You're definitely on the right track Lee, the further north the better.
Don't even consider coming to Nelson in the top of the South Island, you'd hate it.
It's far too crowded, would you believe that two people actually bumped into me on the pavement last week! We have absolutely crappy weather, with it sometimes raining for two whole days in a row (and sometimes that happens more than twice a year)
Main road after brief rain-showerThere are no good national parks on your doorstep, they're all almost out of sight of the living-room window, and trout, deer and pigs are almost non-existent. Lat time I went hunting I had to walk almost out of sight of the truck before finding anything of trophy potential!
Local PlaygroundOur ski-fields are all well over a half-hour drive away and they're so inaccessible, the front-wheel drive family sedans sometimes need chains to get up the access roads.
We have a horrendous crime-rate you wouldn't believe (it doubled in the last year alone, with FOUR shoplifting convictions!!) and the absolute worst factor of all, no-one here is remotely interested in 4WD'ing. I don't know a single neighbour who has a truck. the closest twenty keen nutters live up to four whole blocks away.
We must have a really cruddy district council here in Richmond too, because the useless plonkers haven't even figured out that they should be charging people money to park in the main shopping precinct.
All in all, I can't figure why anyone would want to come here and I suggest you stay well to the north, on the other side of the Crook's Strait.
Unless you're a real masochist, of course, in which case a raving nutter like you would be more than welcome.
Cheers, Leigh.
'89 3-Dr scud. 2" body lift, 2" suspension, Snorkel, 31x10.5's, Evil-daughter chose the paint-job.