Many things in New Zealand are different from Holland. A non complete list of experiences, both positive and negative.

Cheese, packed in a different way, looks just like cheese. Even better: they give it the well known names, like Edam and Gouda or Cheddar, depending on the way it was produced. But do not think that this cheese has any similarity with the well known pliancy and taste. The similarity is only noticeable with the eyes.

Mayonnaise looks just like mayonnaise. But, well, uhmmm. It is too liquid and too sweat regarding the sourness. If you are used to eating your tomato with suger you may easily put mayonnaise on it. They know how to make fries, but you'd better eat it with ketchup instead of mayonnaise. Yuck.

Peanut butter looks like ground baby poo. It is as smooth and as sticky as silicone glue. Not one crumb inside, or you must buy the crunchy one. It smells like peanut butter, but it is sweet. Even more yuck. A sandwich with peanut butter is only edible with some addition like salt or chilly paste.

Specialised shops are hardly to find. There are a lot of super markets and they are super large, but have a limited variety in veggies and fruit or meat products. If you want something special, you'll have to find a specialist. But where to find this shop? Well, somewhere at the edge of the city. The veggie-specialist next to the butcher, next to the bakery and next to the fish shop. Oh, do you want mussels? Only one? No problem. They are fresh and are waiting in their water for a customer. Fresh vegetables? Is spread with water and stays crispy in this way. In this way the specialists differs from the super markets. And still the super markets have a enormous assortment: e.g. chips. Ten different brands and per brand 6 different tastes (no paprika unfortunately). Sixty different bags on a shelf. The shelf with chips is as long as the shop. The same for the loafs of bread. The loafs are stored in boxes of 70x70 cm. Of each sort there are at least 2 boxes in the shop. And that for 30 meters long and 2.20 meters high, the back higher that the front so you easily can see what you're looking for. The most sold bread is square. The nice whole grain, dark brown bread is unknown.

Kiwi's love their cereals: cornflakes and/or muesli. Of course again: shelves as long as the shop is. Standard, roasted, with or without tropical fruits, with of without nuts. No, no hazel nuts buts macadamia's, brasil nuts and other exotics. And juices. The most fruit names are recognisable for us and we can imagine the taste. But some are fruits we don't know the Dutch name of it, like: Boysenberries. The people here love mixtures like Mango-Passion fruit, cranberry-apple. Even of the juices there are several different brands and different sizes of the bottles: 1 or 3 litres. Same story as the chips, the bread and cereals. Although: there is another variety (also valid for wine and beer): cooled or un-cooled. We mentioned about the prices before. The same for the sweeties like cookies and chocolate. Just before Xmas the range is tripled. Last week we bought two pieces of chocolate: natural and white. Weight of each: 250 grams. Price: NZ$ 2,69 each. And very, very, very delicious!

In general, people are very polite in traffic. Especially pedestrians are able to cross the street without problems. Crossings are here marked with a orange light, used in the Netherlands till the end of the 60-ies. Of course, there are idiots as well, but they seem to be driving in the evening and at night (when there is only little police around). Those types drives with 'sportive' sounds and yells on the back screen ('bite me'). Often, the marks on the road are spotted caused by their hot wheels. Here are hardly any facilities for bikers. Most of the bikes are racing- or mountain bikes. Helmets are mandatory.  You'll get a ticket and a fine if you don't wear it. And the bikers are biking on the motorway. The high way is comparable with the high way in the Netherlands: maximum speed 100 k/hr. Not always a shoulder, crossings with traffic lights or round abouts. Not to safe for a biker.

Despite the left driving cars, you have to give way to traffic from the right. Even at round abouts (that are following the clock).

The next situation is something we had to get used to (and sometimes we still forget): traffic with the long bend is going first, than the traffic with the short one. Because the car with the long bend is coming from the right. For example: we are approaching the entrance to the library (turning left). An other car is coming towards us and wants to go to the library as well. The approaching car is allowed to go first. Another example: we want to go right (long bend). The approaching car wants the same road (short bend). In this case we go first.

There are an enormous amount of fat people. And then we really mean FAT! Not people of 120 kg, nor 160 kg but of 200 kg and more. People who are hardy able to walk by themselves. And lots of them are Maori. Heaps of the original inhabitants of New Zealand are extremely rich, thanks to the Waitangi Treaty. That's the agreement, signed on 6 February 1840 between Maori leaders and the British, in which the Maori recognise the British Crown, while the Maori people are recognised as owners of land and sea. The British people had to buy land of the Maori to be able to settle. And the Maori distributed the loads of money between themselves. And they still do! As soon as a local government want to extend their territory, they have to pay an enormous amount of money to the Maori-clan. Because of this richness these Maori people didn't have to go fishing anymore. Well, and would you choose when you are no longer obliged to fish in your unstable fishing boat? Yep, right. You're relaxing on the coach, with lots beer and a shelf of chips, looking to the TV. There is always some sports broadcasted: rugby, cricket, soccer (football),netball, car sports or horse riding. And if you like to have some other food, you'll go to the MacDonalds, Pizzahut, Burger King or KFC (one of these is usually found within a few kilometers from your home) and for just a few dollars can you eat whatever you want. Sprinkled with a bucket of soft drink of course.

Despite the richness, there is still much poverty in New Zealand. The amount of debts per head of the inhabitants is not comparable with the Netherlands. That's part of the way of living. Most people are living on their credit card. And as long as they pay some debts once in a while, the bank will provide them with money. Note that the interest is extremely high. Every advertisement leaflet for long life goods (washing machines, stereo's, furniture, cars, you name it) contains an amount that has to be paid every week for interest and pay-off. The amounts are based on credit card payments. And if you want to buy a washing machine and you pay cash or by EFTPOS (on line payment), you'll receive at least a 10% discount.  Recently we found an advertisement for a personal loan. If you want to borrow NZ$ 11.000, you'll pay an interest of NZ$ 3.600. That's a percentage of 33%!

Commercials are an important part of life here. They are similar to the the ones in the USA. The national news is interrupted three times for 5 minutes of commercials (or even longer). News papers are filled for 2/3 with adds. There are on television even adds for scoot mobiles.

Lots of people don't have an insurance. Why should you. Of course you can opt for an insurance, but the basic policy will only cover surgery and hospitalisation for illness. For the first line care (GP, dentist, physiotherapy) you'll need an extended policy. Only 10% of the New Zealanders have an insurance for health care. Car insurance? Not mandatory. You'll have to pay for it, and that's what people don't want to. If you are hospitalised because of an accident, ACC will pay the costs for treatment and care. And the vision of an incident is wide: can be a car accident, when you've cut yourself with a knife and everything in between. In the meantime, we've applied for a car insurance and a health insurance.

On primary school Guus was taught that people in the Middle Ages had to pay tax on salt. That was always something strange in his eyes. Now he understands it better. In New Zealand they do something similar: you need to pay tax on your rubbish bags. The bags are sold in super markets and are very expensive (NZ$ 1,60 per bag). The super market pays the tax to the local government and every week the government sends the garbage car to collect the rubbish. And the use of the above mentioned bags is mandatory. Other bags are not picked up. Of course there is a possibility to recycle glass, plastic bags and bottles, paper, tins and clothing. Even for food leftovers there is a solution: the sink. Everything that we were used to put in the green container in the Netherlands, is put in the sink here: coffee filters, fruit peals, meat. Almost every house here as a waste disposer. That's a machine with a strong engine that crunches everything into pulp and this pulp is flushed into the river. We're considering to buy a compost container.....

When you want to drive on the public roads you'll have to pay tax as well. This is calculated in the price of the petrol. Only a small amount for cars on petrol. When your car has a diesel engine, you've to buy a sort of fee depending on the number of kilometers you think you're going to drive in the next year. If you think you'll drive 30.000 k's per year, you'll buy 30.000 k's. If you drive more than these 30.000 you'll have to buy an additional amount. Bad luck if you drive less than calculated; no refunding will be made. Twice a year a car needs a check (warranty of fitness) and meanwhile the actual kilometers are registered. The police is allowed to check all vehicles any time: tires, content of the boot, and the kilometrage versus bought diesel k's, printed on the ticket on the wind shield. And of course people will fraud: small button on the dashboard that disconnect the kilometer counter. Everybody knows, everybody does, but how to determine? Some people only buy 1,000 k's a year, but drive over 15,000 kilometers a year.

Talking about traffic: another phenomenon in New Zealand: car-park attendants. Parking policy is part of the local government and has nothing to do with the police. The attendants are wearing a sort of uniform, but not really obvious. Looks like a man or women with a hat, who's walking in town from A to B and shows a little more attention for cars than the others. Parking places are always owned by local government, even when they are only allowed to be used by visitors of the library or church. In that case you can park there for free for a couple of hours. Shopping centres and churches: two hours, other places one hour. And in the most places parking meters have to be used. When you time is over, the meter will signal 'expired'. When caught by a parking attendant, you'll definitely get a ticket. The officer will use his/her digital terminal annex printer to print your ticket, stored under the windshield wiper.

But how to check how long a car is parked on the parking place without meters? Well, very simple. The parking attendant will put a line on the front wheel with a piece of chalk. After one hour he'll come back and will leave a ticket on the car that's still there with a chalk line on the wheel.