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I have read on some of tips given by forumers here but those posting are quite old (a few years back) already. Am planning for a road trip early November. Will be having 12 days (including touching down and flying off days). Will be landing in Christchurch and flying off from Auckland. My friend told me that AKL is very boring so I intend to leave only one full day for Auckland. Will be spending most of the days in South Island. hence, I have only having 9 or 10 days in South Island. I am trying to cover everything that was recommended (eg. Sky diving, Milford cruise, Penguin watching, baby seal watching, whale watching...etc etc....) At first, I thought of getting a campervan, but after reading some review, better switch back to normal car. I will be traveling with one friend and I am the sole driver. Some questions: (my first trip to NZ) 1. Looking at the distance given by google map, from one place to another (eg. ChC to Lake terapo) seems very far, like around 220km, going through winding road. Does these road same as those in Msia old trunk roads? I wonder how far can I cover in one day. 2. Is it possible to cover from ChC to Dunedin, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Mt Cook, Arthur's pass, Kaikoura in just 9 days?? 3. Must I book the lodging place/motel in advance or can I book upon arriving? Without advance booking, I can determine when I'm tired, then can find a place to lodge and do not need to pressing on till reaching certain pre-booked lodging place. 4. Will there be ample stop/ lay-by areas for toilet break and rest or petrol top up? 5. Does parking in town area need parking payment? Thank you for any advice.

This is one airline safety-video that is not boring. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/embed/qOw44VFNk8Y?feature=player_embedded%22frameborder=%220%22allowfullscreen%3e%3c/iframe

A Singaporean man has been charged with dangerous driving over a four-car accident in New Zealand that killed a motorcyclist. Lew Wei Kiong, 29, had been due in the Dunedin District Court on Tuesday (Dec 8) to face a count of dangerous driving causing death. Three new charges of dangerous driving causing injury were also due to be brought against him, reported the Otago Daily Times, but the case has been adjourned to Dec 22. Lew, who works at the Energy Market Authority (EMA), was involved in the accident along the state highway in North Otago, about 20km south of Oamaru, on Nov 29. EMA confirmed to Shin Min Daily News that Lew was an employee and that it was extending aid to two employees in New Zealand. According to stuff.co.nz, Lew was driving a rented Toyota and had allegedly crossed the double yellow lines on the highway to overtake a group of cars. He crashed into two cars and a motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction. The passenger in the Toyota, who is also believed to be Singaporean, had to be cut from the car and was flown to Dunedin Public Hospital with serious injuries. Five others suffered injuries, while the motorcyclist, 39-year-old Craig Alan Chambers, died at the scene. New Zealand police had blamed the car crash on driver "inattention". The accident also reportedly reignited a debate over tourist drivers and the condition of roads in New Zealand, with Labour Party MP Damien O'Connor suggesting that poor road design could have led to the crash. He said that certain roads on the country's south island could be confusing for foreign drivers and clearer signage was needed. http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/singapore-tourist-charged-with-dangerous-driving-after-fatal-crash-in-new-zealand?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#xtor=CS1-10

Irritating Chan Brothers radio advert in FM88.3..New Zealand becomes 新西兰/新西蘭 Xīnxīl

I have posted this on one of the other threads but I think this deserve a wider audience. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a 12-month pay freeze for the country's politicians, saying they are already paid well enough. Key points: NZ's independent Remuneration Authority had recommended a 3 per cent pay rise for MPs Pay increases had been linked to average wage increases across the country Over the next 12 months, a new formula will be developed for working out pay increases MPs were due to receive a 3 per cent pay rise during September, backdated to July 1, in line with recommendations from the independent Remuneration Authority, but Ms Ardern said she would be introducing legislation to block this going through. It would have seen Ms Ardern pocket an extra $NZ14,131.47 ($AU12,810) per year on top of her current salary of $427,072. The pay increase would also have seen Ms Ardern's cabinet colleagues earn $8,046 more, as well as a $4,456 bump for the average backbencher. "We do not believe, given that we are on the upper end of the salary scale, that we should be receiving that kind of salary increase," she said. "Because we, of course, already are on a high income … one of the things we've been trying to bridge as a government is the fact that we see these increases at the top end of the scale, without the same increase at the end of the scale where most New Zealanders sit." Ms Ardern said the formula currently used by the Remuneration Authority — which the independent body had no control over — was "not acceptable". "Now, this move doesn't save a lot of money in the scheme of things, but it does send, we believe, a strong signal about what our government values, what we stand for, and our determination of course to make sure that the economy is working for everyone," she said. Ms Ardern the OECD's fifth highest paid leader Data released by international consultancy group IG in May showed Ms Ardern was the fifth highest paid leader in a comparison of 32 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In a study of the pay gap between world leaders and average citizens, Ms Ardern was ranked third, earning 8.63 times the average New Zealand wage — which was ranked 18th out of 32 in the study. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tops the earning list by world leaders, earning $538,000 which is 10.14 times the average Australian worker. According to New Zealand media, Ms Ardern is not the first prime minister to introduce legislation to reduce politicians pay. In 2015, former prime minister Sir John Key passed a law to cut a pay rise from 3.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent after linking pay rises to average wage increases, according to Fairfax Media. Ms Ardern said she had contacted NZ's opposition leader Simon Bridges about the freeze, and he had been "supportive". The NZ leader said they would introduce a different way to determine pay rises for the country's politicians. "We'll then use that 12-month period to develop a fairer formula for the Remuneration Authority to use when determining future pay rises," she said. Australia's federal politicians were given 2 per cent pay rises in July, with backbenchers earning about $207,000 a year, compared to $148,712 across the ditch. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-20/new-zealand-pm-jacinda-ardern-costs-herself-13000-pay-rise/10143712 https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017 And to top it up......... CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX 2017 New Zealand #1 Singapore #6

From Straits Times This is really awesomely fantastic and I am here shouting in joy!

stats extract from google ... New Zealand - land size 268,700 km square - population 4.4M Australia - land size 7,618,000 km square - population 22M Singapore - land size 710 km square - population 5.2M Malaysia - land size 329,800 km square - population 29M . . . how come new zealand did not open immigration floodgate huh? nz can easily take in 6M people and the country still looks empty and with 10M people ... domestic gdp will be sibei huat ah !!! if nz open gate, china can deliver 6M chop chop ... have not even mentioned india yet ... hehe

I have a car that is coming to 10 years and my counsin in JB like to have it. It is possible for me to de-registered this car when it is close to 10 years and export this to JB for him to register it there? I have kept the car very well and he knows it has been taken care off thus he would like to take over from me. As i have no idea if this is possible or not but i just told him that i would check. Anyone can help or know companies that does these thing legally (export to malaysia)?

didn't know it was quite this bad. this is very sad for a beautiful place like NZ. guess visiting NZ this year would be out of the question. ----- Jul 18, 2011 7,500 earthquakes hit shattered New Zealand city CHRISTCHURCH - It's been 10 months since the first big earthquake struck New Zealand's second-largest city. It's been nearly five months since a far more devastating one killed 181 people and crippled the downtown. But it's been just a few hours since yet another aftershock startled Christchurch residents during the night. 'I stop breathing,' said Sheridan Cattermole, a bartender and a mom. 'I get pins and needles all over. I either freeze or run. I just want things to be back to what they were like this time last year. I had my vege garden, and my sunflowers.' Seismologists have recorded 7,500 earthquakes in Christchurch since September - an average of more than 20 a day. The rumblings are rattling the psyche of the still-battered city. They have left the land under thousands of homes unsafe to build on. Some people have left town entirely. Yet many have proven resilient, and some now see a reconstruction boom on the horizon. Christchurch is the disaster that the world forgot. When the deadly quake toppled the iconic Cathedral spire and flattened buildings in this city of 390,000, people around the globe paid attention. But two weeks later, the massive earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 20,000 in Japan took centre stage. -- AP

thinking of gg new zealand for a holiday. anyone has any info? shopping? sight-seeing? good hotels? weather? Thank u in advance!

This old couple had a near brush with death. http://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/327080/couple-close-death-after-night-stuck-keyless-car Here's a pic of their Mz3 handle. Has a manual unlock button. Gramps got flustered and couldn't find it. Lucky for them it all worked out and we can have a laugh about it.

Dear Bros, I will be planning a 2 week Vacation in NZ (probably road trip) with my gf and some other friends. We have 4 couples (including gf & me) and will be looking to travel around Sept - Oct period. Any good places to recomend? (both South and North Island) Thanks!!

New Zealand authorities have triggered a global recall of up to 1,000 tons of dairy products across seven countries after dairy giant Fonterra announced tests had turned up a type of bacteria that could cause botulism. Full article source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/03/n...-global-recall/

OK, this is quite old news but in the recent SWRC, Satria Neo gotten 2nd in the rally. IMHO, thats a very good result considering its the first time they participate in SWRC.

New Zealand wants Singaporeans as foreign talent! Would you go? - Today, 11:12 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from The New Paper: THE land of the Maoris has set its sights on Singapore. and the hunt is on

Was thinking of going Auckland for a 10 day motorhome travel...Anyone have done it before?? Please share your experience like the convenient and inconvenient of travelling by motorhome. Can we park the motorhome overnight at anywhere we like or it is only limited to motorhome park? How's the motorhome charges and motorhome park charges? As much info will be appreciated

*brag* *brag* *brag* Wifey got call me and say NZ win gold in Boys triathlon *swee*

Dedicated to Darryn.

Hello there, Booked a self-drive trip at NATAS yesterday. Just want to find out if our Singapore license is recognized there. If not, got to apply IDP liao. BTW, anyone care to share any NZ Selfdrive tips?

See if you can spot what is wrong here?? Very good effort to get ppl tp pay attention to the safety video...but ppl may be paying attention at the wrong places

Planning a trip to New Zealand this May/Jun. What are the things to look out for? Thanks for any advice from any bros/sis to share their experience.

Was thinking this may be a good place to migrate to. Anyone can confirm if the crime rate really up and targetting Asians?

Anybody can share more infos on New Zealand trip? I've intended to go there on a package trip either end Feb or during March 08. Any advise? I would like to knw abt the weather as well.

Hi guys, I'm planning a self-drive holiday in NZ in Dec. I have secured the airticket. Below is the self-drive route downloaded from http://www.newzealand.com/travel Itenery: Singapore -> Christchurch (14-Dec) Christchurch (15-Dec) Lake Tekapo + Mount Cook (16-Dec) Omaru (17-Dec) Dunedin (18-Dec) Te Anau (19-Dec) Queenstown (20-21 Dec) Wanaka (22-Dec) Franz Josef (23-Dec) Greymounth (24-Dec) Nelson (25-Dec) - not a popular town, maybe will reroute. Blemheim (26-Dec) - not a popular town, maybe will reroute Kaikoura (27-Dec) Christchurch (28-Dec) Christchurch -> Singapore (29-Dec) Car rental: It seems like thrifty is the cheapest car rental I can find in NZ. Are they reliable ? http://www.thrifty.co.nz (1.8L - 2.0L), NZ$59 per day (excl insurance) http://www.budget.co.nz (1.8L - 2.0L), NZ$68 per day (excl insurance) I'm taking 1.8L-2.0L because it is only $5 more expensive than 1.6L Accomodations: Most likely I will book individual motel over the Internet instead of using the Golden Chain (limited choice). Any recomendations of motel based on above itenery ? Any tips and comments are welcomed and greatly appreciated. Thanks guys !

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a baby.. Wed Aug 8, 2007 9:23 AM ET WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand couple is looking to call their newborn son Superman -- but only because their chosen name of 4Real has been rejected by the government registry. Pat and Sheena Wheaton say they will get around the decision by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages by officially naming their son Superman but referring to him as 4Real, the New Zealand Herald newspaper has reported. The Wheatons decided on the name after seeing the baby for the first time in an ultrasound scan and realizing their baby was "for real." They decided 4Real was the best way to write it, but the name was rejected because the registrar said a name had to be a sequence of characters. Pat Wheaton said he was considering appealing against the decision through the courts, but whatever happens he won't be budged on his choice. "No matter what its going to stay 4Real," Wheaton told the Herald, "I'm certainly not a quitter." A spokesman for the Department of Internal Affairs, which operates the registry told the Herald discussions with the Wheatons about their son's name were continuing. The baby is now two months old, after the Wheatons first applied to register his name in later June.