South Island

On the South Island - zero internet

How to Wash a Toilet

• Put both lids of the toilet up. Then add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.
• Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
• In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close the lid. You may need to stand on the lid.
• The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.
• Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a power-wash and rinse.
• Have someone open the front door of your home. Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door.
• Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift the lid.
• The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where he will dry himself off.
• Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.

NZ Car Rental Company Charges Dead Tourist's Parents

...Ronnie and Winnie Miranda were still in Christchurch yesterday, arranging to return home to Melbourne after their sons, Ashish, 24, and Akshay, 22, died under 100 tonnes of falling ice last Thursday.

The parents, struggling to come to terms with their loss, have received support from many quarters.

But rental car company NZRCS is determined to get its money back.

Company director Edwin Chan says it had to recoup about $800 for the car to be transported 418km from Fox Glacier to Christchurch, and hundreds of dollars for a new transponder key to electronically unlock the car.

"Nobody will do it for free," said Mr Chan.

"It's always unfortunate. We feel for them. If there are things that are going to cost the company, we have no choice but to recover the costs.

"They should ... travel with insurance. It's not up to us as a company to pay for the costs."

The car was meant to be returned on Sunday, but remains in Fox Glacier. The family had not been charged hire costs beyond Sunday.

"The car has to be recovered, and it's not a small cost that is involved."

Mr Chan also questioned why Akshay Miranda had the rental car keys in his pocket when he was not permitted to drive the vehicle.

"It should be in the parents' pockets."....

Full Article at NZ Herald

Apparently, the hotel the family was staying at also charged them for missing their booking.

...Earlier today South Beach Motel manager Linda Goodson refused to waive the cost of a unit booked by the Miranda family.

Ms Goodson said she had a business to run and would be charging the family a "little bit more" than $100 for the unit.

"I don't really see why everybody's getting up in arms about it," she told Radio 3AW.

"We've had a very, very quiet winter. Tourism is down. We left (the unit) unlocked all night for these people to come and we're not going to waive the cost."...

The Age article

Perhaps you can understand why I am always complaining about customer service here.

UPDATE: The Prime Minister got involved, and thanks to donations from all over NZ, the rental car company backed down. NZ Herald Article.

Owned

Today I killed a fly with ONE FINGER.That's right, I poked him to death, it doesn't get much more pro than this.

Hedgehog

Today I was walking around outside my flat, when I saw this little guy waddling around.

The Kiwi Accent

So, I've been trying to fake a kiwi accent since I arrived. Usually, I'm pretty good at picking up accents, but I cannot for the life of me get kiwi. Apparently, the closest I've come is a really fast "posh british accent" with a bunch of yeahs (pronounced Yii-a) thrown in...

Sweet as.

So here are some kiwi accents courtesy of youtube. If you can copy it, good on ya mate.

For bonus points pronounce this: Whangarei - if you said 'wong - ga - ray' you'd be wrong.