New Zealand: Three Things I Dislike

To begin, a quote from Karl Pilkington in ‘An Idiot Abroad’ – a huge moaner!

‘I always have a problem liking things that I’m told I should like. This has been the problem with most of the Wonders I have seen so far. The fact that this one is called the ‘Great’ Wall of China annoys me. I’ll decide if it’s great or not. It might end up being the ‘All Right Wall of China’ to me.’

That sets the tone nicely…

I think it’s fair to say that I like New Zealand. A lot. You know that. I’ve been writing about how much I’m enjoying myself. I love my new life and I’m finding New Zealand fantastic. It’s almost getting a bit boring to keep writing about it!.

Yes, I think that this is an awesome country and yes, I am loving my life here. However, it gets to the point where raving about it gets a little too sickly sweet. It starts setting your teeth on edge. It begins to grate. So I’m going to write about the things I don’t like about New Zealand and my life here instead. You know, just for a change.

New Zealand itself has few faults. However, I have managed to cobble together three things that irk me…

The Wooden Houses

The houses themselves don’t do anything to cause me irritation. I’m just getting fed up of seeing them. I am missing the solid houses I’m used to in the UK. I miss Welsh stone houses, bricks and mortar, solidarity, staircases and two storeys. Where are the slate tiles, stone flag floors and generic housing estates. I know, I’m weird.

In New Zealand, because earthquakes are a real threat, a lot of houses are built out of wood, which is more flexible and less likely to be utterly destroyed if there’s a large ‘quake. But then, in a move that baffles me, they build all the way up extremely steep hillsides. You’d imagine that the houses would be very likely to go sliding down the hill and be destroyed anyway.

Wooden houses age badly. A lot of them need a good lick of paint and some need a serious sprucing up. Most of them are single storey. I know, this is just how it is here, but it doesn’t stop me missing what I think of as our traditional housing architecture. It’s an odd thing to miss, but that’s just how it is.

The Cost of Food

This is my biggest problem with New Zealand. It is ridiculously, and I mean ridiculously, expensive to buy food here. I’m used to doing my fortnightly shop in Aldi. Before I moved out here, I lived for one month on £60 worth of food, which is not a lot, and I still ate well. Now, I spend nearly £30 a week on food. That’s double the food costs!! And I go to the cheapest supermarket in New Zealand. Honestly, the sooner Aldi comes to New Zealand, the better!!

I do buy myself a few treats now and again, but I buy pretty much basic food. Chocolate and cheese aren’t considered luxury items, are they?! Food is one of my favourite parts of life too, so I find it a bitter pill to swallow when I fill less than half a small trolley and the bill comes to the equivalent of £30+.

Eating out is also expensive – brunch can set you back up to NZD$25 or so. I cheated tonight and made hollandaise sauce and my own version of Eggs Benedict. Loads cheaper, really tasty and I got the satisfaction of knowing I can make hollandaise sauce. I’d never done it before – it turned out perfectly, if I say so myself!

Unreliable and Temperamental Internet

This is less of an issue at the moment, as I live in a flat, we pay our bill and get our monthly unlimited internet allowance. Still, internet is notoriously unreliable and slow in New Zealand. I’ve had my share of irritations with it.

A particular one to note was my night in Auckland before flying to Queenstown. Having not spoken with Mum and Dad for more than a week, I tried to Skype them. Unfortunately, the WiFi was so poor, it didn’t go well and our conversation was stilted at best.

You also have to buy internet in pretty much every hostel you go to. Free WiFi is a luxury when you’re travelling in New Zealand! And if you get free, you can guarantee it’ll be slow, patchy or both. Yes, I know New Zealand is at the end of the grid, but really.

There are other downsides…

There are more personal downsides to living in New Zealand too. Like missing my friends and family back home on a daily basis. I am not constantly homesick, but I miss home enough that I message my mum nearly every day and I wonder what everyone is getting up a lot. And full-blown homesickness does read its ugly head occasionally and I get fed up for a few days. When that happens, it’s tough.

And, there we go!

I’ve waxed lyrical about New Zealand in the past. Today’s post is a little different, and it’s been quite refreshing to have a short moan about this wonderful country and to air some of my minor irritations. Rest assured, my next blog post will be back to my usual. I’m going to Tongariro for Waitangi weekend and I am sure I’ll have tons of great things to say about the Crossing and our trip, as I usually do.

NB: This post was edited and the images were added 29th January 2019. You can read more from my time in New Zealand here.