Several mammoth-size icebergs have started drifting ever closer to the NZ mainland causing shipping hazards–and a boom in tourist interest. Opportunistic agencies have setup helicopter flights that are taking spectators out to the bergs–and even landing on them! Have a look at this video below. These were spotted from my hometown of Dunedin! Simply confirms my opinion of New Zealand being one of the most unique countries in the world. Where else does this happen?

“Hello

I just read your blog page titled “moving to New Zealand” – about Halloween. Cracked me up that they have ant-trick or treating signs available at Kmart. We are moving to New Zealand from Seattle, and I am wondering, how will we carve pumpkins on Halloween if its in the Spring? I figure they won’t have pumpkins in October in NZ, no? Did you celebrate it in March or April? Or were you able to get pumpkins in October? At the local grocery store?”

We responded:

Hi Kristin–

Halloween was tricky. We did, in fact, manage to find some ’small’ pumpkins that we could carve for the event. You can see one of them in our images. BUT, they were few and far between and a little rough to carve.

That being said, once March and April came along, we were able to find the big pumpkind in time for fall–and we carved them for the fun of it! Nobody in New Zealand carves pumpkins, so it was really fun introducing people to the practice and ‘teaching’ them.

Our Halloween parties there were the things of legend. All in all, the country is warming up to the idea of celebrating the 31st — but it will be some time before it’s as crazy (if ever) as here in the states.

Have fun!

The one real benefit of a bus is that you wouldn’t have to be driving through snow yourself, if you hit that (which isn’t guaranteed, but is definitely a possibility on the South Island).”

There’s also some talk on car rental for those of you out there interested. The hitchhiking aspect hasn’t been covered, but I can attest that it’s done quite regularly on the South Island and w/o any of the urban legends assosiated with hitching in the U.S. Hit the forum chat for more info!

“British consultancy Superbrands conducted an online survey of 1725 people for its Coolbrands monitor, rating New Zealand as the coolest place to travel.

New Zealand came out as the top destination, ahead of Morocco, Fiji, Prague, Australia, the Maldives, Amsterdam, Brighton, the Bahamas and Bermuda.The London News had New Zealand at the other end of the temperature scale — “The hottest place to be”, it called the country, saying it was reaping the benefits of a marketing campaign.”

This is not surprising. A few years ago, National Geographic Traveler named the South Island of NZ as one of the most amazing places on the planet. The entire South Island. For the rest of the Herald article, click here!

Anyways, check out VisitingNewZealand — and be sure to hit the Sea Lions of Otago video. Those smelly monster were always a joy to behold on the beaches during an afternoon stroll.

“As of right now, the only thing I could share is the grueling visa process. I found that even though the NZ Immigration Website was loaded with information, I wasn’t able to find the answers I was actually looking for (hence the reason I wrote you). I ended up writing personal emails to the NZ Immigration Rep in Canada and she was able to help me more. I would definitely recommend doing that if you have specific questions as they always replied within a few working days. As far as the visas themselves… I looked at several options: Working Holiday Visa, Temporary Working Visa and the Partnership Visa. For people that are only planning on going to New Zealand for a year or less, I would definitely recommend the Working Holiday Visa. It is the least expensive to apply for by far (approx. $120 NZD) and it’s also the easiest. The application was only a few pages long – super easy to fill out – and we received approval in less that 24 hours!!! The other two visa’s are more appropriate for people wanting to stay in New Zealand longer than 12 months. I don’t know too much about the application process for them, but I do know it’s much lengthier and more intense… and I believe it costs several hundred more dollars to apply for.”

In our move from the U.S., we found that calling the NZ consulate was the absolute easiest way to find information on visas. Websites are great and all–but actually talking to someone that can guide you first-hand through the process is even better.

“New Zealanders have been moving out of Auckland Region than moving in, particularly people aged 30 years and over. Canterbury and Bay Of Plenty seem to be the regions where New Zealanders prefer to relocate to in New Zealand. Between 1996 and 2001, Canterbury and Bay of Plenty each gained more than 8,000 people from relocation within New Zealand. At the same time, Auckland lost about 2,500 people to other New Zealand regions.”

Personally, if you’re moving to New Zealand to escape the urban life, I wouldn’t consider Auckland your top choice. Sure, it’s not as large as most cities, but you’ll definitely feel the familiar stress of traffic, lights, and noise. Look around a little, take a risk on a location or setting you might not be used to. Believe me, it’s worth it.

Clicking on the Dunedin option will bring up some excellent dining options—my personal favorite being the Speights Ale House Bar and Restaurant. For those of you looking for a little trivia, north island folk will tell you that SPEIGHTS stands for (Southern People Enjoy It, God Hates The Shit). Seriously, though–it’s a good beer. Click here to jump to the site!