Come See Me

A question that people ask: “What is the cost of living in New Zealand like?”

Naturally, this will depend on the base country from which the questioner hails from, generally the UK and South Africa. And the answer given to each of such enquirers is radically different.

Quite likely, the UK costs are quite similar to NZ, but the South African costs and drastically lower. Naturally, the comparison is made without equating the relative salaries that one might earn for a similar job. That factor is not known for certain, until someone has worked in the respective countries at the particular job.

However, the question is not very valid, unless someone goes on holiday in the other country, then he has earned his holiday spend in his home currency and will foot his holiday bills in the “foreign” currency.

For the record, $1 is roughly £0.50 and $1 weighs in at R9.20-ish. Adding bank charges and the other extortion-fees, I simply work on R10 to the Dollar: My ten-times table is fairly accurate these days.

Anyway, back to the story:

Clayton has a garden trailer for carting this and that of a heavy nature around the property behind the ride-on mower-tractor, but the one wheel is a bit flat. Especially at the bottom, as Brynn would explain. So, we eventually removed the wheel yesterday, on the understanding that I would get it fixed during the week, in preparation for possible use next week-end.

This morning, I loaded the wheel and set off to 1 Elizabeth Street which is the building at the railway crossing at SH1 in Waikanae town:  Waikanae Tyre.

  

“Yep, we can fix that,” the fellow with the neat black tyre T-shirt, assured me, “Call back in, say, an hour or so.”

I had 60 minutes to kill: I drove down to Waikanae Beach, strolled along the wet sand looking for interesting bits of driftwood, and then spent about half an hour watching four old geezers at a game of petanque (some people call it “boule”) on a public court on Tutere Street, next to the Tennis court and Volley Ball court. How cool is that? Even a court-side telephone booth in case a geezers has a heart-attack!

So, what has all this to do with a high cost of living? Nothing really, except that it illustrates that taxpayers get some value for the taxes the pay.

When buying stuff in New Zealand, I try to estimate how much they will charge me – and I’m slowly becoming better at it. “How much would Mastertreads charge for this job?” I wonder. I’ve never owned a trailer, so I really don’t know.

Perhaps R60? That’s $6 – estimate $18, let’s call it $20?

60 minutes gone: I head back to Waikanae Tyre. The wheel is fixed, waiting for me. Fist class!

“There you go, mate.”

The South-African in me is a bit puzzled.

“How much do I owe?”

“No worries, mate. Next time you want to buy tyres, you come see us.”

My estimation of the New Zealand economy has gone up a number of notches.