Tag Archives: wellington

Slowly morphing into an Aucklander

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October is shaping up to be a pretty insanely busy month, I haven’t even had the time to update my blog for a while or finish some of the project I’ve been hacking away at. :-(

This month is pretty much non-stop travel around both NZ and AU – I have 5 days over in AU in Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as a number of flights to and from Auckland for work projects as well as the impending move up to be with Lisa.

Infact, based on hours spent in different cities this month, I’m going to be around 30% Wellingtonian, 20% Australian and 50% Aucklander…. before becoming an official Aucklander from the 30th of October.

Whilst it’s pretty hectic, it is somewhat good timing. Work is flying me to Auckland a bit for an important project that’s underway, so far I’ve already spent an entire week in Auckland, and likely to spend another week or maybe more up there whilst Lisa and I hunt for a flat – plus it means Lisa and I don’t have too many huge gaps without seeing each other.

(I’ve literally just landed in Wellington and expect to spend (at most) two nights in my own bed before flying back out).

We haven’t confirmed a flat yet – really not a fan of flat hunting, always so many different flats to sort through until you find something that isn’t entirely disappointing, and then there’s all the fun of working with agents and owners to actually get an application in and approved.

The fact that NZ rental stock is utterly crap also doesn’t help towards this goal – far too many hours lack any insulation, have kitchens or bathrooms last renovated in the 70s, are way over priced and have horrendous terms like 12 months fixed term, renewing in blocks of 12 only.

We’ve submitted an application for one place, which the agents appear happy with, but haven’t had final confirmation yet, so there’s a bit of limbo currently – hopefully we get it, as it does look like an ideal place for us and they can do an 8month contract with flexible renewal.

I think Lisa and I have pretty much settled on the shore now, looking at places around Takapuna – there’s a good selection of food and other shops, good transport to town if needed, and we can actually afford enough space to live out there, unlike in the city with tiny apartments.

I’ll be back up next week, so I’m sure further updates will follow by the end of that week. :-)

Auckland, here I come!

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As per my recent post, @splatdevil has now obtained a job in Auckland! And because I can’t resist her snuggles, I’ve decided to move up there with her!

We’ve been dating since Janurary and most of this so far has been spent with Lisa down in Wellington with me, so it’s been pretty intense, going from single life to living with someone almost full time in a relatively small place.

There have been ups and downs, some fights, growing pains as we settle into a different sort of lifestyle, but it’s been totally worth it – we both feel a great connection and can see a long term future, so we’re giving it a go.

And I’m pretty smitten TBH, I love her, maybe even more than my awesome KVM server. ;-)

Lisa will be starting work on 10th October, so we’re in a bit of a hurry to organise a place to live and get setup so she can be comfortable – I’m a bit more flexible and aiming to be moving there around early November as I have a few commitments in Wellington and conferences to attend. Hopefully with the work I have on ATM, I can spend most of October up there with her.

We will need to organise a leaving Wellington party and welcome to Auckland party, but just waiting to see what the plans for travel will be before doing so. :-)

Will keep you all posted.

Rugby World Cup Dates

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Not particularly looking forwards to the Rugby World Cup, being held in New Zealand this year – especially the after game celebrations that will undoubtedly take place.

Incase you’re wondering when, RWC starts on 9 September and ends 23 October – I went and made a list of games for the three cities I’m likely to be in during the time, so I know when to avoid the CBD/travel there, as much as possible:

Wellington
11 September 2011
17 September 2011
23 September 2011
25 September 2011
1 October 2011
2 October 2011
8 October 2011
9 October 2011

Napier
18 September 2011
27 September 2011

Auckland
9 September 2011
10 September 2011
11 September 2011
17 September 2011
22 September 2011
24 September 2011
25 September 2011
30 September 2011
1 October 2011
9 October 2011
15 October 2011
16 October 2011
21 October 2011
23 October 2011

Wind Turbine Walk

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Whilst @chrisjrn was in Wellington a couple of weeks ago I managed to convince him and @macropiper to come for a walk along from the wind turbine to the radar dome on the Brooklyn hill line.

For international readers, the Wellington/Brooklyn wind turbine is originally a prototype/test unit that was installed in the early 90s looking out over Wellington for testing the praticalities for generating power for the city.

These days, we have a couple large wind farms in the lower north island – one being just behind Wellington and the other up in Palmerston North region.

The world-famous-in-Wellington wind turbine!

 

There’s some pretty impressive views of Wellington from up there:

Overlooking Wellington city & harbour

Looking out over the southern suburbs

After wandering around the turbine, we decided to make our way along the paved ridge to the radar dome, which is used for aircraft monitoring. (whilst some distance from the airport, I’m assuming it’s useful since it sits up above the hills and can pickup incoming craft to Wellington).

It's a @macropiper!

I can see my car and turbine off to the distance....

OMG trees! Considering the winds, there aren't a lot of those...

I can get 3G up here! Turns out there was actually a Vodafone tower further along the path pointing our way. (pic by @chrisjrn)

Getting a bit wind swept... it's pretty strong up there! (pic via @chrisjrn)

Kind of rare to be able to look out into the distance and not see a hill line in Wellington

Yay! A helpful sysadmin left a MOTD on the network!

Valley view showing more wind turbines in the distance as the sun shines through

 

The walk is quite windy and a few interesting things are hidden in places along the way – for example:

UHF broadcasting for air traffic control. (airways controls NZ-wide air control)

I hope they're not using this particular antenna, as it's looking a little wonky and disconnected...

It's a castle! Kind of....

Found this weird steel door/bunker set into the hill.... if I had to guess, I'd say civil defense or NZ army, but it's kind of a weird location for either. It does however make an ideal bondage shot location. ;-) (pic via @chrisjrn).

If hungry, bring a microwave pie and try cooking it on the Vodafone cell tower.

Radar Dome!

Old emplacements or something?

Weird fuse/connection cable of some kind... no idea what it is, weird sort of glassy material.

WTF are these?

All up, was a pretty interesting wander – would be great for biking, there were a number of mountain bikers on the track that day, although probably be a bit bland for doing it too often.