An Englishman heads to New Zealand

Righty-Ho. Now I’ve been living in NZ for nearly a month (Jeez… that long already?), it seems a good time to start posting about things which I love about this beautiful country. Those things, no matter how trivial, which aren’t found or experienced back in Blighty.

Now, in one of my previous posts last week or so, I mentioned the numerous eateries encompassing me like the warm glow one gets from their smelly little childhood security blanket [well... in my case, it was never a security blanket when I was a wee nipper, but instead it was a little squirrel named 'Goo', who when new was a masculine shade of pink, but through the years turned into a dirty shade of grey!]; and I promise to expand on these delights at a later date.

However, today, I wish to draw your blessed attention to ‘Things I Love About NZ – Numero Uno’ :-

I give you fine Ladies and Gentlemen…. L&P.

“What the blinking heck is that?” I hear you say!

L&P is a Kiwi Carbonated Soft Drink and stands for ‘Lemon & Paeroa’. It has immediately gone to the top of my fave soft drinks list, and I’ve found myself grabbing it out of fridges and off shelves instead of the usual, and oh-so common Coca-Cola! The thing is, Paeroa is not an ingredient, it is a place in NZ South of Auckland – but it’s not a simple lemon drink… it has something else added. A magical ingredient if you will, which makes it gorgeous! Simply a great thirst quencher. Me likey alot!

Keep your peepers peeled for more exciting instalments of things in NZ which are tickling my fancy! How riveting!

Thought I needed to post a fairly rapid update after my dark one the other day. Just so any of you who amazingly happen to be concerned about muggins here, are reassured that I haven’t been found swinging from Auckland harbour bridge like ‘ol Captain Kidd.

This week has progressed well. Starting to get to grips with all the quirks of Auckland life… of which there are many.

Bad drivers, 24×7 drunk-infested joints blaring out Abba and other such Karaoke nightmare hits, Food-halls (om nom nom), pretty damn amazing fast-food joints, rowdy pacific islanders & maori’s who are built like brick sh*thouses and are barely out of their teens! Hustle and bustle on one street, then an oasis of calm on another wooden villa-lined street.

Underlying all of this is the fact that I have never once felt threatened or in danger, unlike walking around any city back in the UK. For all these weird and wonderful quirks and differences from life back in the UK, Auckland life is pretty damn good. It just takes a bit of getting used to, which is something muggins here, as a straight-laced, stiff-upper lip kinda English fella just needs to work on! ‘Relax’ is the operative word.

Also bagged my first job interview next week! So things are definitely looking up, and I have some sort of roadmap planned going forward from here. Went to buy a suit today in readiness for next week, and got a bit freaked when the ever so ‘nice’ gentlemans outfitter told me to “… take your thongs off!” Me ‘ol dicky-ticker skipped a few beats until I remembered that over here, ‘thongs’ mean ‘flip-flops’! “I’m free!”

Now… did I mention the food here?! Living in central Auckland, you can pretty much eat out every night, or at the very least go out and grab yourself some tuck to bring back to the flat. One thing that is not lacking here, are the vast swathes of food emporiums! I feel the need, the need to post individually on some of the little gems I’ve been introduced to already. So for now, I will just briefly provide a run-down on the top 3:

1. Murder Burger. Gotta love the name… and gotta love the grub even more! Had a gorgeous ‘Ostrich Burger’ with plum sauce and fries the other night. The brand rocks… and I have a feeling I will acquaint myself with more of their cheeky little numbers in due course! Oh yeah… and their website is worth a look if you want a giggle too!
2. Burger Fuel. Yet another burger joint. Starting to see a trend here?! Great burgers, and ever-so sexy ‘Kumara Fries’. I experienced the wonderfully named ‘Bastard’ burger. I kid you not! Check out their menu.
3. Hell Pizza. The Kiwis name these places well ‘ey? Fantastic pizza, sharp delivery service, with a great, great list of pizza toppings.

Tomorrow I’m off down South. Hiring a car and escaping the city for a few days. Back to Auckland on Monday in preparation for my interview on Tuesday.