Kwirky Kiwis

Yesterday I had too few photos, and today I have too many!  So it will take me a while to go through them.   In the meantime, I thought I'd mention some quirky things we've noticed since being here.

• Light switches are down for on, and up for off. 
• They also have power switches on every outlet, which I think is brilliant.

• They have no pennies or nickels, but will still advertise items as $5.99.
• Their sales tax is included in prices.  Such a great idea.
• Cows and sheep don't smell.  You know how an entire area of highway can stink when you drive by?  Not here.  Odd.
• People go barefoot, a lot.  Especially children.  And even when it's cold.

• You cannot go 100km in an hour.  Even on the motorway (with a limit of 100kph) you're lucky to travel 60km in an hour.
• There are no large land mammals in the wild.  Although I did see some horses running around in the woods close to 90 Mile beach.   :)
• They do however have lots of birds. 
• 90 Mile Beach is only 55 miles long.
• There are clean, public washrooms everywhere!  Often with a very cool design.

• When you buy raw land here, the first thing you do is plant trees.  Our hosts were shocked that if we bought land in NS we would likely have to clear trees to build.
• Speed limits are crazy.  If it says 100, don't believe it.  They should add "if you dare" below the number.  They don't seem to have much issue with speeding, because the steep, curvy roads limit how fast you can go.
• In Canada if you have a broken line on the highway, you feel confident that means it's a good place to potentially pass someone.  Here, there are broken lines everywhere, even around sharp corners.  So, it's legal to pass, but you'd be stupid to try.  Pass, "if you dare."
• Roadsigns... (I like the way the tires cross over one another on the last one.)  They have lots and lots of safety messages along the highway... encouraging power naps if you're tired, pull over and let others pass, drunk driving, speeding...  I saw one with the speed limit made to look like a bullseye (see below) with all kinds of bullet holes in the centre.

• Lines separating lanes are sometimes white, and sometimes yellow.  It's not unusual on a multilane street to have all lines white, so it's impossible to tell which direction the middle lanes are for.
• Lots of roundabouts.  They use them instead of exits on the highway, at most intersections, and even just to slow traffic on a residential street.
• Most bridges in rural areas are single lane, even on major roads, with a sign to tell you who has the right of way.

• No central heating.  One host didn't even know what a furnace was.
• This whole place is volcanoes, which is evident in the landscape.  Auckland alone has 49.
• There are 10 times as many sheep as people.
• They REALLY love rugby, and the All Blacks are an amazing team.
• Shopping carts are called trundlers. And the return areas are only wide enough for one, keeping them neat and easy to collect.

• Gas pumps are WAY faster here.  We fill our car in about 20 seconds.