NZ Newbie

[Matatazela]

Hi all.

I am a South African and moving to Whangarei in about two monts time.

Any advice or info on the area is appreciated.

I am an environmnetal consultant, wife is an artist that teaches English (Tikipunga HS!) for a living and two kids whose sole purpose in life is to keep their parents running... I look forward to meeting you all!

James Mitchell

[STRINGWALKER]

Shot there in the early 90's (very active archery club) and it was and probably still is an extremely picturesque town, I could easily live there.
Oh and by the way the locals pronounce the "wh" in whangerai as an "F" so its "fongerai".
Good luck.

[Matatazela]

Thanks Stringwalker. I'll be sure to remember the hint on pronunciation!

Glad to hear that you thought it was picturesque. I am really looking forward to seeing it for myself!

James

[Gary Petts]

Stay away from the sheep, the locals get jealous.

[The One]

All the best, James. Sorry I don't know much about the area, but hope it works out well for you.

cheers,
Andrew

[Matatazela]

Thanks Andrew.

Gary - Ahem! I'll do that, but not because of jealous owners...

[themadarcher]

Up there there is a great field archery club by the name of "Mount Tiger Archers" Ive shot 3D field archery and IFAA there in the past, great club, a great bunch as well.

[Matatazela]

Fantastic to know that tehre is a club. I will have to pay them a visit after arrival. I cannot wait!!!

[targetgirl]

Hey :)
Mt Tiger is my local club, and I would have to say it's the best club in the world:silly: :silly: :silly: Sorry all you others who have not had the good fortune to shoot here. You are more than welcome to come join us. I see someone has put up the website on the other thread. but here it is again in case you need it. www.mttigerarchers.co.nz Look forward to meeting you:thumb:

[Matatazela]

Thanks targetgirl, and welcome to the NZ forum! (says the South African...)

What are the facilities like? I am dead keen to get there, but have a serious problem in that my bow is going by container - and will only arrive 6 weeks after I leave! No bow for 6 or so weeks.... I will be in withdrawal!

[Pianochick]

You could possibly shoot with a club bow until yours arrives.

[targetgirl]

:archer:
Hey
Best bet would be to come along to our indoor venue and meet a few of the regulars. Whangarei Girls High School. Gate 2. Monday or Wednesday 6.30 - 7.30 training and beginners at 10yards, or 7.30 - finished for 20 yards and the more serious shooters. We have club bows there. Our outdoor ranges are fantastic. Native NZ bush, pine forest etc etc. Practice range from 10 to 80 yards. Marked and unmarked courses with some interesting :confused: shots. Great bunch of shooters. Outdoors is open during season every Sunday. :thumb:

[targetgirl]

Matatazela, have pm'd you
See you in NZ

[themadarcher]

I remember a shot there a year or so back, at a 3-D pig from the top of a water fall. I think it was the IFAA Masters, still one of the best shots I've ever seen. They have a great river that runs through the more bushy section of the property, so they have great cross bank 3-D shots. Ha, one of their members, Kieth, now shoots at a club in Auckland. You will have to buy some blaze orange camo or something, other wise you will have difficulty blending in! They got some deals a while back, so every big shoot was swarming with Mt Tiger members in their blaze orange!

[Matatazela]

Wow! It sounds better and better! I really can't wait!

[mingy]

all in all though, NZ is a great country haha :D

good luck for the future.

[Matatazela]

Thanks Mingy. The country certainly has not disappointed so far. I am now in Whangarei and trying my best to settle into a whole new routine. My wife starts teaching on Monday, and I have a job at the Whangarei district council starting on 12 May.

It will be good to settle things down a bit, and to get back into a position where weekends can be for relaxing!

What a beautiful country NZ is.

[STRINGWALKER]

you finally made it to the land of the long white cloud, most NZer's treat Australia as the "big" Island part of them but not quite as good and they love to try and kick our arse at every sport that they can.
Give us an overview of your thoughts on NZ, after you have settled in and of course started back into archery.

[Matatazela]

So far, we have been inundated with offers of help, generosity and have been in awe of the beauty. I'll let you know if anything changes! Petrol is a bit expensive, though, but that is a worldwide problem these days...

I have a home to set up this week, and a job that I start next week. Archery will have to wait at least 2 more weeks...

[stejac]

Mmmmmm ....

"I have a home to set up this week, and a job that I start next week. Archery will have to wait at least 2 more weeks..."

Methinks you might be suffering from confused priorities ????


;)

[Matatazela]

Yep, but I can't believe I left the bow and brought clothing!:confused: I mean come on, archery isn't a matter of life or death, it is much more important than that!!!:thumb:

[TeWero]

Oh and by the way the locals pronounce the "wh" in whangerai as an "F" so its "fongerai".
[/QUOTE]Actually the correct pronunciation is wh as in where when spoken correctly in english. Not an f and not a w but half way between and it is Whangarei but good on you for trying

[Matatazela]

Oh and by the way the locals pronounce the "wh" in whangerai as an "F" so its "fongerai".
Actually the correct pronunciation is wh as in where when spoken correctly in english. Not an f and not a w but half way between and it is Whangarei but good on you for trying[/QUOTE]Gotcha.:thumb:

The pronuciation of Maori is a lot easier than the African indigenous languages, but I am still having a bit of a hard time remembering all the place names! There are just so many, and they all seem prety similar, but I am at least starting to find my way around. Bay of Islands is particularly beautiful!!!:drool: