Rounding up and down – the missing coins in NZD and AUD

19. Feb 201519. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I still can’t get used to the fact that rounding up or down is not only common in NZ and in Australia, but a necessity. While Australia lacks 1 and 2 cent coins, NZ further lacks a 5 cent coin. Meaning that all cash transactions have to be rounded up or down. If you pay in cash in an Australian supermarket for a bill of 10,02 AUD it will be rounded down to 10 AUD. If you have to pay 10,03 AUD you’d have to really pay 10,05 AUD. This is due to the withdrawal of the 1 and 2 cent coins in the 1980/90s (and later withdrawal of the NZD 5 cent coin). However, if payment is made by credit card, no rounding is necessary.

I’ve now learned that this practice is called swedish rounding, as it was first introduced in Sweden following the removal of 1 and 2 öre coins from circulation in 1972. Surprisingly, coins at the denomination of 0,01, 0,02 and 0,05 have been removed in many countries and although I’ve definitely visited some of these I cannot recall it. The Swiss Reserve Bank, for example, removed the 2 Rappen coin in 1978 and the 1 Rappen coin in 2007 (because it cost 11 Rappen to produce it).

I find it strange, though, that shops in NZ and Australia do not simply avoid the need to round up or down by having all prices divisible by 0,05 or 0,10. However,it seems that it works well and that its balanced out.

EurOZvision

12. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

mx newspaper titled yesterday. I just read this free paper on my way from Brisbane to Australia Zoo… Seriously??? Australia is going to participate in this year’s Eurovision song contest?!? I wonder who’s idea that was? Well, to me it seems a bit odd to invite a country that far away to participate in a European contest. I know Israel is participating too, even though they geographically wouldn’t fit in either. But that’s another story really and I’ll always welcome them to join in. But Australia? That takes it a bit too far, really. What do you think of this? !

Chilling out in Byron Bay

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Byron Bay is said to have a special vibe. It was originally called “meeting place” (Cavvanbah) in aboriginal language, indicating that it was a place to gather. It is a sacred place to Aboriginals and the spirits are said to proceed from Mt. Wollumbin, an ancient volcano, which erupted 23 million years ago and which can be seen from many points in Byron Bay. It was not an aboriginal settlement, because they believe that the area’s spirit is too strong and therefore people would go crazy if they lived here. That seems to be true, as there are loads of crazy people to be found in Byron Bay! It has been a hippie haven ever since the 70s and I imagine it could be quite similar to Goa… Apart from that there are plenty of surfers (pro’s and wannabes) around. Even though locals keep telling me that I must learn surfing I have yet to try it. But 1) I don’t have enough time and 2) one surfer has been killed and one severely injured as a result of two shark attacs in the past week. I was brave enough to join a sea kayak tour by the local “Go Sea Kayak” company, though. As opposed to NZ the sea was calm and warm. We went along the shoreline to the more secluded bays and saw sea turtles popping up their heads as well as a small group of the resident bottlenose dolphins (including a baby!). THIS truly is a sacred place.

Yum Cha

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Sydney has the biggest chinatown of Australia, which boasts of Chinese restaurants, especially “yum cha’s”. Yum cha is a southern Chinese style morning or afternoon tea, which involves drinking chinese tea and eating dim sums (steamed, fried or baked sweets), which are wheeled around in heated trolleys to pick from. The main street through chinatown felt like a tourist trap, with “schleppers” trying to decoy passers-by into their restaurants. I remembered having read an article on M. Winnemuths Blog about a yum cha restaurant in Sydney. Funnily enough the said restaurant was in the building complex around the corner where I had just purchased my birthday dress. “The Eight” on the third floor of the market city complex was just what I wanted: chinese customers only (besides me), friendly staff and loads of dim sums to choose from. Of course I picked far too many (about 1/3 went into a doggybag), but it was just too tempting! Big thanks to my dad who taught me how to eat with chop sticks when I was a kid! With all the staff staring at me (will she make it?) it made me feel much more comfortable, besides being able to actually eat what I had been served 😉 …

Unfortunately chinese new year will only start in mid February and I’ll miss out on the big celebrations in sydney.

Here is what the chinese horoscope says for those born in the year of the dragon for the upcoming year of the sheep: “Might we suggest a pause for a refresh? Here’s some good news: In a Sheep year, it’s okay to pamper yourself. Take some time off. Do what you have to do.” Now that’s reassuring :-)!

Manly, beautiful Manly!

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I payed Manly another visit last Saturday, this time with my bike (which you can take onto the ferry for free). Arriving in Manly around noon I made my way up, up, up the steep hill to get to North Head. When I finally reached it, I was rewarded by this:

What a stunning view of the city and the sea! I also rewarded myself with an iced coffee at the cute café up there (probably the 20th during my travels, but as long as I keep active it hopefully won’t show)…!

Going downhill to secluded Shelly Beach was so much more fun. A quick change into my bikini and “ziiiisch …” I joined the saturday crowd for a swim to cool down on this hot day.

The Australian Open of surfing started off that day, too, and later that afternoon I watched the juniors (girls) riding the waves from Manly Beach. Another reason why Manly has become my favourite destination around Sydney is the fact that they have 6 beachvolleyball nets at the beach. Today they had a fun tounament going – just like every other saturday. Wish I could have joined them…

The 30 min. ferry ride back to Cicular Quay at 7.30 pm was spectacular, as the sun was setting behind the city:

Cycling through Sydney – the Rocks to Cogee return

7. Feb 20159. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

My butt hurts! No wonder, I have been cycling through Sydney for about 5 hours and I haven’t been cycling in 3 months… it was great though! I rented a well maintained 21 gear bike at ” Bonza bikes ” in the heart of the Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney, which is located btw Opera and Harbour Bridge. The YHA Harbour is the only budget accommodation in this pretty area and offers superb views from the rooftop terrace. I took off rather late (12ish) and started the tour by driving along the coastline, passing the Opera House and the Botanical Garden, riding along Woolloomooloo Bay, Bushcutters Bay, Double Bay and Rose Bay (the latter three with countless yachts) and then cut through to Bondi Beach, which is large, but not all that appealing. It took me a while to accept that riding on the coastal path south wasn’t such a great idea. It wasn’t that crowded, but there are plenty of steps and although the bike was light it was annoying to carry it up and down. Making my way round on the streets, though, usually meant that I had to go further uphill… Hell, yeah, Syney is hilly!! Passing through Tamarama Beach, Bronte Beach, Waverly Cemetary, Clovelly Bowling Club (Bowling? It looked like boule with bigger boules! On the grass! Three fields! Crazy.) and Clovelly Beach I finally stopped at Cogee Beach, which is quite big, but not as bustling as Bondi. Instead of joining the sunbathers on the beach I decided to take a dip in Wylies Pool, a saltwater rockpool at the southern end of the bay. It was magical! I took five rounds surrounded by a few locals and couldn’t believe my luck. So refreshing in every sense! I must have spent over an hour there before I headed back to Bronte, cutting through to Queens Park, Centennial Park, down Oxford road and through Hyde Park, ending up at the Opera House. It’s weird, but as a cyclist I feel so much more like a local. It made me feel like I belong here and know my way (well, thankfully I’m able to read a map). What’s true, though, is that by cycling through a city you get to see a lot at the right pace and definitely a lot more than the ordinary tourist. I really wouldn’t mind staying here for a longer while. I LIKE this city!

Kiwiness

4. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ 2 Comments

Once again I was amazed as to the friendliness of the Kiwis – I’d like to call it the kiwiness. It endet as it started: with a very friendly customs officer. Have you ever met a customs officer with a friendly nature and a smile on his face chit chatting with you about your vacation, the weather, his country and if you’ve enjoyed being there? Well, it has certainly only happened to me in NZ and I still can’t get over it!

Not quite the same, but similar: I took the bus #29 from the Christchurch airport back into town when we had dropped off the car. The driver listened to opera which gave the bus ride a whole new experience. At some stage he turned around and shouted to the back of the bus: “the lady who bought the return ticket, where do you want to get off?” I shouted my station and that’s where he stopped for me – I didn’t have to keep track or press the “stop” button! He even showed me the direction to the YHA. Perfect!

The golden flip flops (aka jandals)

1. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ 4 Comments

One of the hardest decisions in preparing for the journey was the “shoe question”. I know, I know, women and shoes… My goal was a 15 kg backpack. In the end it was 15,6 kg and that’s because – after careful consideration and consultation with friends (I was careful to only ask the less outdoorsy and more city related friends to get the right answer ;-)) – I packed a third pair of flip flops: the golden ones. I was absolutely not sure how often I’d wear them. But, even though we did focus on the outdoors in NZ, they already had three performances. So I can definitely recommend “to go for gold”!

PS: for some reason New Zealanders call flip flops “jandals”. They are a bit weird sometimes ;-).

Lakes, Glaciers and Fjords

18. Jan 201524. Jan 2015 ~ Nina ~ 2 Comments

The sun has been travelling with us ever since we reached beautiful lake Tekapo with its amazing turquoise blue colour created as a result of “rock flour”.

While I quickly adapt to driving on the left hand side of the road it always takes me a couple of days to get used to WALKING on the left. Resulting in many of those situations where the poor person walking towards me and I perform the “right-left-right-left” dance. Now that I’ve gotten used to it I diapprovingly shake my head at those continental europeans who just don’t seem to catch it.

The day at Aoraki Mt Cook was amazing: it was the hottest day (28°C) at the highest destination of our journey through NZ (1.000m) with a clear blue sky and amazing views of Mt Cook, the glaciers and the scenery.

We renamed MtCook….

GRUMPY! Can you see why?!

Fjordland was very kind to us, too. For some reason my booking hadn’t gone through so Bob & Maxine, the owners of the same-named hostel, kindly offered us a room in their house (instead of their next door hostel). “You could be doctors”, Maxine proclaimed. Close, very close!

As to the beauty of Milford Sound and its surroundings, see the following pics – we lucky devils!

Btw: I had the most delicious venison pie at “Miles Better Pies” in Te Anau, but I was too hungry to take a photo…

Good to be back, New Zealand!

18. Jan 201518. Jan 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I cannot recommend to arrive in Christchurch at the unearthly hour of 5am – it sucks to spend a whole day fighting against the jetlag. That said, even without suffering from jetlag Christchurch is not exactly exhilarant. That has nothing to do with the wonderful people that live here. They are as amicable as everywhere else in the country. It’s because Christchurch has the look and feel of a ghost town with many houses blocked up or torn down, leaving empty houses and open spaces. It was depressing and I admire the people that still live there and are trying to rebuild the city – despite of a certain fear of further eartquakes.

On the positive side we had tickets for the ODI series cricket match between NZ Blackcaps and Sri Lanka at the Hagley Oval – which turned out to be a cricket field with a grass rampart. The interesting part was not the game, the rules of which we barely knew, but the crowd that enjoyed watching: people of every age basically having a picknick on the lawn while sitting there as if watching TV (with a few cheers in between), the kids amusing themselves on the bouncy castles outside the rampart, all dressed for the occasion with shorts and skirts (not many brand-name clothes), barefoot or in flip flops. So relaxed! A great spot to people watch!

Here is what I love about NZ: when entering we were kindly asked to empty our (half empty) water bottles. When seeing the ??? on our faces the woman apologised, explained that it was to make sure that we don’t bring any alcohol in (luckily they don’t know that trick at the Waldbühne yet) and handed us two full water bottles in exchange. Plus everyone could get a free water refill at the many refill stations around the field. Unimagineable in Germany!