New Zealand - 3 Hours Ahead?

Wilcem to New Zilland.

The lend of long white cloud.

The shaky Isles jist across the detch.

Ater being in New  Zealand a few hours, I realised that I may have been in a parallel universe where things were not quite right.

In Christchurch the houses seem to be of another era, a few too many people spoke with "thet eccint", the cars appeared to be pale imitations of the vehicles available in Australia.

The plants appear to be the same but when you get close you realise that it is a different plant altogether. Its like going to another state in Australia to your own, but the differences are just that bit more pronounced.

We caught a couple of local buses and could not help but notice that just about every person who got off the bus via the rear door, yelled thanks to the driver upon departure.

However, in Christchurch and some other smaller centres, people generally do not say hello or acknowlege you in the street. If you stop them and, say, ask them for directions, they are always very helpful and friendly.

It is not usually apparent immediately that we are not fellow bros, as not all New Zillanders speak with thet eccint.

Once you get used to that slight wierdness, New Zealand feels very much like home.

An artwork highlightling the fragility of the built environment in Christchurch which appears to be a mecca for artists, since the earthquakes.

Helping this church to hang in there whilst they figure out (and probably raise the cash) what to do with it.

This arrangement is not available for $6 at Aldi

A lot of empty sections (blocks of land) provides ample opportunities for artworks and artistsand all those other left wing creative types.

I rode for a full half hour before I realised that I wasn't going anywhere. Even then I was lucky that i wasn't wiped out by some impatient New Zillnader changing lanes.

Don't Jump!

Brenda coping with the cold of an extremely icy Christchurch fake winter.

Apparently Scott Morrison is using these artworks as a practical example of how we can make art and industry work together. In future ugly wind turbines will be banned and more aethesitally pleasing ones like this will be used instead. This is NEG 2.0

Brenda may have finally met her match.

I don't recommend this organisation for your aged care, although recent news reports suggest that a lot of the big Australian aged care providers fit into this category.

This is the life. Luxury motorhome style. Be careful of that tea bag, we will have to use it again at least twice more.

The city of ?? certainly makes the most of its shoreline

Our home for the next 10 days

That is some hedge.

Little did we know when we took this shot that there would be acres of these things virtually everywhere.

Oamaru has made its name in NZ by the promotion of Steam Punk, a concept that is all about using 1920's technology to power us into the future. This has strong overtones of Liberal Party industry/energy policy.

Yeah, I know, sick of it already.

Tony Abbott on his Pollie Pedal NZ style.

Not sure what cars look more out of place, the Morris Minor or the Faclons and Utes.

Not wattle, but part of the parallel universe of New Zilland