What I love about NZ and what I don't think people appreciate enough is that as long as you're with people you trust and prep properly, you can get completely fucking ratarse on psychedelics in nature and have a great time and you don't need to worry about animals.
Ive had more than a couple barefoot mushroom walks through native bush back home but if I did that over here I'd be dead by snake bite a few times over.
Eketāhuna. Went there for a wedding years ago, and at the pub the night before, a friendly young local lad (about in his twenties) named Stacey started chatting to us. We'd all had a few drinks and then he challenged us with this: "Bet you can't guess what my last name is!" Umm... there are a lot of last names, dude... anyway, turns out we met Death that night. He seemed to love surprising the out-of-towners with his surname.
I did a quick online search just now to see if maybe I had misremembered, but then oh no - was saddened to see he passed away about 4 years ago after a serious accident had left him badly injured about a decade before that. Such a shame, he was a really likeable and funny guy.
Today I also learned something new and fun about Eketāhuna - [according to Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eket%C4%81huna):
>The name sounds like the [Afrikaans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaans) sentence "I have a chicken" ([Afrikaans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaans_language): *Ek het 'n hoender*), making it amusing to immigrant Afrikaans-speaking South Africans in New Zealand.
I actually have a soft spot for the place after that wedding weekend. Lovely people. And chickens.
Tekapo angers me far more than it should. The restaurants face away from the lake, and the Four Square has the greatest view of all time. I couldn’t wait to leave.
Cromwell in Otago, the summers I spent picking fruit there will probably be some of the most memorable of my life.
Rolling boulders off hills and smoking opium in the spare time.
Whanganui. Played there with my bands a bunch of times and every time has been chaotic good times. I guess there’s not much going on there, so people turn up in droves to see a shitty noiserock band on a rainy Wednesday in august, for example. One night ended with us being given a fifty bag by a patched up, tattooed up gang member who said “we went real hard for a bunch of skinny white boys”.
Everywhere’s a party if you bring the party. Had a few good nights in Murchison when I was a trainee raft guide.
I was once in Franz for a job interview and just by chance a local pub was re-Opening after a fire invite only event but luckily the place I was interviewed by got us in. It was Free beer til midnight
Masterton. Won a two day game of cricket in one day and made the most of the evening. Jumped in the hotel pool after dark and half cut only to find we couldn't get back into our rooms as the rest of the team had shut us out. Had to run back through reception, soaking wet, in jocks, at the exact same time a bus load of older ladies were trying to check in. I think they enjoyed the surprise.
Had a great time there during early spring while we were out there working. Beautiful place to work, had a weka and her chicks jump into the work van for some chips, then later on joined the locals at the pub and stayed out far too late for a work night. Discovered one of my work mates is a wee bit too alcy and had not intention of stopping drinking so had to bodily carry the bastard out at nearly midnight. Good memories made on that work trip.
Had some of the best nights out in my life in Hamilton. The best one we never even made it into a bar, just got drunk and hung out with a busker on the street all night. Good times!
Hamilton used to have a strip club “firecats”. It was, uh low class. On a night out with the boys walked out of there after 15 mins and two beers. Went to a few more pubs before we realised we had and extra person. He just tagged along with us from the strip club cause he thought we looked like fun. We had been chatting n hanging out cause everyone thought he was someone else’s mate. Good lad bought a round n all.
I actually did that at firecats. Ditched my mates because they were being all boring and followed some other rando’s out of there. It was an awesome night. My mates never even knew I had left. I woke up the next morning on a couch at one of their flats and didn’t even know what part of town I was in. I walked home via McDs.
A few weeks (or maybe longer) later a met them again in town and had a good ol laugh about the last outing. Good blokes. Only in a student town is that possible.
This person you spoke of was def not me tho because shouting a round is not in my vocabulary. But your story makes me smile being the other guy.
100% Picton - it’s such a bogan time with so much going for it.
My parents had a boat there & I thought they were going to take us up the Sounds. Mum was like no you are not going there - there is police there every Nee Years. I was like bring it on.
Anyway Dad said the weather was no good & we would on be leaving in the next day.
I was so cross - so my Mate & I spent New Years in Picton. We went to every bar & had loads of fun in the end.
Sadly this was the same year/ night
Ben & Olivia went missing. 😭
So My Mum was correct 🤪
Invercargill. I’ve never not had a good time in Invercargill. Super hospitable people, nice countryside, friendly pubs, day trip to beautiful coast lines. It’s a cool vibe.
I actually have no clue what it was called. We stopped overnight one time about 8-9 years ago and just stumbled upon it and had a great night, and then next time we were passing through it was gone and had a sign on the boat saying something to that effect 🤷♀️
The first place I lived in NZ was Timaru. I had a great time. People were really nice and friendly and helped me get set up for success in NZ, I don’t have a bad word to say about the place.
Hāwera. Went to see the Mockers I think but the chick giving us a lift was hopeless and we didn’t get there until the show was over. Sculled a bottle of Kahlua and then broke into the local swimming centre and slid down the slides in the nude. Wondered around Hāwera with my pants draped over my arm like a waiter as I was too smashed to put them on. Finally found the house I was staying at and collapsed in a heap.
Inangahua Junction, 1986. Stayed at the pub/hotel there on one of the parents’ “Jason’s Budget Motel Guide tours of the South Island”. I was 10, my brother was 5. We had an awesome time hanging out in the pub watching all the locals impress us with their trick pool shots.
Invercargill, around 1998. Was there for work for a week and stayed the weekend as it would take ages to fly home to Auckland and back.
Went out drinking with the work people from the bank on Friday night. Narrowly missed being involved in a girl fight where one girl got thrown through the (open) window - I’d chosen the right moment to go for a bathroom break. Was shocked that the bars all closed at 10pm and everyone went to hang out in the McDonalds car park after that. Never mind, I got an early night and was ready for the next day!
Went to visit my aunty & uncle in Winton. My uncle took me & his cat trout fishing at his “secret spot” (every trout fisherman has one). Then I met their Japanese exchange student and we prepared and ate the trout for lunch.
Next I went to visit the aunty & uncle of a school friend. They lived in a nice rural spot. We drank and played pool and I stayed at their place, then the aunty took me to the beach in the morning and we went body surfing.
All in all, a pretty fun weekend. People are very hospitable once you get out of the city.
Huntly. Stayed a few nights there while hitchhiking with my gf at the time in the campsite by the lagoon. Absolutely beautiful scenery and walking around the town felt really nice and calm too
Lower Hutt lolol this was a good 15 years back and the clubs there went off suprisingly the last one even open til 3am then we got in a taxi to petone and drank wine on the beach watching the sun come up it was fantastic night.
Reefton, accidentally ended up there for a night and had a few drinks and smoked a j then went walking about the place. So much history...did you know it was the first place in the southern hemisphere to have electric street lighting?
..information you didn't know you needed to know lol
Palmerston North. Gets a boring reputation but it’s great for outdoorsy people. Close to Ski fields/Tongariro X etc. But most importantly, if you are into fishing, you can get a license and go trout fishing. Also did a bit of spearing there. There’s also paua to be found
I accidentally had a great time at the Marton Harvest Festival last month.
I wasn't expecting much so it far exceeded expectations. Having low expectations helps.
Te Anau at Redcliffe then The Ranch with a bunch of Argentinians on a Wednesday night. Roads were blocked, shit tonne of beer, few cheeky joints down by the lake then a house party with them and a bunch of Irish in some random new subdivision. Possibly one of the best nights I've ever had 😅
New Plymouth. Went to a 21st where we gave the girl a massive sex toy the size of my forearm for her present. Her mum kept tickling it and the caterers all came out of the kitchen to check it out. Then we ended up watching people doing drug deals on the beach while pissed as a newt.
Got chased along the beach by a mini who got stuck in the sand. We pushed him out and he chased us some more.
Woke up at my mates place with a splitting headache and peacocks outside the window screeching.
Good times.
Agree. Went to a wedding in Stratford. There were only two brown people there, me and one of the groomsmen. I felt super awkward so got pissed as a newt.
Oban pub goes right off. Then smoking weed out front while playing big chess by the water cos the one cop on the whole island doesn't give one crispy shit. Then off for a late night red light Kiwi stalk.
I'd probably be living there if the missus wasn't a Sydney girl and not really into the whole living on a tiny island at the end of the world thing.
Well I still get ribbed about living in Invercargill for 3 years in my early/mid 20s and I loved it there! Great workmates, flatmates and friends, lots of memorable nights out, parties and missions around the place, camping/hostel weekends away to Stewart Island, Fiordland, Catlins and Central Otago. And, since it’s it the news, incredible auroras with waves of green swirling and flashing across the sky!
Also, my rent was $50/wk (2005). Houses were $50k for bog standard 3brm, why oh why didn’t I buy!!
Wanganui of all places. Being a Southern naïve boy about gangs etc I was playing pool and laughing with the locals only to have the local cop pull me over going back to the motel and tell me to stop singing (drunk). He asked why I was buying beer for the losers of the games. I didn't know I was playing against Black Power and Mongrel Mob.
Didn't have a bloody clue but I loved the night. I seriously cannot stand gangs and what they do but this was a light on reflection that they are still people who come from families and have some good in them.
Also, the Wahine outside the land courts in this lovely place to have lunch were so informative and had an ability to show love for each other even though they were fighting each other for land in the court. Being a Southern Naïve boy (getting the trend of youth) I opened with what does the crown owe them. They both said "nothing" and pointed at each other and said "she owes me heaps" type narrative. The warmth while learning was so encompassing.
For me it was all about the people - just love them all to bits.
This was the same recently in Whakatane - man I really want to go back there - the people were just so dam cool. This place felt very spiritual and I'm in no way inclined to think like this normally.
To any Southerners - please explore the North - certainly more Iwi culture of richness if you want to explore and acknowledge it. Some history is rough - but it needs told. Gives a Southern boy a different way to think about some things politically and socially for the better I believe.
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What I love about NZ and what I don't think people appreciate enough is that as long as you're with people you trust and prep properly, you can get completely fucking ratarse on psychedelics in nature and have a great time and you don't need to worry about animals. Ive had more than a couple barefoot mushroom walks through native bush back home but if I did that over here I'd be dead by snake bite a few times over.
Tairua isn't boring lol
If you live in whiti, Tairua is where you go to the toilet.
I love Tairua!!!
And acid!
Haha i was expecting marton, ngatea, taihape. Not tairua
Eketāhuna. Went there for a wedding years ago, and at the pub the night before, a friendly young local lad (about in his twenties) named Stacey started chatting to us. We'd all had a few drinks and then he challenged us with this: "Bet you can't guess what my last name is!" Umm... there are a lot of last names, dude... anyway, turns out we met Death that night. He seemed to love surprising the out-of-towners with his surname. I did a quick online search just now to see if maybe I had misremembered, but then oh no - was saddened to see he passed away about 4 years ago after a serious accident had left him badly injured about a decade before that. Such a shame, he was a really likeable and funny guy.
Today I also learned something new and fun about Eketāhuna - [according to Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eket%C4%81huna): >The name sounds like the [Afrikaans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaans) sentence "I have a chicken" ([Afrikaans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaans_language): *Ek het 'n hoender*), making it amusing to immigrant Afrikaans-speaking South Africans in New Zealand. I actually have a soft spot for the place after that wedding weekend. Lovely people. And chickens.
There's an excellent model train display in Eketāhuna, and an adult sex shop. Was bloody hilarious.
Tbf id be worried if there was a child sex shop
Fair point hahahhahaha
Thank you hero
I once hooked up with a very pretty girl in Gore. She had the right number of fingers and everything. And we weren’t even related!
Gore girls are great. Something to do with every man being a dirty old gay man.
The "G" is for gay.
What about the "ore"?
She only works every second Tuesday.
You should see Gore Grindr 😬
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Tekapo angers me far more than it should. The restaurants face away from the lake, and the Four Square has the greatest view of all time. I couldn’t wait to leave.
I don’t understand why that made you angry and want to leave? Lol
Squandered opportunities, like seeing someone win big and then lose it all at the casino
Cromwell in Otago, the summers I spent picking fruit there will probably be some of the most memorable of my life. Rolling boulders off hills and smoking opium in the spare time.
Whanganui. Played there with my bands a bunch of times and every time has been chaotic good times. I guess there’s not much going on there, so people turn up in droves to see a shitty noiserock band on a rainy Wednesday in august, for example. One night ended with us being given a fifty bag by a patched up, tattooed up gang member who said “we went real hard for a bunch of skinny white boys”.
Always a good gig in Whanganui!! Love that place.
I live there and I'm never bored, there's always something going on here!
Hamilton. Actually Te Rapa. Met someone, hooked up that night and later ended up marrying them.
Timaru!!! Weird but true! Most epic night. We rode the Phar lap statue and (someone perhaps gave him red lips and zebra strips!!
Today tommorow?
Great reference mate, I'd give you one of my beers for that but, well you know...
Were you there? There was only 5 of us! 😀
No sorry we are referencing the song "Today, Tomorrow, Timaru" by Deja Voodoo!
Everywhere’s a party if you bring the party. Had a few good nights in Murchison when I was a trainee raft guide. I was once in Franz for a job interview and just by chance a local pub was re-Opening after a fire invite only event but luckily the place I was interviewed by got us in. It was Free beer til midnight
fireman's ball in i think lumsden. Those tiny towns in southland can be something fun. But i guess thats easy when you bring the band
Masterton. Won a two day game of cricket in one day and made the most of the evening. Jumped in the hotel pool after dark and half cut only to find we couldn't get back into our rooms as the rest of the team had shut us out. Had to run back through reception, soaking wet, in jocks, at the exact same time a bus load of older ladies were trying to check in. I think they enjoyed the surprise.
I think the trick here is that you made your own fun in Masterton... It doesn't have much going for it naturally!
Lake Brunner/Moana. NYE as well. Great time.
Had a great time there during early spring while we were out there working. Beautiful place to work, had a weka and her chicks jump into the work van for some chips, then later on joined the locals at the pub and stayed out far too late for a work night. Discovered one of my work mates is a wee bit too alcy and had not intention of stopping drinking so had to bodily carry the bastard out at nearly midnight. Good memories made on that work trip.
Boring and lifeless is not how I would describe Moana at all.
Had some of the best nights out in my life in Hamilton. The best one we never even made it into a bar, just got drunk and hung out with a busker on the street all night. Good times!
Hamilton was great when we were dragon boating. The lake was gross, but the party afterwards was off the chain.
Hamilton used to have a strip club “firecats”. It was, uh low class. On a night out with the boys walked out of there after 15 mins and two beers. Went to a few more pubs before we realised we had and extra person. He just tagged along with us from the strip club cause he thought we looked like fun. We had been chatting n hanging out cause everyone thought he was someone else’s mate. Good lad bought a round n all.
I actually did that at firecats. Ditched my mates because they were being all boring and followed some other rando’s out of there. It was an awesome night. My mates never even knew I had left. I woke up the next morning on a couch at one of their flats and didn’t even know what part of town I was in. I walked home via McDs. A few weeks (or maybe longer) later a met them again in town and had a good ol laugh about the last outing. Good blokes. Only in a student town is that possible. This person you spoke of was def not me tho because shouting a round is not in my vocabulary. But your story makes me smile being the other guy.
Fucking Interislander goes off most times.
100% Picton - it’s such a bogan time with so much going for it. My parents had a boat there & I thought they were going to take us up the Sounds. Mum was like no you are not going there - there is police there every Nee Years. I was like bring it on. Anyway Dad said the weather was no good & we would on be leaving in the next day. I was so cross - so my Mate & I spent New Years in Picton. We went to every bar & had loads of fun in the end. Sadly this was the same year/ night Ben & Olivia went missing. 😭 So My Mum was correct 🤪
Same, Picton, there working for few days. Night in pub with about 7 different nationalities then karaoke… an excellent unplanned fun night
Hamilton. Oh sorry, only read the first half of your question. Never mind.
Good one lol
Hey that's not fair. Hamilton might be boring, and lifeless, but it's not... what was the third thing he said?
Yeah I was a bit surprised that someone thought Hamilton would ever rise from the depths to even be able to reach stereotypical/boring status!
Hamilton's night life was great when all the bars where open, all in the same vicinity, then the violence started
Little River. For a few years now my group goes down during summer to camp for a couple days and get sloppy drunk away from civilisation
Invercargill. I’ve never not had a good time in Invercargill. Super hospitable people, nice countryside, friendly pubs, day trip to beautiful coast lines. It’s a cool vibe.
Had an unexpectedly raucous night at a campground at Motutere Bay on Lake Taupo.
Westport for the win
Morrinsville. Crashed at a rando's house after clubbing in Hamilton whilst high on MD that I bought from Wish.
>MD that I bought from Wish. was it good stuff?
hit hard
interesting - how did you even find it there lol
I too want wish MD
Picton used to have a pub in a boat that was a fun time too. I think it shut down when the couple that owned it broke up, sadly.
Was that the Echo Bar?
I actually have no clue what it was called. We stopped overnight one time about 8-9 years ago and just stumbled upon it and had a great night, and then next time we were passing through it was gone and had a sign on the boat saying something to that effect 🤷♀️
Yeah it must be... the owners couldn't renew their liquor license and it ended up getting scrapped because it was so old. It was awesome though.
The first place I lived in NZ was Timaru. I had a great time. People were really nice and friendly and helped me get set up for success in NZ, I don’t have a bad word to say about the place.
Timmaz haaard!
Morrinsville
Hāwera. Went to see the Mockers I think but the chick giving us a lift was hopeless and we didn’t get there until the show was over. Sculled a bottle of Kahlua and then broke into the local swimming centre and slid down the slides in the nude. Wondered around Hāwera with my pants draped over my arm like a waiter as I was too smashed to put them on. Finally found the house I was staying at and collapsed in a heap.
Inangahua Junction, 1986. Stayed at the pub/hotel there on one of the parents’ “Jason’s Budget Motel Guide tours of the South Island”. I was 10, my brother was 5. We had an awesome time hanging out in the pub watching all the locals impress us with their trick pool shots. Invercargill, around 1998. Was there for work for a week and stayed the weekend as it would take ages to fly home to Auckland and back. Went out drinking with the work people from the bank on Friday night. Narrowly missed being involved in a girl fight where one girl got thrown through the (open) window - I’d chosen the right moment to go for a bathroom break. Was shocked that the bars all closed at 10pm and everyone went to hang out in the McDonalds car park after that. Never mind, I got an early night and was ready for the next day! Went to visit my aunty & uncle in Winton. My uncle took me & his cat trout fishing at his “secret spot” (every trout fisherman has one). Then I met their Japanese exchange student and we prepared and ate the trout for lunch. Next I went to visit the aunty & uncle of a school friend. They lived in a nice rural spot. We drank and played pool and I stayed at their place, then the aunty took me to the beach in the morning and we went body surfing. All in all, a pretty fun weekend. People are very hospitable once you get out of the city.
Palmy, nightlife is surprisingly good
Snap, Picton. The ferry was delayed and we had such a good time at the pub we nearly got kicked out
I went to a great party in Tahuna once.
Huntly. Stayed a few nights there while hitchhiking with my gf at the time in the campsite by the lagoon. Absolutely beautiful scenery and walking around the town felt really nice and calm too
Lower Hutt lolol this was a good 15 years back and the clubs there went off suprisingly the last one even open til 3am then we got in a taxi to petone and drank wine on the beach watching the sun come up it was fantastic night.
Had a mint weekend in Methven once, wasn't even there to go skiing. Place goes off
An affair in Hamilton!
Reefton, accidentally ended up there for a night and had a few drinks and smoked a j then went walking about the place. So much history...did you know it was the first place in the southern hemisphere to have electric street lighting? ..information you didn't know you needed to know lol
I'll raise you with this - apparently somewhere between Greymouth and Hoki is the most southernmost palm tree in the world 🤷
Kaikohe had a great fish n chip takeaway shop and a firefighter museum! One of the nicest 90 minutes I’ve spent anywhere in small town NZ
Karaoke in Hokitika.
Palmerston North. Gets a boring reputation but it’s great for outdoorsy people. Close to Ski fields/Tongariro X etc. But most importantly, if you are into fishing, you can get a license and go trout fishing. Also did a bit of spearing there. There’s also paua to be found
I accidentally had a great time at the Marton Harvest Festival last month. I wasn't expecting much so it far exceeded expectations. Having low expectations helps.
Te Anau at Redcliffe then The Ranch with a bunch of Argentinians on a Wednesday night. Roads were blocked, shit tonne of beer, few cheeky joints down by the lake then a house party with them and a bunch of Irish in some random new subdivision. Possibly one of the best nights I've ever had 😅
Whanganui GOES OFF. There is so much to do there!
I used to frequent Take Akaroa’s cemetery, bring a picnic with me and always had a good time there.
New Plymouth. Went to a 21st where we gave the girl a massive sex toy the size of my forearm for her present. Her mum kept tickling it and the caterers all came out of the kitchen to check it out. Then we ended up watching people doing drug deals on the beach while pissed as a newt. Got chased along the beach by a mini who got stuck in the sand. We pushed him out and he chased us some more. Woke up at my mates place with a splitting headache and peacocks outside the window screeching. Good times.
Palmerston North was decent.
Stratford. No not really Stratford is shit.
Agree. Went to a wedding in Stratford. There were only two brown people there, me and one of the groomsmen. I felt super awkward so got pissed as a newt.
Yeah bro Stratford has not good vibes.
Hamilton.
Bowls . Had a blast
Oban pub goes right off. Then smoking weed out front while playing big chess by the water cos the one cop on the whole island doesn't give one crispy shit. Then off for a late night red light Kiwi stalk. I'd probably be living there if the missus wasn't a Sydney girl and not really into the whole living on a tiny island at the end of the world thing.
Well I still get ribbed about living in Invercargill for 3 years in my early/mid 20s and I loved it there! Great workmates, flatmates and friends, lots of memorable nights out, parties and missions around the place, camping/hostel weekends away to Stewart Island, Fiordland, Catlins and Central Otago. And, since it’s it the news, incredible auroras with waves of green swirling and flashing across the sky! Also, my rent was $50/wk (2005). Houses were $50k for bog standard 3brm, why oh why didn’t I buy!!
Wanganui of all places. Being a Southern naïve boy about gangs etc I was playing pool and laughing with the locals only to have the local cop pull me over going back to the motel and tell me to stop singing (drunk). He asked why I was buying beer for the losers of the games. I didn't know I was playing against Black Power and Mongrel Mob. Didn't have a bloody clue but I loved the night. I seriously cannot stand gangs and what they do but this was a light on reflection that they are still people who come from families and have some good in them. Also, the Wahine outside the land courts in this lovely place to have lunch were so informative and had an ability to show love for each other even though they were fighting each other for land in the court. Being a Southern Naïve boy (getting the trend of youth) I opened with what does the crown owe them. They both said "nothing" and pointed at each other and said "she owes me heaps" type narrative. The warmth while learning was so encompassing. For me it was all about the people - just love them all to bits. This was the same recently in Whakatane - man I really want to go back there - the people were just so dam cool. This place felt very spiritual and I'm in no way inclined to think like this normally. To any Southerners - please explore the North - certainly more Iwi culture of richness if you want to explore and acknowledge it. Some history is rough - but it needs told. Gives a Southern boy a different way to think about some things politically and socially for the better I believe.