[Rick Brighton]

We're down to 3 weeks now, getting excited :raebanana but still loads to do!! Just as well i am looking for a job here in UK (unemployed :wah !!) so have plenty of time on my hands! Anyway some of the questions my partner has asked me and i don't know the answers to are:

Are there shops/facilities to download digital camera images onto CD/DVD throughout NZ?

What will the weather be like in general - we will be on North Island roughly 15-29 Apr, South Island 30 Apr - 14 May and then back to North Island 15-22 May 06.

UK has a huge number of large supermarkets filling up our wonderful green countryside :mad: , what does NZ have; smaller family run businesses or larger supermarkets.

Is there much organic foodstuff available and is it much more expensive than the chemically enhanced stuff

Grateful for any assistance you guys can offer :nice1

Bye for now (I'm sure I'll think of something else before we depart!)

Cheers

Rick

[sizzlingbadger]

Hi

Yes there are quite a few places where you can download and print photos, most chemists have that facility.

It is going to Autumn/Winter time although saying that April last year was beautiful blue skies and warm sun (in Wellington). Would pack lots of layers as the south island is going to be colder than Auckland.

Lots of big supermarkets, Pak'n'Save with it's bright yellow buildings. There's also other ones as well, don't really blot on the landscape as they tend to keep in the main towns. You've also got The Warehouse which is a big red warehouse and very easy to spot. I know Dunedin has a huge Mitre 10 that's orange and black and sticks out like a sore thumb :confused:

You can get quite a bit of organic stuff, if you're around Wellington or Masterton we have a Moore Wilson, it sells to the catering business so the fruit, veg and meat is very good quality. Processed food here contains a lot more additives and sugar, more like the UK used to be.

Hope this helps a bit :D

[Wannaway]

Digital photos - loads, Kodak, Camera House, Camera 7 Camera, plus a lot of chemists will have one or two of the little machines as well.

Weather - (can only speak for Auckland area) April, cooler evenings, can get some really nice warm but not hot days. Wind tends to pick up during April and squally showers start to make an appearance. The way I look at is that April is the equivalent of October in UK, and here it is definitely milder, sunnier but starting to get a bit windier and more showery.

Supermarkets - Foodtown, New World and Woolworths are probably at the better end of your normal supermarkets, or you have Countdown or Pak n Save at the "pile em high, sell em cheap" end of the market. Also smaller stores such as Four Square, although not sure how competitive they are on price.

Organic food - not sure about that, I think range tends to be more limited than UK but pricing can be more competitive (but not always). Beware fruit and vege, a lot of it can be poor quality (they export most of the best stuff!).