Hi folks!
We're back from our 10-day Welly trip and it was very enjoyable. I thought I could share some stuffs that we had experienced. Maybe some of our folks here are planning to visit or move in the next two months. With some comparisons between NZ and Singapore where I live.
Housing
Housing in New Zealand is bigger and more reasonably priced than Singapore. It's made of wood though (Not sure if this is part of quake-proofing). We went to some open houses on a Sunday and noticed that most of the houses has moldy smell, maybe because of the cold, damp weather.
Car Rental/Petrol Prices
It is almost the same rate as Singapore. Booked at Apex Car Rentals (thanks for the recommendation JandM) and the car we used is nice, considering that it is an 8-year old Tilda. Staffs are courteous and helpful too.
CBD Parking
Oh my! It's expensive. What can I say?
Food prices/Groceries
It's expensive compared to Singapore if you're shopping in the first two dairies.
New World: Expensive.
Countdown: Hmmm. Yes, expensive too.
Pak N' Save: The most reasonably priced stuffs I saw in Welly.
Farmers: If driving is not an issue, you can go to nearby farm-shops, 1 hour or more from the city and you can get great deals with fruits, veggies, meats and dairies, not to mention their cute shops and displays for photo taking.
Eating Out/Fast Food
It’s expensive in NZ compared to Singapore. But food portions are bigger though. Quality of food is also better in NZ.
McDonalds: Singapore is cheaper, but NZ tastes better.
Burger King: Singapore is cheaper, but NZ tastes better.
KFC@Broadway: Horrible. Very unsanitary.
Local Cafes: Reasonably priced because of big portions. Price is $8 and up per item.
Gasoline Stations: Self-service. Fully stocked with food and drinks. You'll gain weight during roadtrips.
Choices: Reasonable. Saw a lot of cafes, bars and takeaways serving authentic cuisines. Chinese Food shops that sells Fish & Chips are everywhere, Oh well... Forget authenticity a bit.
* We tried the wood-fire oven baked pizza at Heaven (Cuba Street) and it's real good. We will try Hell Pizza next time for a change. Oh and don't forget the cheap but nice $6 Fish and Chips at Seafood Trawling Market (Cuba Street).
Customer Service
No offence to Singapore folks. IMHO, customer service in New Zealand, especially in shops and restaurants is much better than Singapore. New Zealand staff are very accommodating and gracious. I hope it could be the same with Singapore.
Weather
Singapore: Consistently sunny and warm.
Wellington, NZ: Freezing cold, windy and rainy. (Maybe due to the wind, and besides we arrive just after the big storm.)
Places
Wellington CBD: Don't expect tall and newly-designed buildings, but still nice. Area is more relaxed than Singapore CBD.
Suburbs: Petone is breath-taking, especially when you drive via SH. You can see the beautiful sea and other structures. We had a 5-hr roadtrip from the city to different points and the scenery was spectacular, especially up the mountains.
Rangitikei/Manawatu: Nice scenery for photography. Good trout fishing (River is freezing cold).
Unsealed Roads/Back country: Lots of ranches, mountains, natural structures. Sheeps, Cows, Horses, Deers by the hundreds, maybe thousands. Spectacular views. A lot of roadside memorials though that gives us the creeps (at least it reminds you to drive safely).
POI (At least for the next 2 months)
Te Papa Museum: Nice place and it's free.
Weta Cave: The paid workshop is nice. The free exhibit is quite limited and looks like a glorified warehouse.
Botanic Garden: Don't bother to go for the next 2 months. Everything is dead due to the recent storm that hit Wellington, except for the cute mallards that swims around the fountain.
Zealandia: We stayed in Karori and it's a 5 minute drive from our rented house. Nice place.
Cuba Street: Nice place to go to eat, drink, be merry.
Te Papa/Harbourside Sunday Market: The one that I liked the most as I love cooking. There’s a lot of great cooked food as well. We tried almost every food stall there. Yummy!
Victoria Tunnel: Honking horns on weekends is funny. They really honk-back (on a "that's all folks!", "let's go" and "name-that-tune" fashion). Drive in normal speed and play with your car horn. You'll get the finger response by peeping your horn in other countries.
Be careful folks!
Most of the roads outside Wellington CBD are unsealed. Blind corners, sharp turns and steep roads are prevalent. Roads are also somewhat icy and slippery in some high areas. It may be more challenging for some to drive during night-time. I believe it is the same case to other parts of NZ.
During your flight to New Zealand (Connecting Flight/Stop-over from Sydney)
Some of you might have some stop-overs to Sydney, Australia. Be sure to bring some Australian dollars if you plan to buy something there, as most likely your card would not be accepted (at least in our case). We have several Savings Account Cirrus cards with international access, Visa/Mastercard credit and debit cards and none can be used to withdraw cash. If you plan to change currencies in Sydney, forget about it. Travelex (The only currency changer we saw there) charged us $4 for every $20 as some sort of commission charge. Oh my!
Overall Impression
We loved our stay in Wellington and we are looking forward to go back real soon, for good.