Two Americans emigrate to New Zealand from Colorado,
USA.
We share our Kiwi immigration story and talk about
our new life in Nelson, New Zealand
October 2007 | Blog home | December 2007
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So Angela and I decided that after a couple hectic weekends of travel - Wellington 2 weeks ago and Christchurch last weekend - we'd have a bit more relaxing weekend and just take a nice hike close by. We agreed on the Cable Bay Walkway. Now we've heard the first section is steep but I had no idea it would be straight up the side of the hill - I should have known as I've had this experience before here, the Kiwi's have never heard of switchbacks.
We started from the Cable Bay side rather than The Glen only because we had never been there before. We took a bag of chips, 2 apples, and water. Probably should have taken a bit more as I was starting to get hungry when I stepped out of the car. Anyway, it was a nice cloudy and fairly cool day with the slight threat of rain hanging overhead. One path followed the shore as you can see above and the other, as I stated earlier, climbs straight up the side of the hill. We've heard after the initial climb, it levels out and only has a few ups and downs. sure.
Well not 200 meters in and we spot this - not a good sign at all. Not really sure what it is from but it sure didn't look good. We continued to climb and climb and climb....you get the picture. Seriously, this was as steep as anything I've done in Colorado, just at a much lower altitude.
These shots give you a good idea of how steep it is.
This isn't just a hiking trail but also farmland so we're amongst the cows and sheep - a typical New Zealand hike. These cows must be in pretty good shape to get up here, either that or they walked up over the last few years and have refused to come down.
Considering it is farmland, you really need to make sure you watch your step....every single step.
Now for a view from the top where we stopped to relax, enjoy the view, and eat. I'd bet there would be even better views on a sunny day but not sure I'd want to climb the hill with the sun beating down on me. Unfortunately the bag of chips and apples weren't enough food for me so even with Angela wanting to go on, I refused. I was losing energy rapidly and needed some more food. In fact I was really craving a candy bar so back to the car for us. I remembered the skull we saw earlier and didn't want to take any chances.
Anyway, as you can see from the picture on the right, the trail continues along the hillside. To complete the walk you need about 4 hours and a plan for transport on the other end - either leave a car or hike with friends coming from the other direction and swaps keys along the way. I didn't take any pictures across Tasman Bay due to the clouds so you'll just have to come down and see for yourself.
Nice shot from down by the car looking out into the bay. Not the best of beaches but the crashing waves certainly create a soothing sound. All in all a good hour and a half out. I think it is one we will come back to when I'm better prepared.
First, you may want to catch up on Part 1 and Part 2 of my discourse on New Zealand's public health system, as well as my update that was chock full of new info.
Second, an update:
Yesterday I received a notice in the mail with some paperwork that my procedure is scheduled for next week. In total, I waited 3.5 months for this appointment and was given one week's notice. I have to call to confirm that I can make that time, which I did, and now everything is set. I will not have to pay for anything. I told my friend Jade that I finally received the appointment and she thought that was fast, even for Nelson (which serves Tasman as well, but still).
Many New Zealanders have elected to take out private health insurance because it provides access to private hospitals for the quick treatment of non-urgent conditions or elective procedures. Some estimates say 40% of New Zealanders are covered by private health insurance. A network of private hospitals and clinics provides a range of services that include recuperative care, elective procedures, and general surgical procedures through to specialist procedures. There are also private radiology clinics and testing laboratories for insurance plans that cover reimbursement for xrays and lab tests. [In Nelson, however, there is no private hospital, but only a small private surgical facility, I believe.]
In other words, private insurance allows you to have those elective surgeries a heckuva lot faster than other people. And it can get you treatment on urgent, non-emergency procedures faster as well. It all depends how you use it, but most of the time you're basically 'skipping the line' over others who can only use the public health system.
Even if you have private health insurance, you are still entitled to free public health services. Many physicians work both systems, especially in small places like Nelson. If you have a dedicated private facility, you may get full-time private physicians, but I don’t think that is the norm. Pretty much all the physicians in Nelson work both systems, and keep their private patients on a separate list for priority purposes.
Medical insurance comes in a range of plans, just as in the States. You can opt for day-to-day coverage that pays a majority of your doctors visits and tests, if you want, or you can choose surgical coverage alone, or a plan to the equivalent of major medical coverage. The costs are not nearly as high as they are in the U.S. For example, a medical plan that includes specialist visits, surgical coverage, and a few elected procedures in addition to lab and xray tests, but not anything day-to-day, was quoted to me at about $25NZ per month. Not bad.
That plan, mostly surgical coverage, may be the smart way to go. Day-to-day costs are not crazy, as I've explained previously, and the public system covers most tests and routine exams, even if subsidised. Covering yourself for more critical care might be the way to go to ensure you receive timely care for more expensive health needs. The medical plans at my work through a major national company will cover up to $75k per surgery. My medical insurance rep told me that no surgery performed in New Zealand costs more than $60k. Here are some examples of the costs of surgeries here, all in NZ $$ (again, take roughly 3/4 for the cost in US $$):
In addition to covering surgical costs, there appears to be helpful coverage for related expenses (anesthesiologists, hospital stay, non-hospital stay, tests, lab work, etc.) as well as costs for family to care for you and home health nursing.
You can add in vision and dental to your policy as well as alternative medicine, but to me it's completely unnecessary because it has a hefty cost and doesn’t offer much benefit. Most people pay for dental and vision on their own—even though the costs are pretty bad out of your own pocket anyway. Or don’t, as the case may be.
Medical insurance plans I’ve seen all have a pre-existing condition clause, and for the most part will not cover anything disclosed in your medical information or, if there is a prior record, anything treated previously. Some policies will give you a three-year waiting period, and then may cover you depending on what your illness is. One of the key illnesses they really watch for on the pre-existing side is anything related to heart disease.
Something I found hilarious: one of the plans on offer will reward you after three years of continuous coverage with a one-time lump sum payment toward one of three surgeries, a bilateral breast reduction, woman’s sterilisation, or a stomach stapling procedure. WHHAAA??? That is funny. Thanks for your business!! IF you're a woman, I suppose! I'm not sure many men would take up on the bilateral breast reduction!
Who pays for the medical insurance? That depends. My employer receives a group rate, but doesn’t pay anything toward costs. It is all employee paid. Don’s employer also has a discounted rate and the company contributes a specific sum per employee each week, which effectively cover’s Don alone under its most basic plan for free. If we upgrade plans, he will end up having to contribute out of pocket, about $15 NZ per month for the same plan I quoted above for me.
As an aside, and without getting too detailed, insurance can come in handy should you be denied coverage through the ACC, The Accident Compensation Corporation. This is sorta kinda the equivalent to the US’ workers compensation scheme, except that it covers any accident that occurs whether it is in the workplace or not. Should you break your leg during soccer practice, your treatment is covered under the ACC, not the public system. The ACC provides universal accident insurance cover, injury prevention services, care management, and medical and other care and rehabilitation services. The important point here is that some coverage gets denied under the ACC system, and if it is denied and you have medical insurance, you get covered. If not, into the public system and long waits for care and rehab. But this basically sounds like another pipeline of money to be used for the same public health system services.
If you leave your employer, you can take the plan with you by paying on your own--at higher, non-group rates--or if your new employer offers the same company, you can transfer accounts.
We have not held any medical insurance since we arrived in New Zealand. All permanent residents and citizens have full access to the public health system; people on work visas and visitors do not.
Now that we are both settled in jobs, and both employers offer medical coverage, we recently considered our options and we signed up for medical insurance. Is it worth the money? We don’t know. I am told that the waiting list on the South Island is far shorter for most things than the North Island—which makes sense as only ¼ of the country’s population lives on the South Island. Still, what if something happens…isn’t that always the question you ask yourselves? Being the highly responsible people we are by nature (which we fight against every day!) we have signed up for a mostly specialist and surgical-coverage plan for both of us. I pay $11 per fortnight and Don pays an employer-subsidised $1 per fortnight.
The good thing about having the insurance is that you have the choice how you want to manage your health care. If you can get into an appointment or procedure or surgery within a reasonable timeframe, then you can opt to go through the public system. On the other hand, if your doctor tells you that you a have to have a surgery and the waiting list means treatment is six months or more away, you can elect to go private. You always have the choice when to enlist your policy coverage, depending on what is available—and when—in the public system.
You have to file for reimbursement yourself, handle all your paperwork, and pay up front and then seek reimbursement. Is it worth the trouble? Maybe, maybe not. I understand it's a bit of a hassle.
And a real ride, not some foofy goofy ride, one up and back down a mountain side. Yes, I decided to join a local group of guys for an after work ride up the Barnicoat. It was my favourite kind of ride, the kind where you get beers at the end. Wayne organised this little outing as we rode from his work to his place up and over the dreaded Barnicoat – the top is a favourite spot for the paragliders because of the height and wind currents.
It was pretty steep on the way up and I loved it, nothing like a good hill climb. Coming down was a different story. First we started on the old fire/ logging roads which are wide enough for a car. Not bad but at high speeds on the dirt was a bit of a change for me. I'm used to flying down paved roads on 1/2 inch wide tires but even with these fatties (the tires) I was a bit apprehensive - something to get used to sliding around on the dirt through the turns. It then got worse heading down the singletrack. Some crazy shit these guys go down. I'm told it is all psychological and just getting your confidence. Ok, well I’m confident it has to do with being psychotic. As an example there was one section where the trail simply dropped about 3 feet – no warning, just around a tree and there it was. Just keep your speed and you’ll be fine – oh, ok. Most is just really steep (up and down) with a lot of tight turns around trees while going over rocks and tree roots. Technically, when going down the steep sections, you are supposed move your centre of gravity as far over the back of the bike as possible (i.e. ass behind seat) so you don’t flip over the front. Yeah right. I tried that once but it didn’t work and I flipped right on over. After that and considering it was my first time, I ended up strolling along most of it until reaching the road again. Down the fire road for me and bring on the beers and bbq.
Us at the top. Back row (left to right): Matthew, Johnny, Matt, Alan, Don, Wayne, Anton, don't recall his name. front: Tim, don't recall his name, dog belonged to the paraglider who took the photo (not from the air).
I thought I would follow up on the series of postings on the public health system to let you know how a visit to the hospital went and what it was like. I was notified with a week's notice that my name came onto the list and that I had an appointment for my procedure. I had to call to confirm, and I did after re-arranging my schedule. If the time doesn't work, you'd have to reschedule and likely move down on the list to the next available time. Given that it took 3.5 months to get this appointment (which I was told was pretty fast), I made it work.
I called in advance to find out what to expect; I admit to being a wuss and wanted to accept the offer in the apopintment letter of sedation for the procedure. I was told that it would be perfectly fine, just to let the doctor know. But other than this information letter, I wasn't given any other information about what to expect. I decided that I'd call the nurse line in my letter and find out more on my own.
Just like every other medical appointment I've been to, I had to wait as the doctors were running late. One hour later the doctor came to see me, but only after I had to ask the nurse to fit me with an IV for the sedatives. I had to ask twice. And then I had to tell the doctor--looky here! I've got an IV in my hand, don't forget to give me the drugs! It turns the procedure from a 3 minute one plus a bit of recovery into a 3 hour process with sedation. I didn't care, I had all the time I needed, I just wanted to be doped up.
I went in for the procedure after 90 minutes of waiting, I had to waive my hand with the IV in it around so they would remember my drugs, and no sooner was I waking up in recovery, waiting for food and water--my first all day. After those few hours, I was free to leave, no cost, and with a prescription and good news.
My one lesson? I have found out repeatedly in the last week that these Kiwis are a tough breed. They don't dope it up, they don't take the pain pills, they don't go to the dentist when they have a molar coming through the gums, they don't take any sedation for a flexible sigmoidoscopy, they just take it like a Kiwi and screw the pain meds! When I asked the nurse who gave me my IV how many people do the sedation route, she nearly scoffed and diplomatically said that most people just want to get it over quickly. Translation: Kiwis take it on the chin and get up for more, you're a wuss. Then as I'm in recovery, the guy brought in after me next door had a flex sig with NO sedation. NOTHING, nada. And then he walked out in an hour while I was still there chomping on my egg salad sandwiches and sipping water through a straw.
I don't care, let these Kiwis be brave and buff, I'll take pain meds and wussiness any day of the week.
Chhhcchh ... changes. I guess with the end of the year coming and the changing seasons (for us, to summer!), it's time for some sort of crazy life change. I know I'm writing this, but it's actually Don who's the one going through the change this time. Come January, Don will no longer be working with his current employer, Advanced Personnel. Guess where he's going???
HE'S INVADING MY PEACEFUL WORKING ENVIRONMENT and will be working at the Nelson City Council!!! Yes, Don and I will be working together. Well, not really, but close enough (too close for comfort!).
Several weeks ago, my friend at work Annie, who is the chief recruiter in Human Resources, asked me in the middle of a conversation what Don used to do in Colorado. I told her a quick summary of what I perceived his work to be (cuz who ever really knows when it's all computer-y), then she suggested that he might have the kind of experience she was looking for in a position open at Council -- except that she had an offer out to a candidate at that moment. She was expecting, however, that the candidate would reject it.
Lo and behold a week later the candidate did reject the job offer, Annie asked for Don's CV, Don had reviewed the job description and decided there was enough of a fit to apply. He did, a few days later the would-be-boss and the would-be-boss' boss decided that Don had good skills and he was scheduled for an interview--all without re-listing the position publicly. Pretty good news there!
After the interview, Don thought he did horribly, but apparently he was the only one who thought that as a few days later Council contacted his references. Then a job offer came, Don thought it over, and accepted last week. This week he was busy submitting his resignation at his current job and setting a transition date for the new year break.
YIKES, I thought we spent enough freakin' time together, now it's gonna be like 24 HOURS A DAY!! I jest, of course, because actually he and I won't likely see each other throughout the day. Don's new job is as an Infrastructure Analyst, one of a few of these positions throughout NZ at a local government level. He will be working in the Infrastructure department with heaps of engineers (picture ties with short-sleeved shirts), which handles the strategic planning part of the engineering assets of the Council. He will be in an analyst role doing modelling and planning for all sorts of assets like water piping, dam structures, reservoirs, roads, etc. and all that. It may sound boring, but Don is a computer geek and loves his Excel and modelling so it's fairly new in one way, and somewhat familiar in other ways.
But the most important thing is that the lifestyle of this job is different: no more branch manager, no more responsibility of staff and budgets, no more staff management, no more high pressure. He's now 8-5 and then go home. I, of course, have been in that mode for some long time now! So there you have it. We'll be down to one car and carpooling most days, when Don isn't biking.
That's all good! Additionally, we are SO FREAKING EXCITED that our friends John and Star are on their way (literally in the air as I type) to New Zealand and we are meeting up with them on Tuesday and we'll be on holiday for a couple of weeks. THAT means that the blog is on holiday for 2-3 weeks (the first time in some 18 mos) while we are away. Don't worry, lots to come when we get back, including holiday updates, info about what it's like to travel from NZ and plan international holidays, and Don's first day working for Council... and much more! Have a great few weeks, we'll see you shortly.
