Observation Station (2)

> German's everywhere!

> Fresh fruit and vegetables cheaper than in the UK. Petrol is about 179 cents which is about 80p a litre. Some tourist attractions may be a tad cheaper too. Wine is cheaper for the quality you get. The rest of the food is similar to Morrissons/Tesco - so how people on their wages here afford stuff I do not know!

>The local fire station wakes up the entire village with this eerie air-rade wwII siren. You wait nervously if it stays at a continuous tone at the beginning or varies (continuous tone = earthquake)

> Vast empty west coast beaches. Miles and miles of empty roads. Tolerance level dropping - one car behind yours and you let them pass!

> Drivers having no sense of spatial awareness. Driving right up bumper to bumper you think they are being aggressive, until a 90 yr old nanny overtakes.

>Sparkling clean rivers where you can see to the very bottom (and want to drink it!)

> Road signs are poor and mis-leading - especially at major intersections.

>Lots of random railway crossings with only a simple 'stop' sign or give way' sign at most of them. We thought most were disused, until one day after crossing about 20 that day, we casually looked up and down the track (crossing it) to find a train only 30 ft away slowing coming down the track hahaha

grrrreat!

> Cities, and especially small towns ooozing with parks (no dog shit, no grafitti, no gangs, no fag-ends - just how a park should be which we don't have anymore back home :(

> Kids frequently jumping off piers into the sea

>No illegal immigrants or homeless people - well, we don't see the dubious groups hanging around the streets like you do in Sheffield.


>Plenty of young women 'working on the road' operating Stop signs for roadworks - (they don't use the long red lights over here).

> The excessive police presence observed on the North Island radically subsides for the South Island (less people and more sheep probably)

---

---