garage of our choice. However, it is was the findings of the pre-purchase inspection which largely informed our final decision.

On paper and on the test drive, the Toyota Cynos seemed to be a perfectly decent car, but when we took it to the garage the inspection found a whole host of problems, which would have potentially cost us in the long run such as; a large crack in the top of the radiator water tank, oil leaks around the cambelt, problems with shock absorbers and the tyre on the front passenger side was definitely not road worthy - this would have failed the car on it's next Warrant of Fitness test.

On the other hand, the inspection on Mitisubishi Lancer wasn't perfect as there was a small leak in the bottom of the radiator water tank and there were no signs that the cambelt had been changed in the last four years since the previous owner had the car (or roughly every 100,000 kms depending on manufacturer) but at least we knew what we were letting ourselves in for when buying the car and roughly how important these problems would be to fix. It also gave us some leverage to make an offer lower than the asking price (we agreed on $2,000 with the owner).

The Automobile Association (or AA as they're also known as in the UK) is a popular motoring organisation in New Zealand and is a useful starting point for buying a second-hand vehicle. Two of the most common phrases that you'll see when buying second-hand car include:

1. Warrant of Fitness (WOF) is a test to make sure that your vehicle meets required safety standards and is the equivalent of a MOT in the UK, however it has to be carried out every 6 months once a vehicle is more than 6 years old.
2. Licensing is often referred to as the "rego" and this the equivalent of road tax. This should not to be confused with Registration, which is when a car is very first registered in New Zealand and issued with number plates. The "rego" can be purchased in blocks of 3, 6 or 12 months. You can find the current fees on the New Zealand Transport Agency's website, which is also a useful source of information for all car-related terminology. 

When viewing a car you should go prepared with some questions and a basic list of things to check. If possible try to bring a friend along as they might spot things you didn't see or offer a second opinion. The following checklist is also a useful guide for things to look out for when doing a vehicle inspection. Some good questions to ask include:

• Why are they selling the car? Most people will be looking to offload their car as they're leaving the country but if their story sounds a bit fishy then ask a few more questions to see if they're being consistent or have something to hide. Also, check if they're the vehicle owner and not doing the sale on behalf of anyone else. 
• How many previous owners? Although a perfectly good question ask, don't be surprised if the current owner doesn't know, especially if you're buying from a fellow backpacker as some cars have done the rounds. From our experience not everyone will be able to provide documentation to confirm the vehicle's history but if you can at least get hold of the previous WOF certificate it will provide a brief report with any recommendations for the next test.
• Has any work been done to car recently?  This gives an indication of what sort of condition the car is in. Has it been in a crash, had some major repairs or had a serious mechanical fault? If it has been repaired, where was it done and are the repairs guaranteed? 
• When was the cambelt last changed? This is quite a common thing that needs replacing in older cars and can cause some serious damage to the engine if it breaks. If it hasn't been replaced recently then find out when it is due, as they need changing approx. every 100,000 km's. Personally, I think this is an important question to ask as the majority of budget cars will have done a lot of kilometers, more than your average car back at home.
• Has the car been serviced recently? If the car has been serviced within the last year then you can feel a little more confident that it has been well looked after. This also provides an opportunity for the owner to mention if the oil has been changed and how often it needs topping up. 
• How many kilometres does the car do to the litre?  It might be a useful thing to know if the car is fuel efficient as petrol costs over seem to be rising and it might be savvy to work out how often you'll be need to fill up the car in order for it to get you from A to B.
• What are price you willing to sell the car for? This will give you an idea if there is any other interest in the car or whether the seller is prepared to offer a discount. Sometimes it is possible to negotiate a lower price based on the when the WOF and vehicle license are due, or if there is any work that will need doing in the future. You can also offer a cash payment to sweeten the deal.
• Are you willing to put the car through a pre-purchase inspection? As mentioned before the short-term benefits can outweigh long-term costs if you buy a car which is actually in poor condition under the bonnet. If there is any hesitation on the part of the seller at the thought of an inspection, then you should probably steer clear and looking for some alternative cars to view.

Most importantly, use your common sense. If something doesn't feel right, then something is most likely wrong. The vast majority of owners will be happy to let you test drive the car, especially as insurance in New Zealand isn't a legal requirement, but it is still worth paying for than taking a risk in case you damage someone else's BMW! A good starting point for insurance is the BBH (Budget Backpacker Hostels) policy as they offer very reasonably price third party insurance which can also be extended to cover fire and theft of your vehicle.

Once you've agreed a selling price and exchanged keys, both the buyer and the seller will need to complete some paperwork in order to officially confirm the transfer of ownership. This needs to be done immediately using forms available from a local New Zealand Post shop or online at the New Zealand Transport Agency website. The buyer pays a small fee and is ultimately responsible for the changeover. Also, the car needs to be registered to a physical address not a PO Box. If you don't have a permanent address most hostels won't mind you using their address to get the new ownership documents sent to, as long as you ask nicely.

Hopefully, you will find this post useful as buying a car in New Zealand will open up a whole host of possibilities, but be aware that it's not the same market as at home and sometimes you will need to adjust your expectations.

Last but not least, it is important to remember that the Kiwi's drive on the left-hand side of the road as do the Aussie's. This may sound obvious but it seems quite a few people have been caught out by this. Happy driving!

Aotearoa: the land of the long white cloud

Kia Ora from New Zealand! After an action packed couple of weeks in Singapore and Australia, it’s been down to some more serious business for the last few days with setting up banks accounts and applying for IRD numbers (or tax numbers), as well as scoping out potential motors. However, it’s not all been plain sailing in the City of Sails, especially when you’re treated like “The Great Unwashed” (Lizzie’s new phrase) when trying to set up a bank account… the main culprits being the front desk staff at ANZ and the National Bank, who aren’t even New Zealand owned despite being “the National Bank”. Based on a recommendation we opened an account with Kiwibank who are part of the New Zealand Post and they were much more helpful and welcoming.

The area we’re currently staying in is a suburb west of the city called Ponsonby, which kind of reminds me a little of St Kilda in Melbourne in that it's quite a popular place to be, but it doesn't have the same effortless coolness or pretentious yuppies.

View of the old Ponsonby Post Office against the city skyline

Since we’ve arrived in Auckland we haven’t had many opportunities to explore the city apart from frequently walking down Queens St and past the Sky Tower on numerous occasions. It’s hard to miss the Sky Tower as it dominates the city skyline, especially as it’s the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

The impossible-to-miss Sky Tower from Ponsonby

Buying a car in New Zealand seems a little less straightforward than at home, especially as all the cars within our budget seem to be 20 years old and have over 200,000 kms on the clock. I’m guessing this is fine if your expectations are low are and you don’t mind owning a car which has changed hands more times than Mario Balotelli has been sent off in his career (!) but having a car really does open up your opportunities for sightseeing around New Zealand as regular public transport outside the big cities can be non-existent.

After checking out Auckland City Car Fair we headed over to the Auckland Domain, which is the site of the Pukekawa volcano. This covers an area of 80 hectares and contains sports fields, formal gardens, sculptures and the Wintergarden. As it was quite a hot day we decided to start off in the cool house to check out the collection of temperate plants, before heading into the hot house and the relative shade of the fernery where we saw the iconic silver fern – the national symbol of New Zealand.

The "Lover's Walk" track at Auckland Domain

View of the tropical hot house at the Wintergardens

Walking through the Domain we headed over to the Auckland Museum (Tamaki Paenga Hira), an impressive neo-classical building which is also home to the war memorial. The views from the top of the hill were excellent as you could see all the way across to the harbourside suburb of Devonport.

The Auckland Museum is considered one of the finest Greco-Roman buildings in the Southern Hemisphere

On a separate occasion, we took a short trip out of the city to Mt Eden (Maungawhau) as this is the highest  volcanic cone in Auckland at 196m. The 360^o views from the top were truly superb and it’s not too challenging a walk to the summit. The main crater is 50m deep and is known as Te Ipu Kai a Mataaho. It’s considered to be sacred and there are several signs warning people not to enter the crater (more for their own safety as it’s quite steep) but inevitably this doesn’t stop the occasional moron venturing down, although one couple were told to stop pretty quickly!

Lizzie by the massive 50 metre deep crater

As tempting as it is, you're not allowed to go in the crater

View looking North to the CBD with the crater in the foreground

Unfortunately, we haven’t covered as much of Auckland as we hoped but I wouldn’t be surprised if a return visit was on the cards soon. The plan for the next couple of days is make our way over to Napier for the Art Deco Weekend via a stop off in Taupo.