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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.

A good leader is one who know when to step down, not 死赖着不走. Sourec: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-pm-resigns-says-she-will-not-seek-re-election-3216436 WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday (Jan 19) that she will resign next month. "For me it's time," she said at a meeting of members of her Labour Party. "I just don't have enough in the tank for another four years." Ardern said the next general election will be held on Oct 14 and she would continue as an electorate MP until then. "I am not leaving, because I believe we cannot win the next election, but because I believe we can and will," she said. Ardern said her resignation would take effect no later than Feb 7, adding that the Labour caucus would vote on a new leader on Jan 22. Ardern said that there was no secret behind her resignation. "I am human. We give as much as we can for as long as we can and then it's time. And for me, it's time," she said. "I am leaving because with such a privileged job comes a big responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead - and also when you're not."

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

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10291649/Radical-new-laws-stop-young-people-buying-cigarettes-New-Zealand-goes-smoke-free.html?ito=social-facebook Anyone aged under 14 will be banned from EVER buying cigarettes in their life The age limit will be increased each year until it's illegal throughout New Zealand The target is to wipe out smoking entirely by 2025 as part of 15-year scheme Other changes include only allowing the sale of tobacco with low nicotine levels However, the new law will not impact vaping, with Dr Verrall saying tobacco smoking is more harmful and remains a leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, killing up to 5,000 people each year. So everyone will just switch to vape there, which is illegal in Singapore. I'm waiting for tobacco tax comments. Those driving EV should be the first to quit smoking because it's quite the hypocrisy to claim you're going green to help the fight in climate change yet not know that all phases of cigarette production contribute to greenhouse gas emission, and let's not forget the consumption. I could be wrong but I'm sure there's a significant amount of environmental footprint with the carbon dioxide and pollutants released into the atmosphere. 😶 So let's go full EV and quit smoking by 2040 or make it sooner, 2030.

Police in New Zealand have said they do not expect to find any more survivors from a volcanic eruption on White Island that killed at least five people and injured up to 20. “No signs of life have been seen at any point,” police said after rescue helicopters and other aircraft had carried out a number of aerial reconnaissance flights over the island following the eruption on Monday afternoon. “Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation.” Up to two dozen people remain unaccounted for, and officers are “urgently” working to confirm the exact number of those who have died, a police statement said. Unstable conditions, toxic gases and ash fall prevented rescue teams from searching the island – which lies 30 miles from the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, in the Bay of Plenty – on foot. The country’s most active cone volcano erupted at 2.11pm on Monday, sending up a huge plume of ash that was visible from the North Island. Police said about 50 people were on the island at the time, more than 20 of whom were Australian tourists. Twenty-three people have been rescued. All of those rescued had sustained injuries, mostly burns, police said, and seven people who were in a critical condition had been flown to hospitals in Tauranga and Auckland. Michael Schade, an American tourist, had just returned from the crater to a tour boat with his parents when the volcano erupted. When their boat returned to pick up survivors, some were in shock, and others burned “to different levels of severity”, he said. “We were all busy the entire time, just trying to stay out of the way of people who knew what they were doing and also just to help out wherever we could,” he said of the return trip. Passengers handed over jackets and shirts, eye drops and water, and a human chain was formed to refill bottles so the injured could pour it on their burns. “It was not a particularly big eruption,” he said. “It was almost like a throat-clearing eruption. “It showed increased activity for the last few weeks, so we raised the alert level.” A level four alert was issued for the volcano, also known by its Māori name Whakaari, indicating that a “moderate volcanic eruption” was possible, according to the science agency GeoNet. The scale runs from zero to five – a major eruption. St John Ambulance treated at least 20 people who were injured, with ambulance officers travelling to the island with the coast guard and seven helicopters, which had been dispatched with paramedics on board. A spokeswoman initially said the service’s medical director would establish a triage unit on the island when he arrived, but this later proved to be impossible.

Mass shooting in NZ, Christchurch outside a mosque. 6 dead CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand police have confirmed multiple fatalities after shooting incidents at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, during afternoon prayers on Friday (Mar 15). Christchurch police hunt 'active shooter' after mosque shooting; multiple casualties, say reports http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/christchurch-mosque-shooting-new-zealand-police-respond-11347058.

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

Taken from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/new-zealand-based-teen-with-singapore-passport-075121551.html An 19-year-old who currently holds both New Zealand and Singapore citizenship and lives in New Zealand wants to avoid doing national service (NS). Brandon Smith could face a two-year jail term and a $10,000 fine if he does not enlist. Smith, 19, moved to Dunedin when he was eight years old. The son of a New Zealander father and Singaporean mother told New Zealand media that it was a “waste of time” to go back to Singapore and come back. He was also concerned that he does not speak Chinese and would be treated differently in the army,reported New Zealand’s stuff.co.nz. Smith cannot renounce his Singapore citizenship until he turns 21. Smith’s father said they had spoken with Singapore Members of Parliament about the issue for a number of years, to no avail. He was quoted as saying, “Absolutely no one would accommodate us. It was always the same answer; ‘we regret to inform you that Brandon has to serve National Service’,”. New Zealand’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Murray McCully said he intended to take up the matter. He said in a statement to New Zealand’s Sunday Star Times, “While the Singapore Government is responsible for determining their own citizenship policies, I have considerable sympathy for the situation this family has found themselves in,” Readers who commented on on stuff.co.nz were divided, but a number of them said Smith should just return to Singapore to complete NS. A few readers were also quick to point out that the language of instruction in the army is English, and that Smith need not fear having a language barrier if he were to enlist. I guess there are still people who thinks NS is too tough.........

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.

Just a few days ago, I stumbled on a Facebook page that would interest many car enthusiasts. Known as Hive, the pictures you see here are actually car posters. There are designed by a New Zealander guy who goes by the name of Joel Fletcher. Joel Fletcher (who I strongly believe is a graphic designer) uses his designing knowledge to create these rather incredible looking automotive posters. There is even a video on the page which shows how he makes them and he has mentioned that he uses the Adobe InDesign software. Some of his creations are grouped in one poster, for example the Porsche 911 history poster, and he also has designed several posters of historical race cars. My favourite is a poster of the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ which can be hung in both ways so that one car will appear like a mirror image. Fletcher

The 1960s Jaguar Mk 2 is an icon of automotive styling. It was a favourite for gangsters and bank robbers in the U.K. in its heydays because it was fast and handled well. The favourite was the 3.8liter version as it could outrun the outdated Rovers used by the British Police then. Until the police themselves started using it that is. The Mk 2 especially on chrome wire wheels looked especially good and hit all the right notes when it came to the styling. Its styling was so liked that Jaguar based its late 1990s S-type on this car. But it didn't look right as it was too retro looking for its own good. Anyway, due to its everlasting popularity, the Mk 2 is a favourite among classic car enthusiasts as well as among Jaguar collectors. Due to this, there is a few companies in the UK like Eagle, that cater to the refurbishment as well as 'upgrading' of this Jag utilizing engines from newer Jaguars as well as modern brakes and other equipment. However a company in New Zealand had caught my eye, offering the same services for Jaguar collectors in this part of the world. Beacham started off as restorers of these cars, then started upgrading them with the more modern technology of newer Jaguars. Their specialty seems to be Supercharged V8 cars using the Mk 2 base engine. To date more than 200 MK2's have been delivered to customers by the company. The company states that their cars