[RayBCO]

Hi Everyone,

Just received a message from the Chief Executive of the Council in Kaikora...Apparently, no-one has applied for the Building Control position there and he wants to call me and talk about the job etc...

Why has he had no applications - except mine???

Anyone got any inside information on this area?
Would the family be bored to death there?
Is it home to the Motorbike gangs, or do the whales really come ashore at night and eat your garden plants?

Any information would be great...

Take care, Ray

[willowshouse]

Firstly, I have never been to Kaikoura ..

The OH has been and he LOVED it .. but it is quite a Tourist Area so maybe you'll be mostly exercising control over Motel developments! :D

Sorry not much help I know......

[thepiesleys]

hi RayBco

We holidayed in Kaikora as part of a bigger road trip of the south island in April and it is one of the places in NZ that i will remember always. It is rugged and beautiful , yes, a sort of backpackers, OE place, but, big enough to be able to live there comfortabley. Very clean and fresh, views you would not easly tire off, a one road in and one road out type a place - but in an acceptable way (if you know what i mean). There is the whaleway station there where you can whale watch ( and i mean huge creatures only seen before by us in movies and books)and a seal colony that you can walk into and just watch them naturally ( my kids were amazed at this) a stunning coast line and a snowcapped mountain, nice restaurents and coffee bars and a new world! I would be easily tempted to spend a year or so there.

Sue

ps there sre a few pics on our picsawab pages, not the most flattering (it was bloody cold and windy!), but look past them at the scenery!

[speckythecky]

Sounds like you might be in with a good chance of a job there. fingers crossed. I enjoyed kaikora and as has been said it is clean but touristy.
i believe that the whale watching franchise is sown up by the indigenous people from NZ but I can't see why that would affect applications for a building control mgr.

Good luck

[thezorbster]

We loved Kaikora, but as a place to visit, not to live. It is scenically beautiful, lots of wildlife, beautiful mountains etc but we decided it was not a place we would even consider living as it was too small for us (and that's coming from someone who has lived most of her life in small villages and to whom beautiful scenery is really important). We didn't think it would offer enough for our daughter growing up there and did not want the hassle of having to travel miles North to Blenheim or south to Christchurch if we wanted anything other than food shopping as there was not really a great deal there apart from touristy shops, bars/restaurants and supermarkets. We also didn't think the schools sounded fantastic. We had been considering a business there but it was definitely not for us.

Don't know how old your children are or what they and you like doing but research seriously what the town can offer you and your family. Have a look at this website http://www.kaikoura.govt.nz/ it has links to schools, activities etc so if your kids like doing any particular activities, make sure they are available there.

Hope this helps

[CjChris]

My daughter stopped there last year on her South Island jaunt after staying nearly three months on the north island helping Global Volunteer Network.

She thought Kaikoura was beautiful (and loved the whale watching). She said the thing she noticed most about the place was that it seemed eerily quiet after being in Welly for so long. She was a little freaked out :roll about how sparsely populated it seemed compared to the other areas she had visited (I can see how a 21 year old lone female would feel freaked out by a quiet little town--must have seemed like "out in the middle of nowhere" to her).

Other than that, she said she thought people were friendly and helpful, but she was sure ready to get on the train and get the heck outta there. She felt better when she arrived by train in Christchurch.

I don't think that means anything is "wrong" with Kaikoura, I think it just means it is not exactly your usual hub of activity.

[jubjub]

My friend lived in Kaikoura for a year, she was teaching, and loved it, but she is a very no frills kind of person.

Nothing wrong with it from what I can tell, just a bit isolated, out of the way maybe?

[Trigirl]

some photos of kaikoura here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mandysimpson/sets/72157594471054357/)

[Andy-Dee]

Gorgeous, gorgeous place. I would live there if OH could get a job and there were good schools.

Best bakery ever on the main road, near Top Ten site. By the way - you don't have to stay for ever if you decide its not for you.

Good luck

[RayBCO]

Hey thank you all for the information and your take on things in Kaikora. Some great links and holiday photos - Thanks again!

I understand that it is a beautiful place and possibly a great place to visit, but when my children grow up, they would feel more isolated than I would I imagine. They are 3 years and 3 months now... But I also think that I would be able to make the move there for the two years required - or I must pay back the relocation money - and then move on. Lets face it I am 'There' during this time...and there are plenty of opportunities. Who knows?

Anyway, I am hoping for the Waitakere position and feel this would suit us better. But if all else fails, and Kaikora is our only option, then we will probably go for it...Why not? We have enough clothes and furnishings for two years I think : )

Keep you posted.

[Lupin]

Kaikoura is wonderful but what's with the two spelling variations on this thread? I only know it as Kaikoura, is it also Kaikora or are we all confusing two places :confused:

[willowshouse]

When I first replied to this thread I thought .. I'm sure it's spelt Kaikoura so I looked it up in the Rough Guide .. there is no Kaikora listed there so I'm pretty sure it's the same place we're talking about .. but maybe it's referred to as Kaikora in other literature?

Don't you find that there is a great deal of variation in the way people pronounce place names here? And I'm talking about people who have lived here all their lives.

Dawn

[Hannah]

Have been to Kaikoura and loved it - but loved New Plymouth more, hence i'm here.
Be aware also that there are many jobs across NZ which have no-one applying for them, hence the drive to get skilled migrants into the country. This could have no bearing on the area, just simply that there are no people with those skills in the area to take the job. This is worse for the smaller areas as they have a smaller pool of people in the first place. I've seen many jobs in New Plymouth that have had vacancies open for a year or more - and their population size is 60,000 and from my opinion its not the area that's putting people off.

I remember visiting the fish and chip shop in Kaikoura - the menu board said Fish $2 Chips $1. We asked what sort of fish it is, and the shop owner said "Fish, just fish". Further enquiry just led to comments such as "I don't know, just fish" so we just ordered 'fish'. Fish and chips for four came served in a single large bread basket and then the woman disappeared. She came back 10 mins later so we hassled her for some plates - she looked at us like we were martians. "What do you need a plate for?" she asked (the table was filthy - hence we needed the plates - although we didn't tell her that!! When she brought the plates, I asked for a knife and fork - just for a laugh. Anyway, Whenever we go to fish shops now we always have to say "what are you having then? Fish or fish....."