Prof. Sam Lawler

Observations from a Canadian visiting New Zealand:

-Making NZers say "Saskatchewan" is kind of hilarious
-Roundabouts work really really well when everyone is used to them
-Drip coffee apparently does not exist here (espresso-based coffee drinks only. Even at the one Dunkin Donuts I saw in a hideous mall I had to go inside in Auckland).
-NZ signs do not play around (see example below)

Feb 7 at 5:15amWeb
Show threadsymbology.Feb 7
@sundogplanets I thought New Zealand was a paradise until I heard about the coffee thing. Wow.
Show threadHurricane DaveosaurusFeb 7

@symbology @sundogplanets just thank your lucky stars it's not still the 20th century.

https://mastodon.nz/@Daveosaurus/115668999186345007

Show threadMichael LabowiczFeb 7
@sundogplanets @symbology I've found that Americano is a decent stand in
Show threadPatrick HerdFeb 7
@sundogplanets there's a cafe in Newtown Wellington called "Black Coffee" and they serve good drip coffee if you need a hit
Show threadJanne MorenFeb 7
@PatrickHerd @sundogplanets
If I remember, Flight Coffee also does a good speciality pour-over.
Show threadKaren Keiller πŸ₯Œ πŸ“šFeb 7
@sundogplanets this is one from Invercargill
Show threadJanne MorenFeb 7
@sundogplanets
That Cliff guy really is a bastard, isn't he.
Show threadRaj Patel Feb 7

@sundogplanets FWIW, a Kiwi Flying Nun band, Superette, sing 'Saskatchewan' back in 1996...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiR0R_7qq1k

Saskatchewan

YouTube
Show threadJeff SmithFeb 7
@sundogplanets Federal Delicatessen in Auckland has good proper brewed coffee. Owned by Al Brown and uses coffee from a roaster in Wellington
Show threadArapallaFeb 7

@sundogplanets

Not sure why anyone does drip coffee or Nescafe.🀷

Please don't mention International Roast 🀒

Show threadCat WestFeb 7
@Arapalla @sundogplanets I miss perked coffee. It’s nowhere to be found these days. Can’t even buy a proper perking pot.
Show threadColin BurgessFeb 7
@sundogplanets β€œI know the difference between margarine and butter,
I can say Saskatchewan without starting to stutter…”
Show threadDavid PFeb 7

@sundogplanets

Why would you want drip "coffee" when you could have coffee as intended?

Oh, that sign is just if you run into that guy Cliff. He's pretty notorious in New Zealand.

Show threadColin BurgessFeb 7
@sundogplanets btw nice pic of Mr Ngauruhoe
Show threadrdmFeb 7
@sundogplanets
Wait until you hit Australia.
Show threadHurricane DaveosaurusFeb 7
@rdm @sundogplanets Ordinary sharks are bad enough, and now, helisharks?
Show threadrdmFeb 7
@Daveosaurus @sundogplanets
How else do you think sharknadoes form?
Show threadJon SullivanFeb 7
@rdm @Daveosaurus @sundogplanets πŸ˜‚
Show threadMatthew MillerFeb 7

@Daveosaurus @rdm @sundogplanets

I am glad I'm not the only one who thought that!

Show threadshomFeb 7
@mattdm @Daveosaurus @rdm @sundogplanets I zoomed in and still see that. Even the spider is concerned and hightailing it!
Show threadSu_GFeb 7

@rdm
Love the spider on that sign. That seems very Australian to me. 😁

@sundogplanets

Show threadthefathippyFeb 7

@Su_G

It's a great sign, but the hand written SNAKES, twice, and the spider, leave no doubt what country you're in...

Just add crocs, cassowaries, and stingers for FNQ. Oh, and gympie-gympie trees. πŸ˜„

@rdm @sundogplanets

Show threadD. G. MarshallFeb 7
@thefathippy @Su_G @rdm @sundogplanets
Show threadFalko (er, ihm)Feb 7

@rdm @sundogplanets I really like the well documented paths and warning signs there like this one:

https://atw2019.trojahn.de/media/posts/22/gallery/IMG_20191031_121231.jpg

(from this walk: https://atw2019.trojahn.de/tongariro-volcanic-area/ )

Show threadrdmFeb 7

@falkovdg @sundogplanets

Yep, that's pretty serious!

Show threadRobynFeb 7
@rdm
Most of the people I know (apart from family) who've dealt with a fatal outdoors incident it's being on that track. Almost all of the woefully ill-prepared people or the ones who push on in the wrong weather get away with it. But there are so very many of them. That sign is part of a project to try and reduce the number of times Search and Rescue have to go up and retrieve someone
@falkovdg @sundogplanets
Show threadAdaFeb 7
@rdm @sundogplanets And this one at Kingscliff
Show threadMatthew MillerFeb 7

@ada @sundogplanets @rdm

This heli-shark has serrated blades!

Show threadAdaFeb 7
@mattdm @sundogplanets @rdm Thankfully, it doesn't enable true flight. But they can coast above the water for quite some distance! It's a scary sight :P
Show threadthefathippyFeb 7

@ada

That last one's a cockatoo warningβ€”those beaks'll chomp ya!

@sundogplanets @rdm

Show threadD. G. MarshallFeb 7
@rdm @sundogplanets
Show threadprlFeb 7

@rdm @sundogplanets @davidtheeviloverlord

As I was warned by an Aussie in NZ...

In Australia, the wildlife is trying to kill you.
In New Zealand, the wildlife is fine, but New Zealand itself is trying to kill you. (earthquake, boiling mud, poisonous gas, landslide, flood...)

Show threadArcadiagt5Feb 8
@prl @rdm @sundogplanets @davidtheeviloverlord @prk Indeed, as a kiwi housemate once put it to me: In Oz it is the ecology that tries to kill you, in NZ it is the geology that tries to kill you.
Show threadJaneFeb 7
@sundogplanets Fun to follow your progress through our country.
Show threadIrisFeb 7
@sundogplanets OK, but why would you want drip coffee when you could have espresso? I don't understand.
Show threadSu_GFeb 7
@sundogplanets
Fun observations! Look forward to some more. 😁
Show threadXenophonFeb 7
@sundogplanets Wow, this could be a great advertisement for moving to NZ. No drip coffee and competent drivers? Sign me the hell up.
Show threadwitlessFeb 7
@Xenophon @sundogplanets oh no, the drivers aren’t remotely competent, they’re good at roundabouts but barely average at everything else (myself most definitely included).
Show threadGrahame Gardner 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Feb 7
@sundogplanets Why would you want drip (filter) coffee when you can have a Long Black?
Show threadClaudine C Feb 7
@sundogplanets To be fair, there is genuinely good specialty filter/drip coffee these days (keywords: "pourover", "V60"). But if you mean the cheap over-boiled and continuously reheated stuff, yeah no thanks.
Show threadGraham CFeb 7
@sundogplanets in Australia we change that sign to "party cliff" by adding bottles and a boombox
Show threadclarkiestarFeb 7
@sundogplanets wellingtonians are incredibly proud of their coffee. I’d be careful with them there drip coffee words down there
Show threadWazzarFeb 7
@sundogplanets
Guess what SIX means in NZ? πŸ˜²πŸ˜³πŸ€£πŸ˜‚πŸ€£
Show threadSchwestalineFeb 7
@sundogplanets regarding the road signs - I still vividly remember the road signs saying " the faster you go, the bigger the mess" - are those still around?
Show threadMuFeb 7
@schwestaline @sundogplanets yup, but depends where you are
Show threadHedgewizard 🐈Feb 7
@sundogplanets
Let me chip in as a fairly recently immigrated kiwi who lived near Milton Keynes, UK which is basically made of roundabouts held together with electrical tape: kiwis are crap at them.
(Ducks)
Show threadProf. Sam LawlerFeb 7
@Hedgewizard Hahaha well, they're WAY better at it than the flatlanders in Saskatchewan who only know how to navigate perfect right angles.
Show threadHedgewizard 🐈Feb 7
@sundogplanets
But then how will they know the magic of Swindon?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)
Show threadProf. Sam LawlerFeb 7
@Hedgewizard oh my god
Show threadjtonlineFeb 7
@sundogplanets @Hedgewizard there's also an exit to a car park between the top two roundabouts just for more lols. (I panicked, missed it, and ended up somewhere else!)
Show threadHedgewizard 🐈Feb 7
@sundogplanets @jtonline
Narnia?
Show threadGrahame Gardner 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Feb 7
@sundogplanets Roundabouts are useful, but you can have too many of them. NZ hasn't reached that stage yet.
https://youtu.be/eYuNAle69Ws?si=k1_fjrihJzxQkDWn
Uk's Worst Roundabout?

YouTube
Show threadNantucket LitFeb 7
@sundogplanets No drip coffee... might be a problem.
Show threadRobynFeb 7
@nantucketlit
Just ask for an Americano
Way I was told it got that name was because many of the US soldiers in Italy didn't like espresso, so the helpful locals worked out how to make an approximation of what they were used to with an espresso machine. When I was younger most old fashioned cafes and tearooms had Kona drip machines whilst the trendy cafes had espresso.
There is a place in town that does both, the drip coffee is a bottomless cup, so that's what I go for.
Show threadPeteFeb 7
@sundogplanets I sincerely hope you are enjoying your time in our country. Welcome.
Show threadBriana oblivionFeb 7
@sundogplanets hello
Show threadGary HoustonFeb 7

@sundogplanets Sas-kwatch-wan? Is that even a real word?

Edit: my cliff face photo from Tasmania.