NZ vs UK: Junctions

I used to think that the UK had it better, that roundabouts are the way to go. But in Wales this certainly isn't the case. They are overused. I think you need a good balance, and only use roundabouts when needed. I usually dont mind them, but when a short journey has something like 20 of the damn things, it becomes a nuisance. In Wales, roundabouts are overused. In England where I grew up, I think they have a good balance.

In NZ, roundabouts are not as common as in the UK, or at least Wales. A lot of junctions are being upgraded for pedestrians so that they can cross the road diagonally, instead of having to press the crosswalk button twice at the same junction. This I feel is sorely needed in the UK.

UK layout. Crosswalks are not located at the corner of junctions. No diagonal access is possible

NZ layout. Diagonal crosswalk. These are becoming more prominent. The only downside is that junctions like these are EVERYWHERE. A good, healthy mix of roundabouts wouldn't be so bad.

This pointless roundabout is one of many in Wales. Look at it! Whats the point?!

NZ vs UK: Coffee Shops

I talked about this briefly a few posts back, but in the UK, coffee shops are all ruled by the big chains such as Costa, Starbucks and Cafe Nero. They all sell the same sorta things too. Non-commercial cafes are seldom in busy city areas. They are mostly found in small towns and villages. Brighton has some though, but not all survive for very long. Billy's in Brighton is excellent for example. But the very popular Choccywoccydoodah closed down. In Swansea, I really haven't seen anything. There is one near where we live, but that's in suburb.

In NZ, Starbucks is the only major cafe chain they have. Even this would be like just the one per town/city. Everything else is just small chains like The Good Oil, or family owned places. All of them offer something different and interesting. Most offer interesting cakes and Babs, and most serve hot food too, unlike the big UK chains.

NZ vs UK: Supermarket Prices

In this series, I will discuss regional differences that I can think of between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. There are probably a lot, yet the way my head works I cant think of everything in one go.

I'll start with some leftover photos from my time in NZ, which I find interesting.

In Pac N Save, New Zealand, on a weekly basis in the queue for the till, we would always look at the amazing headlines for the yellow press 'New Idea'. 'Womans Weekly' was there too, but it was always New Idea that would blatantly LIE in their front covers.

Palace "confirms". Sure...
So here we go, Not only did they split up apparently, but Harry is apparently now going out with a new lover.

Meghans baby was born weeks before, you know, the actual birth!

Every week there would be the royal family on the front page of this magazine. And every week it was worth a laugh to see what was happening in the fictionalised soap opera.

Now I have no idea if such fiction would be allowed to be published in the UK. But the UK has very evil newspaper paparazzi. The worst in the world in my opinion. I'm sure though the actual headlines used for such images wouldn't be allowed to be pure fiction.

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Vegetables, meat and dairy products, including anything else that is extensively exported from NZ, has hardly a net worth value for being sold within NZ itself. The farmers get no money for going this route. They get paid good prices for going export. This means things get very pricey in the stores. 

$13 / roughly £6 per kg for mushrooms

$10 / roughly £5 per kg for lemons

Roughly $3.50 / roughly £1.75 for 1 Bell Pepper

$4.30 / roughly £2.10 for 1 yellow Bell Pepper

$10 / roughly £5 per kg for Fennel

$2.50 / roughly £1.25 for 1 cucumber

£3

£3.20 per kg

£6.50 per kg for courgettes

£7.20 / £3.60 for a block of real butter

1kg of a block of cheese in NZ is roughly $11 / £5.50. This is one of the cheap ones! See more prices here: https://www.paknsaveonline.co.nz/category/chilled-frozen-and-desserts/cheese/cheese-blocks?s=sortprice&sd=1

And you can forget the more interesting ranges. NZ only sells different versions of cheddar cheese. Period.

Supermarkets in NZ tend not to sell tubs of fresh fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc. In the UK these usually sell for £1. In season though, farm vendors will have stalls in the town centers, selling tubs of cherries (roughly 10 cherries?) for $7 / £3.50.

Farm markets do exist every weekend in Dunedin at least. Prices would be slightly less expensive than the supermarkets, but not by much.