bioneural.net » Project Koru

iPhone wallpapers for homesick Kiwis

Bruce — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:52:51 +0000

Everyone loves customizing new toys and making wallpapers for your phone is probably one of the easier ways to do it (a lot easier, for example, than trying to find an inexpensive yet good-looking protective case!). I took a selection of images from Project Koru are turned them into three thematic wallpaper sets for my iPhone using this great Photoshop template. Blue Welly We love Wellington. We miss it and this makes us feel blue at times; the Windy City also has blue skies more often than those above us in England. These are evident in the Blue Welly wallpapers, featuring public sculptures around the city. The images in this set show: The Fern Ball in the Civic Centre; One of the totem poles on the City to Sea Bridge; One of the metal nikau palms outside the Public Library; The Weta Workshop Tripod in Courtenay Place. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageBlue welly iPhone wallpapers Godzone patterns New Zealand has a lot of different landscapes in relatively close proximity, making it an ideal place for the photographic pursuit of natural pattern spotting. The images in this set show: The golden sands of Abel Tasman National Park in Golden Bay; The leaf structure of the New Zealand tree fern; The rippled surface of Queen Charlotte Sound in the Marlborough Sounds; A dense stand of manuka (NZ tea tree) on the slopes of Mt. Taranaki (looking rather like a wooden barcode). Click thumbnail to enlarge imageGodzone patterns iPhone wallpapers Kiwi icons I've touched on iconic Kiwi symbols before (and noted a couple of icon sets). The images in ...

Back in Britain

Bruce + Simone — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:56:56 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Our year abroad started in China and finished in Australia. In between we spent most of our time living and working in Wellington, the City at the Heart of the Edge of the World and the capital of New Zealand. Having written our last post from New Zealand we've now returned to our previous address in Chesterfield (near Sheffield, in the Midlands) where we've found that some things have changed, and some things never change. For all intents and purposes Project Koru has run its course, although we would like to think the essence of our experience will endure. A brief recap It's been an eventful year travelling to, living in, and returning from New Zealand. Here's a recap, 12 images spanning 12 months: This YouTube video requires Adobe Flash Player. Arrival It was a chilly and damp day, with that oh-so-familiar grey sky, when we arrived into Manchester Airport. We return to some beautiful scenery, and look forward to re-acquainting ourselves with old favourites such as Curbar Edge. Simone anticipates bearing witness once more to the dramatic change in seasons that she missed in NZ. Simone's mum had made arrangements with the neighbours to leave a colourful pot of pansies on the doorstep. Said neighbours left a chill-bag containing basic supplies at the back door. Our friends in Matlock got the Smart MOT'd, taxed, gassed-up and parked outside the house ready for use. Our house minder had catalogued all our post, and our intermittent house guest had done a good clean. Thanks everyone; it was ...

Last post from New Zealand

Bruce + Simone — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 05:46:27 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

We've left Wellington and will shortly leave New Zealand and begin our journey back to the UK via Australia. Project Koru, our "year out" from life in the UK, has essentially run its course. Watching Wellington's harbour disappear from the rear view mirror as we turned into the Ngauranga Gorge for the last time was a sad moment for both of us. Wherever we go next, we'll always be Wellingtonians, as the city at the heart of the world's edge has left a permanent impression upon us. We'll miss Wellington, we've no doubts about that. We had hoped to stay, as Wellington seemed to hold reasonable answers to a few of life's basic questions. What to do? One of the primary reasons for embarking on Project Koru was to allow Bruce to make a difficult decision concerning his career. Would general practice (GP) in New Zealand be a viable alternative to the same in the UK? Should he re-train in a non-clinical discipline such as public health, or leave medicine for IT (where everyone we know personally seems to be under high pressure). The opportunity to try out GP here helped Bruce be clear about his desire to move away from clinical work, and in this respect Project Koru was an unqualified success. Bruce decided on public health as a new career path, complementary to his experience in primary care and medical informatics. Simone was quite happy to continuing working in her chosen speciality of family planning and reproductive healthcare. Where to work? Bruce applied ...

Financial affairs in New Zealand

Bruce — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:34:45 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Planning on working in New Zealand? How much tax you pay depends on the length of your stay, your income level, and whether you qualify for tax exemption on foreign income. If you'll be self-employed you may need to be registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST), and just like employees will need to pay levies to New Zealand's no-fault personal injury insurance scheme (ACC). Most of your banking, like the filing of your tax return, can be done online. Income tax rates and residency You need an IRD number (Form IR595, or phone 0800 377 774) if you are working in New Zealand. The tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March, and the amount of tax you pay is determined by your residence status and your income level: If you are working in New Zealand for less than 92 days you do not need to pay income tax (but may need to present a tax exemption certificate to your employer); If you are working in New Zealand for between 92 and 183 days and are self-employed you will be charged a 15% or 30% non-resident withholding tax on your New Zealand-sourced income; If you are working in New Zealand for more than 183 days you will be considered resident for tax purposes and tax will be deducted on your worldwide income at the following rates: Earnings Percent Income up to $38,000 19.5% Income 38,001 to $60,000 33% Income over $60,001 39% What happens when you leave New Zealand? According to IR292: You become a non-resident for tax purposes if: you're away from ...

Maintaining a base in the UK

Bruce — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 00:56:12 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

So you're going to live in another country (or go travelling) for a year. What do you do with your existing house, car, and other trappings while abroad? The answers will depend in part on whether your house is occupied (by a tenant or sitter) or stands vacant, but in both cases there are several things to keep in mind as you plan your absence. Council tax Council tax is a local authority tax on domestic property in the UK—the equivalent of regional rates in New Zealand. We phoned our local council and, to confirm we were given the correct information, visited Citizen's Advice in order to find out how much council tax we would be charged. It turns out that if your house is still your primary UK residence and essentially furnished, you will be charged the fully amount of council tax—even though you won't be making use of council services. Paradoxically, if your find a student tenant, you will be charged a reduced rate—even though your household is therefore making use of council services (waste collection, etc.). It's a different story if your house will be vacant and effectively unfurnished: A dwelling which is vacant will be exempt from council tax for up to six months. Vacant means unoccupied and substantially unfurnished... If the dwelling is still vacant after six months, it may be subject to a discount. What if you're expecting guests and your property is exempt? If they're arriving inside the first 6 months, and staying no longer than 6 ...

Eating out in Wellington

Bruce — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:50:13 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Sure, you can eat in and eat well, but there's good food to be had if you choose to eat out in Wellington. We hear that there are more cafés and restaurants per head of population in Wellington than in any other city worldwide. If you're taking in an event and need a quick bite, or in the City specifically to go menu shopping, the difficult thing is being confronted by too much choice. You can find reviews in magazines or online, but here's a quick summary of our dining out experience. One of the first places we discovered was the Leuven Belgian Beer Café on Featherston Street. We've eaten there a few times, if you count just desert! For example two glasses of dark Belgian beer ("Leffe Dark", on sale in New World at 1/3rd price, and "Forbidden Fruits") with a generous portion of bread & butter pudding and a serving of triple brownie can be had for close to $40. It's a nice but noisy environment, with a decent breakfast menu if you fancy brunch. Coyote Street Bar & Restaurant on Courtenay Place do pretty well for a chain: a glass of Matua Gewürztraminer and a half-pint of Tui, with a burrito (plus aioli & fries) and steak sandwich, cost a reasonable $47.50. Tui is a malty & sweet darkish beer—quite drinkable for those not ordinarily too keen on beer! The jazz music did seem a little incongruous, however, in the overtly Mexican-themed setting. Zibibbo on Taranaki Street do a ...

Lower North Island sightseeing

Bruce — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 06:05:49 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

We've been a bit slack lately, not doing much in the way of walking (previous Wellington walks here and here). We did, however, take the ferry to Somes Island and managed the City to Sea Walk. We also visited Wanganui National Park and Havelock North/ Napier. Somes Island Click thumbnail to enlarge imageWellington City from Somes Island Somes Island (a.k.a Matiu) is a pest-free island in the middle of Wellington Harbour. A former quarantine station, internment camp, and defence installation, the island is now a sanctuary for native plants, birds, reptiles and invertebrates such as weta. It's reached by ferry from Queens Wharf or Days Bay, requiring a bag inspection on landing. There are a number of tracks, and the island circuit takes on 45 minutes. The Monument affords good views of the City, and the harbour entrance can best be appreciated from the WWII gun emplacements. There's more scrub than bush, which during our visit was almost devoid of bird life compared to Karori Wildlife Sanctuary or Kapiti Island. Still, it's a good place for a day trip: take a packed lunch. City to Sea Walk Click thumbnail to enlarge imageView from Tawatawa Ridge on the City to Sea Walkway The City to Sea Walkway is a 12km trek from the CBD to Island Bay. We started in Te Aro (since we live there) and it took us about 3 hours. The walkway is well-signed but manages to avoid shops until the end so take water and snacks. There's a lot of up and down, ...

Insured to the hilt

Bruce — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 11:17:26 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Lots of things can go wrong when you travel. Lots of things can go wrong when you stay put too. Spending a year away from our usual home base meant we had to consider protecting ourselves and our stuff both in and in-between two countries. As a result during the course of Project Koru we've had to maintain and newly purchase a number of insurance policies. It may seem like wasted money, but our financial advisor has always been careful to ensure our financial planning is underpinned by appropriate insurance. If you're planning a long trip, these notes might prompt you to ask pertinent questions. Travel insurance It was almost impossible to find a UK-based insurance policy that would cover our travel to New Zealand and our return one year later; almost everything we looked at required a return trip inside 3 months. For example, STA had an annual multi-trip policy on offer that would have cost £125 for the two of us—but we would have had to return to the UK every 2 months! On the telephone (the website didn't allow trips more than 12 months) they suggested that we each take out a Standard Premium policy that would cover us for: 15 months; Loss of valuables up to £1500 total; Loss of individual item up to £400; Loss of computer up to £1000. At a cost of £639 per person. That's £1278 total: ouch! We decided to opt for one-way travel insurance (we used Downunder Insurance) for UK to NZ via China (and back via Australia, ...

Positively Wellington, Heart of the Edge

Bruce — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 23:07:15 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

There's lots to like about living in Wellington. Indeed, there's lots to like about living in New Zealand (e.g. the scenery, no tipping, enjoying a smokefree meal). It's a great city to explore on foot armed with a map, perhaps with an audio guide on your iPod. The weather is often scorned: you'll need a brolly (if there's no wind), but a jacket with hood is better (there's always wind) and sunglasses are good for any weather in The Windy City (they keep out bright sun as well as flying dirt!). Positively living in Wellington A Trek Through Wellington. Used with permission of Julian Knap #. Aside from the personal opportunities Wellington has brought to us both, there are a number of more general reasons why we like living here: It's a compact (180,000 residents), knowable city you can easily explore on foot; As a city it's more like Frankfurt than Chesterfield, so Simone can get her culture; We have both found work here—Project Koru hinged on the offer of work for Simone; It isn't the back of beyond; Bruce wanted to work in a city with a major hospital, vs. delivering babies on the back of a Toyota pick-up in the far reaches of some sheep station; There are good walkways, some of which we've explored; It's halfway between the attractions of North Island and South Island; The bottom half of North Island is an area we had previously bypassed, offering lots to explore; It's clean—you're not always stepping into chewing gum or dog poo; You can dine out and enjoy ...

Driving in New Zealand

Bruce — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 03:10:11 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

A few brief notes on cars, fuel prices, parking, licensing, road code, the driving experience, and insurance. Getting a car Second hand cars are supposed to comparatively cheap in New Zealand; we're not so sure. We were exceptionally lucky in that Bruce's parents had a spare Mazda hatchback which we were able to borrow for the duration of our year in NZ. New car prices can be reviewed here. Prices for second-hand cars can be found here or here. Another option is to import a car. The cost of fuel Compared to filling the tank in the UK, petrol is cheap—although Kiwis don't seem to think so. According to PriceWatch, as of this writing 91 octane petrol costs $NZ1.57 (£0.60) per litre in Wellington. This compares well to £0.97 per litre in the UK if you don't take into account lower NZ salaries. Parking As previously noted, initially we rented a car-parking space in the CBD for $NZ276.24 per month. When we moved to our current flat we had access to a private underground park as part of our tenancy. In Wellington Residents' Parking Permits cost $NZ90 per annum, allowing you to park in coupon parking zones as well as residents parking areas within your suburb. Pay-and-display/ metered on-street parking in the CBD costs from $NZ1.50 to $NZ4.00 per hour on weekdays. Our street is one of those having coupon parking; the first 2 hours are free but for longer periods a coupon ($NZ5 per day or $NZ80 per month) must be displayed, and these are ...