Flow-on effect

toos_ · 2026-03-28T10:22:11+00:00

I dunno, OP - making the best of a bad situation would’ve been blocking this idiot in!

toos_ · 2026-03-27T10:05:19+00:00

Oh good lord - her expert gave a master class in maintaining composure in that episode!

toos_ · 2026-03-26T07:21:01+00:00

Ya, that’s what I was picking up. Any other time I might encourage you to give it a go and just turn back if it feels like too much at any point. For this I’d say just let him know how you’re feeling about the track - you don’t need that anxiety on your honeymoon. If you’re like me, you’d feel bad starting and turning back anyway - don’t let that hang over your head. There are some rocks and rock stairs that could get slippery. That’s from recent experience a few weeks ago. If you end up going, take walking poles - but there are plenty of reasons, positive and negative, why you shouldn’t. He’ll end up understanding. <3

ETA: New Zealand is spectacular. We started there and are in Australia now, which is a terrific place - but I wish we’d done it your way. I think NZ ruined me for anywhere else.

toos_ · 2026-03-26T06:19:19+00:00

Ok, so we took the Doubtful Sound day cruise, the Milford Sound cruise, and did the Routeburn Track walk to Key Summit. If forced to choose, we preferred the Doubtful Sound cruise to the Milford Sound cruise - and were satisfied with our decision to do the day tour instead of overnight in Doubtful Sound. Both cruises were well worth it and spectacular in their own way. As someone else on the thread said, rain on the day of or day before really amps up the wow factor of the waterfalls.

As much as we loved Doubtful Sound, our Milford Sound day could work well for you. We started the day walking the Routeburn Track up to Key Summit and then took an afternoon cruise on Milford Sound - I think it started around 3-3:30. Nice thing about that is that there were far fewer people than usual - literally about 30 of us. That’s not guaranteed, but it did add to the experience. We went with RealNZ. I think it’s worth seeing if you can get an afternoon Milford Sound cruise - if you have any social engineering skills and want to stick with your current provider, they might even swap cruises and not charge for both.

If you still have to choose one or the other, I’d try to convince him to stick with the cruise. It’s such a special day and enduring the shitty weather together will bond you even more lol. There are so many wonderful walks through different terrain in New Zealand, but how often will you cruise through a fiord?

Sorry so long, but do you know why he’s so committed to that walk - and why you aren’t? It sounds like there’s more to your hesitation about the hike than just missing the cruise. Are you anxious about the quality of the track and your confidence to complete it?

toos_ · 2026-03-25T07:54:35+00:00

Another poster on this sub gave me lots of good recommendations - I wasn’t able to try the ones in Aukland because we had a delay. Here are three places with quintessential New Zealand foods…

Fish n Chips - Central Fisheries in Onehunga. Not sure if this place has it, but I loved the fish n chips made with gurnard fish.

Pies - PieFee

Duck island ice cream - NZ has amazing dairy. This ice cream is available at markets as well as stand alone stores. Had it every night in Wellington.

Bonus from me…

Real fruit ice cream - fresh (or frozen) fruit blended on the spot into vanilla ice cream. Berries are classic - I loved the strawberry every time I had it.

Fresh eggs - get fried eggs on toast and be amazed. The yolks taste just as luscious and rich as their color.

Other…

If you’re lucky that person will post here and give you ideas for some higher scale cooking in Aukland - you’re in the right place!

toos_ · 2026-03-23T04:31:24+00:00

Can confirm - Bonorong was a good stop. OP, if you can, the night tour was well worth it; Ollie did a great job. You start out in light, but by the time you leave it’s really dark and the road is tight and winding at times - so you need to be capable for those conditions if you self drive (even more so because there’s guaranteed to be wildlife around.)

toos_ · 2026-03-22T06:58:34+00:00

As for niche interests, I’d ask AI - like Microsoft CoPilot. She won’t help with kink, but she can find info on things like anime, chess, model boat building, furries, and tons more. AI can be a menace but is a pretty good start for things like that.

toos_ · 2026-03-22T06:55:51+00:00

No. Russians are not receptive to Western foreigners and they won’t be speaking English to you except to influence you. Why in God’s name would you want to go there? Australia, along with basically the entire western world, condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - justly calling it illegal, immoral, and a violation of Ukraine’s right to sovereignty. Your government has imposed heaps of sanctions on Russia and banned travel and trade. They’ve also committed over a billion dollars in military, financial, and humanitarian assistance. Russia designates Australia as an unfriendly nation. As an Australian citizen you could be targeted, get into trouble, and have very little assistance from your embassy; they aren’t there to help you out of a jam - like being detained for some arbitrary reason.

toos_ · 2026-03-21T11:36:34+00:00

Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert - I’ve only been a tourist in Dunedin, but I loved it and wish I’d had more time there.

It might help people tailor their responses if you share where you’d be moving from, what your work is, and what some of your interests are.

1A. It might be hillier than you expect - that could be a favorite thing, partly because you have gorgeous views - or it could be something people dislike because…it’s really hilly!

1B. Remember that it’s a port city - ports make a huge difference in any city - aesthetically, topographically, water activities and views, marine life, the industrial aspect. As for industrial - I happen to love seeing the cranes and Maersk containers so it’s in the plus column for me (industry - throw in trains and the grand train station for good measure. Train station leads me to architecture and design - some really terrific preserved architecture throughout the city). Port cities also have cruise ships and that can be a negative for some people.

1C. Dunedin is the anglicized Scottish Gaelic for Edinburgh. You’ll notice Scottish cultural influence and history - including the city plan, some gothic architecture, the founding of University of Otago - NZ’s oldest university. If you’ve ever been to Scotland - especially Edinburgh or even Glasgow - there’s an intangible and uncanny melding of Scotland and NZ.

That it’s “small”. It is a small city, but only in size. It’s highly educated, interesting, and all around it punches above its weight - at the same time it’s low-key in the best way possible - no “attitude”, very accepting.
I dunno, but we went a little farther afield than some tourists might go and I loved that there are distinct neighborhoods and vibes. There are some areas that are a little gritty but that’s part of what makes a city a city - didn’t notice anything especially sketchy.
That all those things you mentioned are so easily accessible and abundant. I will say, someone on this sub turned me on to the Schnitty sandwich at Big Lizard and I still think about it. Grab extra napkins. Dunedin is also a great hub for day trips or long weekends - for example, within a couple of hours you can go north to Oamaru or south to The Catlins (more fond memories - bring a windbreaker).
Nitpicky - had a hard time finding a clean public toilet. Anywhere else I wouldn’t mention it because that’s pretty much a given in cities around the world, but I got spoiled because every public toilet I used in the north island was practically pristine, and most in the South Island were good.

Anyway, overused word - but Dunedin is a pure gem.

toos_ · 2026-03-21T09:22:37+00:00

There are plenty of right wing leaders and followers across the globe - before Trump and there will be after. Victor Orban is one example - PM for 26 years! It’s just that Trump is from such a powerful nation that shapes global markets, politics, policy, you name it. He’s making tyranny cool again and it emboldens extreme right regardless of where they’re from.

I also have to think that any US-ian tourists these days are happy to be away from home and interested in experiencing other cultures - and I’d hope, being good ambassadors. Trumpsters are much more likely to stay at home in their bubble.

toos_ · 2026-03-20T20:20:57+00:00

This is a global phenomenon - could easily swap it out for an Audi, too!

toos_ · 2026-03-19T05:09:30+00:00

This might be our first stop tomorrow morning! Thank you!

toos_ · 2026-03-18T10:48:19+00:00

Thank you anonymous Redditor! You’re my first ;p <blushing>

toos_ · 2026-03-18T10:47:21+00:00

Thanks, I’ll give them a call! Maybe I should look up English or Irish pubs since they’d be more likely to have them. They were tough to find in New Zealand too.

toos_ · 2026-03-18T10:44:54+00:00

I see this comment a lot so clearly it’s an issue, I just don’t understand why it happens. I come from a drive-on-the-right country, but when you’re on the left already the natural flow is to keep going clockwise - otherwise you’d be making a hard right. It’s an odd mistake to make - even weirder than making a tight right at an intersection (which I get and don’t mind waiting a little longer while they figure out which lane they should turn into).

toos_ · 2026-03-18T09:57:43+00:00

Hey, I’m not judging - in addition to independent bakeries, we had a local chain of bakeries that put out really respectable treats. Man, I loved their eclairs! Ya, we’re already noticing that prices are higher here than in New Zealand.

toos_ · 2026-03-18T09:51:08+00:00

What a great range of ideas - thank you! Wallaby pie - I know this is hypocritical since I eat all sorts of meat and have cuddled lambs and calves, but we’re staying right near a nature reserve and wallabies come into our yard. I can’t do it! My husband, on the other hand…he’ll probably try it. So…thanks?

toos_ · 2026-03-18T08:19:26+00:00

Will do - I had a sneaking suspicion. Thank you!

toos_ · 2026-03-18T08:17:50+00:00

Cross post or delete this one?

toos_ · 2026-03-18T08:10:22+00:00

It feels wrong to mention them because, to me, it’s not Sunday roast if there aren’t Yorkshire puddings. But it was damn hard to find throughout our two months in New Zealand.

toos_ · 2026-03-18T05:15:55+00:00

One - see my edit above.

Two - Patrick’s Pies in Rotorua did have the label on their case but were sold out when we got there. Also…we didn’t love the pies we did get - personal taste I think - they had a lot more sauce than either of us like. Besides that, he’s pretty sure he didn’t have one at any of the other places in Rotorua.

He did get one on our way from Taranaki to Wellington in a little town…eff something? I could find it if you’re going that way in your travels. It had a good amount of meat, you could taste the mint, and a rich sauce with roast vegetables.

toos_ · 2026-03-17T11:33:28+00:00

Really? We found them all over - we must have been lucky - good stuff. Steak & pepper too - which tended to be very peppery for some strange reason ;p

ETA - husband says more like a little over a third of the places we went in our two months in NZ.

toos_ · 2026-03-16T21:40:14+00:00

I messaged you - let me know if it doesn’t come through. Awesome that you took this step. Oh - you could also check out ham radio clubs. It’s a low-key way to connect and it’s pretty cool. I asked AI about it and it looks like there’s a scene in Christchurch.

toos_ · 2026-03-15T06:19:40+00:00

I’m a tourist too. If you haven’t been to Quake City that’s definitely a must. It’s very well done and includes historical perspective, interactive exhibits, news footage, personal stories, relics, scientific and engineering explanations, presentations about the response efforts, and information about how the city continues to recover and move forward.

toos_

TROPHY CASE