Two Americans emigrate to New Zealand from Colorado,
USA.
We talk about
our life in Nelson, New Zealand.
September 2008 | Blog home | November 2008
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Sorry it's been a little while since I've written, I was busy last weekend with lots of social activities and then Sunday came and I was brought down by yet another cold, my third cold in the last year. I was much safer when I worked in a small office!! I'm not sure from whom I got this bug, but I've missed a good deal of work this week and I'm pretty ticked to have to use my sick days for being sick!
Of course in all my down time, it's only enabled me to watch even MORE (if that's possible) politics in the U.S. I've mentioned this several times, but there is an election here, only no one seems to be paying attention with the worldwide economic crisis (thanks, George, for yet another one). But it is going on, and as subtle as it is, a typical election year trick was put into action a couple of days ago.
The current party in power, Labour, announced months ago that it would give an across the board tax cut to working kiwis ... starting 1 October. Hmmm, this announcement came in June or July or something, but it starts this month. Could it be because the triennial election is on 8 November? So we'll all feel one month's worth richer by the time we go to the polls? I think so!
For all of you who are aiming to come here and work, this will be important. I often hear from people that the tax system is very expensive here, and it is. But if you compare apples to apples (such as, in the US toss in the cost of health insurance) I would bet it's not that much different. Here's what everyone will be saving:
| If your annual taxable income is ... | then the estimated reduction in tax deducted weekly is ... |
|---|---|
| $20,000 - $35,000 | $11.92 |
| $40,000 - $60,000 | $16.54 |
| $65,000 | $22.31 |
| $70,000 or over | $28.08 |
The same game is true here as it is in the States: the conservatives if they get into power (National party) are saying they will cut taxes even more. Labour, the more liberal party, is saying the above tax cuts are prudent. Of course the recent increases in the cost of living, particularly grocery and energy prices, are likely to wipe out lots of the above increase in cash flow. And who knows what will happen next week!
I do know what will happen in November ... I was pretty close to cycling in my first race (not a really tough one, but still!) but then the election was called for that very day, so I bagged the race because I'm really excited to go vote in person on election day ( A SATURDAY!!! ) and take part in this great day. I'll be sure to blog!
So one morning we wake up, look out the bedroom window and see this bit of wildlife lurking around our patio.
I then thought this is how Sarah Palin must feel when she wakes up in Alaska, the state where she is the executive of, and looks out her window and see all those Russians floating around in her airspace. I imagine she’d say something maverickian like, “doggone it, scat out of here you Putins before I get some good ole' hockey moms to go after you and do some reformin'.” She’d then pull out her moose huntin’ rifle and….
Ok, sorry about that, it’s just that comedy act McCain has taken as a running mate, is constantly getting in my head. That damn annoying whinny voice of hers along with the folksy back woods speak just drives me crazy. You do have to give it to her, she sure isn't very intelligent and that makes her funny. Good on her.
Anyway, back to the bird. At first we thought he/ she (I’ve yet to get the zoom lens on and check the anatomy but I’ll assume female from here on out) was stuck on our deck with no way to escape since 3 sides are surrounded by clear glass. We decided to leave her and head off to work hoping she would be gone when we returned. 
Angela made a few inquiries with the home owners via email and they confirmed that this bird is a frequent visitor. It will stop by for a bit then wander off. Great. Now some may think this is cute. Yeah, I can think of nothing better than having an uninvited guest show up, crap all over your deck, then leave without cleaning it up.
So a couple days later, a Saturday if I recall correctly, we were awakened by a loud clucking. It didn’t register what the noise was until we opened the blinds and saw the beast once more. Now I'm thinking if this is going to happen every few days we may have to take some drastic measures.
Then driving to work the other day we saw her walking down the sidewalk. She knows enough to stay out of the road, this could be a problem. I'd say this pheasant more closely resembles a bum, yes, our very own subdivision bum.
The same day I came home early and she's just walking around our place looking for a way in. What does she think this is, a soup kitchen? C'mon.
Now Angela hates game, she absolutely detests it, so I was a bit worried that she would have me dispose of this wee pheasant like I have so many other creatures that have attempted to invade our household. Of course smashing this thing in a tissue and flushing it down the toilet creates all kinds of additional challenges. Anyway, it's odd because I haven't seen this bird since Angela took the photo below last night. Guess we'll just wait and see - ok, off to dinner, yum chicken pasta.
Last weekend my friends Annie (pictured left) and Kate and I went for Sunday morning tea at a local fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition, a group of 25 breast cancer organisations around the country. They were doing their annual teas in cities across New Zealand, so we bought tickets and joined some 70 or so other ladies dolled up in pink for the morning tea.
Morning tea is a big deal here. At work each and every morning people go to morning and afternoon tea and they have a cup of tea, but they also have cake. Cake with icing. It's quite common to see all sorts of cakes. I can't take that level of sugar that early in the morning! As such, I rarely if ever do morning tea. Part of that is also because I don't drink tea!
So we got to this affair and the table was covered in sweets: donuts, brandy buckets, cupcakes, truffles, 
and sugar loaded others. It was a bit much for 10am!! But it was all for a good cause, right? I poured my tap water into my teacup and had a cupcake and a truffle.
Nelson's tea was put on by a local woman who advertised it as a shoe affair, as she is an afficionado of shoes. She 
showed off some of her collection of more than 300 shoes, and held a contest for the best pair of shoes at the affair.
Being somewhat of a shoe gal myself, I put on a fancy pair from my closet and collected second place. Here I am (left) collecting my prize. Vicki: note my pink jacket, I actually wore pink!
Here are the shoes close up, Betsy Feldman's I had my eye on back in Colorado for many months, only to find my size in the sale racks one day shortly before we moved. They called to me. Of course, I had to have them even tho they are size 11. Somehow, I fatten my size 10 foot 
up each time I wear them and it all works!
Unfortunately I lost to this pair of shoes, the black and pink polka dots, which was admittedly more in keeping with the collection on display, and the lady putting on the event was the only judge. Alas I also was the lucky person with a gift certificate under my chair, and Annie and Kate won prizes in the raffle. A productive morning all around.
Thanks to Kate for the photos.
Nelson judged best NZ airport
By TRACY NEAL, The Nelson Mail | Tuesday, 14 October 2008
SHORTENED for brevity
Nelson Airport has been rated the best in the country, and now has a trophy to prove it.The company was presented with the Major Airport of the Year award at the New Zealand Airports Association Conference last week, heading off competition from the country's international airports.
Nelson Airport company chief executive Kaye McNabb said the 500,000 passengers passing through the terminal each year placed the airport in the major airport category.
The award recognised its service as a hub for major airlines, and the general atmosphere of the airport. ``There are not many airports where you see passengers lying on the lawn in the sun waiting for their boarding call,'' Mrs McNabb said.
The award also recognised the contribution the airport made to the economy through the operations of several aviation companies at the airfield.
Air New Zealand Link operator Air Nelson and its engineering division is based here, along with Helicopters New Zealand, which has its head office and engineering division at Nelson Airport. [MANY OF THE EMPLOYEES OF AIR NELSON, PILOTS SPECIFICALLY, HAVE BEEN ON STRIKES FOR AGES!!]
``While Nelson Airport is quite small and does not serve jet or international traffic, it is still the fourth-busiest, which puts us in the major airports category, so success at this level is particularly sweet,'' she said.
Mrs McNabb gave credit to the small team within the airport company, plus check-in staff, taxi and shuttle drivers who worked together to create a welcoming atmosphere for Nelson visitors.
I can tell you why they won, NO SECURITY. You pop in 15 minutes before departure, show no ID, and get on your plane. Yes, I said, NO ID!!!! Just know what your name is, and know that your name is on their list. Simple physics. Or whatever, but it's plain EASY! No hassles.
Also, the high tech baggage handling system - off the plane on to a cart and driven right out to the front of the terminal. You then just go grab your bag from the cart. No waiting for the conveyor belt system. It 
takes about five minutes from exiting the plane with no chance of anything getting lost. Having said that, two people I know have lost their bags leaving Nelson, on a direct flight...hmmm, how on earth that can happen I dunno. But I digress.
Another area for praise the carryons - you can take what you want and not have to scan it through any security! Liquids, solids, anything of any size! To the right is what I took recently: I was simply asked by the desk staff, "What do you have in that container?" I said water, as it is an aluminium water bottle, and she said it looks like the kind of containers that haul liquid nitrogen or something, and then she laughed, and then I laughed! We both laughed! Ha ha, so funny. I offered to drink out of it in front of her, but she said, "Nah, don't worry about it."
One down side is the lack of duty free shopping - no chance for us to get heavily discounted smokes, perfume, or liquour. We just whore ourselves out to friends who come back from overseas for the booze, seems to work well enough.
In winter I walk home from work twice a week, and in summer once a week. I've been doing this for about a year and a half now. It took about an hour from work to the old house, and it's an additional 15 minutes to our new house. The finale of getting to the new house is a bit ... steeper as well.
I've taken you all on a walk home with me to the last house, here's a walk home with me to the new house, and a much higher - and harder - finish.
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Here's where I start from, Wakatu carpark. That tall building over to the left is Civic House where Nelson City Council is located. |
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This is Vanguard Street, it starts here from where I'm standing and goes all the way up toward that hill, which is where I'm aiming, before I make a left turn and walk to the left of that hill. |
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I pass by this lovely park, Victory Park on Victory Square. It's always got soccer teams and kids in the playground. The Victory community is a great, tight knit community. |
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You may recall I wrote about the mega storm we had on 30 July. This tree is one of the many, many casualties. Look at this massive tree, blown down in the storm and trimmed to its base. |
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Here's the entry to our famous Railway Reserve, a path that takes you all the way from Nelson to Richmond, 15 total kms away, but 11 by bike or foot. I take this path a good way up and always see cyclists going home and walkers getting on and off the path. It is planned to pave it in the coming years. |
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Here's a great view back toward town and to the water looking back on the Railway Reserve. |
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A victim of the storm, there are so many that the tree is still there, still waiting to be removed and trimmed up for firewood. This tree, you can see, was lifted in whole from the ground! |
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A lovely site until you look a bit closer - the local quarry AND landfill are up that valley. You can see both in this picture if you know what you're looking at. I presume development has grown up more around the area, where originally they thought they were placing these facilities 'way out of town' and now it's not. But that's small town. |
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More massive trees, fallen down and cut up to ensure safe passage, but not yet removed. |
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Now off the Railway Reserve, and up and over the hill (it's been all uphill to here), I have to head down the main road, Waimea Road, for about 5 minutes where the traffic, especially at 5pm time, is loud and constant. But have a look at the black circle, and you'll see where I'm aiming to be, and it is still a long way up (considering from where this photo is, I am going down, only to go back up again!). |
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This shot is nearly the exact opposite to the shot just shown, looking back where I came from and the road coming from the valley off to the left. And yes, I've started my ascent back up the hills now, toward the final destination hill. It's straight up, but only for about 15 minutes of walking. |
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A few shots looking back toward the water from the road and pathway I am following. |
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Looking at the view from partway up the hill. |
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Tough shot as the sun is just off to my left, but I tried what I could to take a photo of the hill that we used to live on - few houses on this side (which gets no sun) and the other side was packed with houses, including our last one. |
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These are the pathways around our new neighbourhood that join many streets and hills together. What you may not be able to see here is the typical kiwi way Don and I have talked about since we got here - the kiwis go straight up hills, there's no willy nilly way to make it easy on one's knees or joints. Straight up. And the last brutal straight that takes me home begins here. This path does turn left, and if you follow the horizon line up from where the path ends to the left, that is exactly where it goes, and it's steep! |
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A view (and I was glad to take a break from climbing to stop for a photo!) onto the ridge that is level with our house. |
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You can't really see the steepness, but the path from here again follows that tilted horizon line to the right. |
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Atop the pathway, I am at the final stretch, up the road to the top top top. This street is very steep, on foot and on bike. |
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Turning around from the point in the photo above, I look back at where I came from, in the circle is the CBD and Civic House. |
New Zealand goes to the polls in its triennial general election on Saturday 8 November. I thought I'd talk about the election and voting system for those of you interested in the election we are about to have here.
Anyone who is enrolled by Friday 7 November, the day before the election, can vote in the general election. You can legally enrol to vote if you are 18 years and older and either a citizen or permanent resident who has lived in New Zealand for one year or more without leaving the country. New Zealand citizens or permanent residents who are overseas may enrol to vote if they choose but it is not required by law. Anyone eligible to vote who lives overseas can cast an overseas vote.
Voting day is on a Saturday, a non-weekday or workday for many, obviously to enable as many people as possible to vote. (What a concept!) On election day, we vote at a polling place between 9.00am and 7.00pm. You have to vote in your electorate (which for us is Nelson), so if you are not going to be in your electorate on election day you can vote in advance starting on Wednesday 22 October. If there are other reasons why someone can't get to a polling place on election day, they may be able to cast a special declaration vote.
Everyone is sent a list of polling places, alongside a 'how to vote' info pack before the election. That's good cuz I need to know where to go, being a first timer! Inside the info packet there is an EasyVote card or a letter from the Chief Electoral Officer, and I have to take this with me on voting day to make it easy for people to identify me. Apparently I can vote without this card or the letter, but it will take longer. Once the election workers check my name on their list, I get my ballot paper and vote in a private booth.
In New Zealand we vote for the candidate vote and the party vote. The candidate vote is the person representing my electorate. Under a parliamentary system, we make a party vote for the party that I want to lead the central government and the party selects who its leader is - we don't vote directly for the party leader. (The system is like the U.K. system if you're familiar with that.) Of course in practise people say they are or are not voting for Helen Clark or John Key (the two major party leaders) but they mean they won't vote for their respective parties.
Many of the political signs that are up (and there are relatively few compared to the US) encourage votes for candidates and party, that's because we have these two votes. The party wants to get people to vote along party lines as much as possible, because the numbers add up (more on that later).
I don't really know, actually, as this is my first time! But what I have read says that from 3.00pm on election day, votes cast before election day are counted. The results of advance votes will be announced on election night.
At 7.00pm on election day, the polling places close and the votes cast on that day are counted. The preliminary results for the election will be announced on election night. These results do not include any special declaration votes that are cast in the election, like those people who couldn't vote in their electorate that day.
The official count process starts on the Sunday after election day, but I suspect for the most part people know generally which party has more votes. Preliminary results will be available progressively on election night, but it can take weeks to know who will be leading the government because most parties don't get an outright majority.
But more on that in Part 2 to come ...
