Aussies and Kiwis....

[odin]

FWIW, I've been one of the gazillion backpackers in Oz and NZ and I hugely preferred the atmosphere and nature of NZ over Oz. Oz just struck me as being too xenophobic and conservative for my liking.

[odin]

oMgwtfBBq!1 :-o. Somebody's toes have been stepped on it seems.

I've seen big fricking bugs all over the place in Australia, not just while 'camping out in the forrests'.

And the xenophobic bit, well, that was just my impression of the folks I met, mostly in rural areas. Then again, I was only for five months in Australia and it was difficult to break 'free' from the whole backpacking community and get in touch with the 'real' Australia. So my views could very well be skewed.

Oh, and the skiing is better in NZ, which counts for a lot ;-).

[odin]

But that's a CGI-fied version of NZ =).

[odin]

I have a cousin who married a South African bloke and they settled in Capetown if I am not mistaken. They lived there for a few years got 2 little ones etc. Even her grandparents bought a house near them so they could spend more time with them. However they got fed up with the crime and insecurity and moved to Christchurch. Also the grandparents sold the newish house they had and are building a house in NZ too now.