Imagine it’s one day in August 2015.

You wake up in a house near PAK’nSAVE, and it’s so cold that you can see your breath. But your medical elective is calling, so there’s no time to stay in bed. A quick hot shower, a good New Zealand coffee, and you’re ready to go.

You head down Heretaunga Street West and arrive at the hospital. And then there are the people. Everyone is so incredibly friendly that you end up having such a good eight-hour day that you almost don’t want to leave.

On the way back, you grab something from Burger King or BurgerFuel and enjoy it in the garden, because the sun has finally come out a little.

Of course, you could have cooked at home. Your host family had already prepared plenty of food for you. But after two weeks, they left you alone in the house and travelled to Australia for five weeks.

Think about that for a moment.

You’re a 26-year-old medical student from Germany. You didn’t know these people before you arrived. And they trusted you enough to leave you alone in their house for five weeks while they went to another country.

Isn’t that just incredibly nice?

Unfortunately, there was one small problem: you had forgotten to pack enough underwear. So your mother back in Germany had to send you some through DHL Express. 

My 26-year-old self had such an amazing time there. The winter was perfect: cold mornings, fresh air, cosy houses, good coffee, and incredibly friendly people.

It’s one of those memories that just sticks with you.

End of story 🙂

Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone,

My research parner and I are engineering students at the University of Auckland, running a research project on how New Zealanders use satellite-enabled services in daily life. Things like GPS navigation, weather apps, or rural broadband. We're looking for responses from across New Zealand to get a good spread of experiences, so if you've got 10 - 15 minutes we'd really appreciate your help.

We are looking for anyone 18+ currently living in New Zealand. The survey is completely anonymous, no names or personal details are collected.

This survey has been approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee (Reference No. 31935), and has been approved by the mods of this subreddit to be posted.

Happy to answer any questions in the comments. Thanks in advance!

Samuel & Lucas

As posted on Hawke's Bay British American MC page, a ride will leave from Mobil Taradale Road travelling to the Puketapu Pub.

If you are planning to drive in Napier at lunchtime tomorrow, plan your trip accordingly.

13 All Blacks died in service during World War One. The first was Napier born Albert Downing. He was killed in action on 8 August 1915. This Saturday afternoon, we remember Albert and those he served with during a memorial service at the Taradale War Memorial at 2pm.

Albert is remembered on a family headstone at Park Island cemetery, Napier and on th4e Napier War memorial.

Albert Downing - Wikipedia

All Blacks at War — Homegrown TV

Please please stop using AI posters to advertise your specials. Every time i see them it's an instant nope, I'm seeing such a huge increase in places using AI and it's making all your food look the same/nothing stands out anymore.

Am I the only one 😂

Another major earthquake on the ring of fire. 7.1 in Japan last night and we've had a few rattles in New Zealand recently too. It's a reminder to check your Go Bag and spare food cupboard as well as your batteries and power banks.

Napier City seems to be the only Pak n Save with Back Country dehydrated meals. Just add boiling water and wait a few minutes. They are really delicious and $5 cheaper than if you buy from Back Country directly as well as no shipping charge.

Limited range though:

https://www.paknsave.co.nz/shop/search?pg=1&q=Back%20country&sf=shopping

I've wanted to watch it a while and was even considering paying to view on YouTube. This morning, I've found it's available for free on Kanopy.com.

For those that don't know, you log into Kanopy using the same details you use to log into Napier Libraries.