[dylon]

Hi all,
just applied for a position in the town of Kaikohe , northland.
Anyone any ideas what its like?:D

[Carey]

Rural, small, 2 supermarkets ( I think), surrounding countryside lovely, quite isolated, friendly people, lots of kids on correspondence school but Kaikohe has 2 primaries and a high school....we are biased though as have friends in the area where we have stayed many times.

[Nick88]

The Far North District council offices are there, for the time being, they are being relocated to Kerkeri (that is where most of the activity in that area is happening). Plus I suspect most of the higher-up staff live in KK anyway.

Kaikohe is just a rural supply town for the local area, not much there. Personally, I would live somewhere close, but not too close, like Okaihau or Ohaewai.

Just a thought, are you a prison officer?

[dylon]

No not a Prison Officer, why?:nice1

[Nick88]

There is a new prison there, and they have been recruiting. It's the only reason I could think of that would make someone from the UK consider going there.

What job have you applied for?

To be perfectly honest, it is a bit of a country backwater, and has more than it's fair share of social problems (like many Far North towns). In it's favour, property is cheap.

[bumpffslam]

I work in Kaikohe (not the prison and not the council). I personally find it ok but not a place to linger. Tourists rarely stop.

It calls it self the "Hub of the North"

Kaikohe has seen better days but it's still a busy town serving the rural community. It has a very new New World supermarket (previous one burn down), a Warehouse, McDonalds and numerous small shops.

It's safe to walk the streets in day time but women might feel worried at night to walk alone. The girls in my office seem to always go out in pairs. I used to work in Brixton UK which was much more worrying than Kaikohe.

The Council is moving out the planning dept to Kerikeri (nice new offices inthe John Butler Centre) because it says most of the development is on Bay of Islands area. Kaikohe people are not happy about this because they see it as another loss for the town.

Yes most immigrants choose not to live in Kaikohe. It's approx 30 minutes from Kerikeri or Paihia. Kerikeri is the growing town of the Far North with a cafe scene, pleasant town centre, new entertainment centre. Yes the cinema is a throw back to the 1950s, no there are not many big stores. However up the road at Waipapa a retail area is developing, with Noel Leaming and soon a big Mitre 10 (DIY store). But its still not a good place for shopping!!

Do remember that Bay of Islands is at best a 3.5 hour drive from Auckland. There is a Air New Zealand service Auckland-Kerikeri.

Also near Kaikohe is Ngawha Springs which is a geothermal area. Not a lot there in truth but you can bath in the hot springs. Also a geothermal power station but you can't see it. Also the prison but again you can't see it from the road.

Happy to give any other info on area.

[dylon]

Thanks guys, great info:nice1:nice1