12/01/2008: "Notes From Down Under -Part One"

Editor's note: We asked Gordy to send us his observations as he and wife Lori take a winter vacation cruse. Gordy replied with the first note, and the comment that "the following articles are random notes from a trip we are taking 'down under'. Many of you have been all around the world and will not have the slightest interest in my observations." We found them to be entertaining and interesting; we hope you will too. Here is the first one.

Part One

Many rumors about this place are false. For instance, you do not need magnetic shoes to keep yourself on the ground. They would come in handy on this rocky ship. I am always hanging on to the rails and lurching around. I stopped off at the front desk to find out what my balance was and the guy pushed me over. The funny thing is we are still tied up in port.

Last night we met the Captain. He is Dutch. The crew is made up of Indonesians and Filipinos. It was hard to understand the Captain because he spoke vith a wary heevey accent. “No ting goze into de toilet except vith de toilet paypperes pleezee!” He said, “To doo odorwise vill clogg up ebbreeting.” This message about toilet flushing has been pounded into the heads of the passengers. I have come to believe that the crew is on the verge of mutiny. If they have to unclog one more toilet with Kleenex flushed down it the Captain will be handed over to the cannibals and the crew will set sail for Indonesia and the Philippines.

Today we visited the surfing port of Tauranga. This is a sub-tropical climate area with beautiful beaches. We saw Kiwi farms, sheep, lots of sheep, vast pine forests with a thriving lumber industry, ripening oranges, palm trees and giant tree ferns that look like palm trees, beautiful lakes and streams filled with huge trout, and miles of green pastures. Their gardens are to the point ours are in June.

We found out that the average annual wage in the country is $36k. The New Zealand dollar is .58 of the US dollar. We traded in some US currency and hit the jackpot! The income tax rate is 19% for those making under $60k and 39% for everyone over that. There is a 12.5% sales tax on everything. They pay a sales tax on real estate. License fees are exorbitant and so are utility fees. SO there is no real incentive to earn, let’s say, $60-100k. That is why we are seeing some apparently lower middle class vs very rich. The rich New Zelanders are not very popular with the bus drivers here. They must pay for everyone else’s social program plus their own so you would think they would be loved. But no.