Things I'll miss about New Zealand, Volume 3

14- The public washrooms.  I spoke of them briefly in that same post that mentionned L&P (Lemon and Paeroa).  The "toilets", as they're refered to here, are plentiful, mostly impecably clean, roomy and often really quite modern with fancy door locking systems, automated soap dispensers, hand dryers and even sometimes tunes to make your visit even more enjoyable -- and to be clear, I'm not talking about toilets in malls or public buildings.  I mean the toilets in parks, at the side of the road, next to a lake: those public toilets.  Amazing.
15- The dogs: Don't get me wrong, there are some Canadian dogs that I sorely miss (Holla to Chevy and George!), but generally speaking, Kiwi dogs are the bomb compared to North American ones.  The dogs here are just so awesome. They're well behaved (generally, of course, there are obviously exceptions).  They're playful, yet obedient.  They often don't need leashes; the first time I took Dave's roomate's dog, Scruff for a walk on my own, he listened to me straight away.  I confidently take him into town sans leash and even leave him outside some stores untied if I'm not in for long.  Awwwww...Scruff.  I think I'll miss him most of all.

Scruffaluffagus.



I once asked Dave why the dogs here are so well behaved, and his response was "the ones that don't do as they're told, get shot".  It sounds harsh, but in a country that is rather dependant on farming, and where so many native birds can't fly, it's kind of a necessary practice.
16- Keas: I know I already mentionned birds, but keas deserve their own bullet point.  They're like winged monkeys.  I'll borrow from what I posted another time: "Keas are one of NZ's mountain parrots.  These guys are not shy and are super smart and curious.  They've been known to steal people's boots and bags and anything they can get their talons or beaks on.  There are even some that have learned how to open and close doors by watching people do it, and have locked trampers inside huts and outhouses for kicks. Cheeky buggers."  There are a few of them that were hanging around Treble Cone all season and they were a hoot to watch. One of my coworkers actually saw one jump into an open truck and steal a family's picnic lunch piece by piece while the owner was busy talking to someone else.