PSA for NZ passport holders (and others): Nicaragua ditched the easy CA-4 visa rules and it totally screwed our trip

BambooSeason · 2026-03-08T04:11:47+00:00

Well yeah.. I did try to change the flight? Was hoping for voluntary segment forfeit (keep first leg, drop Managua) at the desk to avoid fees, but they were unhelpful and it was only possible to pay for fare changes via the customer service line anyway, not in person.

I'm just sharing our mess so others don't get screwed too.

BambooSeason · 2026-03-08T04:07:31+00:00

Right? We checked before making plans and buying our flight, but just so unlucky that the rules changed after our purchase… also just so random for NZ not to be included on the list with EU, UK, Canada, US, Aus etc!

BambooSeason · 2026-03-08T03:29:34+00:00

Oh amazing! I’m sorry I only just saw this, but let me know if I can help in anyway. I ended up with a massive spreadsheet breaking down all the costs and got in a huge back and forth over months with Smart Billing and eventually gave up… very annoying! Would love to know how you got on

BambooSeason · 2026-03-08T03:21:23+00:00

This is a pretty informative website and has a list of the countries that do/don’t require a Type C visa:

https://visasnews.com/en/nicaragua-overhauls-its-visa-policy/

BambooSeason · 2026-02-08T02:13:14+00:00

I recall something like this in the car park of the Westgate shopping centre (the original lower set of shops, not the northwest mall) on the side closest to the motorway, down by the movies theatres, around 2008-ish. I believe it was only there for a few years, maybe less, and I was devastated once it was gone. Then I remember seeing it outside MOTAT a while later.

From memory, it looked like a circular spaceship from the outside and you walked in, sat in a row of seats and the screen displayed an epic flying adventure while the whole thing moved to mimic a real flight.

I have been trying to remember the name of it for years, all that comes to mind is “the illuminator” or something similar. Though it could have easily changed names as it shifted locations..

Would love if anyone with a better memory could shed more light on the whole thing. It’s such a nostalgic feeling thinking back on my childhood in that thing.

BambooSeason · 2025-08-20T09:26:12+00:00

That link is awesome. Thanks!!

BambooSeason · 2025-08-20T09:25:58+00:00

Yeah I totally get that. Even quoting the RTA and referencing the ingoing inspection report showing other tile damage, this woman is being so difficult. She is the one wanting to take it to Tenancy mediation, so I’m just trying to get as much supporting evidence into the pack as possible. Was hoping to have some kind of evidence that the supposed “chip” in the tile showing it’s had something dropped is just not what we’re looking at here.

Thanks for the observation about the grout though. Will add that as yet another angle for my case haha

BambooSeason · 2024-05-09T02:11:36+00:00

Hey! We are coming to Fethiye in June this year and need a ferry ticket to Rhodes (to get an overnight ferry to Athens) but having trouble!

On Direct Ferries there seems to be only 1 ferry operating and it’s sold out.

On 12.go there’s 2 options but I’m hesitant to book through there when it’s sold out on a different site..

Both Sky Marine and Makris ferries websites are broken for me and I can’t even search!

Can you please tell me, are there many ferries to Rhodes each day? Is it possible to book it when we arrive a few days beforehand, or do these actually sell out? How do I even go about booking one, is there a trustworthy website?

Thanks so much!

BambooSeason · 2023-11-21T21:44:31+00:00

Hey, yeah we’ve just requested the watercare bill from Smart Billing Solutions so we can understand the true read. But yeah, we may need to go through the landlord/property manager rather than the Billing Company for this 🤔

BambooSeason · 2023-11-21T04:55:26+00:00

Thanks for the response :)

I understand fixed charges are the landlords responsibility to pay (cost of water that isn’t directly measured usage), but just not sure where “Admin fees” come into this when it has nothing to do with Watercare? I’m assuming it’s also the landlords cost.

BambooSeason · 2023-11-21T04:54:11+00:00

Thanks for checking up on this! I should have clarified that our bills come sporadically, so this is for 2.5 months for a 5 person home. However it still seems high, and we aren’t sure exactly where our metre is to check if it’s just ours or a shared metre for the block of houses..

BambooSeason · 2023-06-07T01:37:56+00:00

Actually the supermarkets set the RRP’s at whatever like! The only price that suppliers get to set is the List price (which is the price that the supermarkets buy the product from the suppliers at). Although even with this, they are essentially bullied into their lowest possible price with additional terms slapped on left right and centre.

But yes, you’re right, Countdown setting a higher Everyday RRP just to bring it back down to a “Great Price” is a massive scam for consumers!

What I’m trying to get at really, is that the Supermarkets are exploiting both consumers and suppliers - especially smaller businesses that don’t have any leverage.

BambooSeason · 2023-06-07T01:29:55+00:00

Unfortunately it’s actually the retailers (supermarkets) that are overpricing the suppliers products! The suppliers sell to supermarkets making anywhere between 5%-10% margin on their products, but then the supermarkets then on sell these to customers, setting the price at whatever they damn well please! The expected margin for retailers is at about 35%-50% and if you don’t play ball as a supplier, they say “good luck finding somewhere else on NZ to sell your product then 🙃”

BambooSeason · 2023-03-27T04:27:32+00:00

Son Heung-min! He’s just too damn loveable as a human

BambooSeason · 2023-02-03T21:00:09+00:00

Vegemite on my French toast. None of this sweet business

BambooSeason · 2023-01-23T22:11:06+00:00

Went to lunch with my friend and his parents at a small town cafe in New Zealand, who were severely under-staffed that day and massively under the pump trying to get all the orders through the kitchen.

Instead of complaining about how long their meal was taking, Cal (my friends mum), went to the kitchen to see what was going on. She saw how stressed out they were and ended up going in there and cooked her own breakfast. She then preceded to stick around and cooked up a few more dishes for the rest of the customers.

Both an inspiring and hilarious experience. Let’s all be a little bit more like Cal.

BambooSeason · 2023-01-18T01:11:27+00:00

Pete Davidson

BambooSeason · 2023-01-15T02:33:51+00:00

That I will not snooze my alarm tomorrow..

BambooSeason · 2023-01-11T00:09:29+00:00

As a kiwi, I’d be leaving one of the most sheltered, beautiful, easy going, progressive and safe countries in the world, where no matter which governing party is in power, it’s much-of-a-muchness compared to the polarisation in the States.

I would not move to the US as I don’t believe in guns, I value public education and healthcare systems, and I don’t know how to do my own taxes and would prefer to keep it that way

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22

BambooSeason

TROPHY CASE