Paul

Is the movie I went to see last night in the cinema. Brilliant. Ofcourse it was all very predictable, but still. The whole theatre laughed and that makes it extra special to go to the cinema. I loved it and would certainly recommend it if you're in the mood for some easy watching. Don't expect anything intelligent or with an extra meaning etc, it's just entertainment. A good laugh : D Last two weeks in New Plymouth and I have to say I am sooooo ready to go to Oz! Not because of NP in general but just because I'm done here and a change of scenery and people would be nice. Oh and a different accent haha. Have to love the Ozzie twang. Since it's almost time to leave there is a compulsory list to make, the what's great here and what's not.
What is great:
Timtams and Cadbury chocolate and BBQ sauce
free wifi and the service in general at the NP library
Starbucks coffee and their comfortable seats
the hostel (lovely bed, nice room, lovely owner, oven etc)
the coastal walkway and the other walkways they have in town which make you feel like being in a forest instead of a city
the fact that NP is right on the seafront
Pukekura Park
Womad
Cinema and arthouse cinema
Anna and Arjen living close by
The weather in general
View of the mountain
Nice colleagues
What is not so great:
Sandflies
You need a car to get anywhere because public transport sucks
NP is a long way from anywhere
Small town mentality
Hardcore Taranaki people (Tokkies)
Hard to understand Kiwi accent
Very hilly and no separate biking lanes which makes biking not so much fun
Instant coffee (seriously not ok people)
Filing your tax return (3 separate forms and lots of unclear rules, thanks IRD)
 
All in all I had a lovely time here. Lots of baking (Hot cross buns this weekend) and nice people. I cycled to Bell Block along the coastal walkway on Friday morning (10k each way) in the sun which was one of the last things I still wanted to do here. Time to say goodbey to people and places and I even got some Ozzie dollars out at the post office on Saturday morning. I am soooo ready to go. Except that I still need to get to Auckland. Planetickets are ridiculously expensive, but if I take the bus it´s 7 hours and I need to leave a day early then and book a hostel in Auckland. Lots of hassle... will look out if there is a cheap last minute ticket available, otherwise it will be bussing....We will be chocolate fondueing tonight with Rob and Janine in the hostel, hooray for Easter hehe. Oh and I got a translating job for a diveschool in Malta. If I translate their site in Dutch I get free dives in Malta jeuh!!! So I´ve been doing that in the evenings. Time to start looking at tickets to Malta when I get back home.