Welcome

GRAND CANYON

Please Take A Little Time To Listen - Link

Welcome to WWW - Wilderness Wally's World - A place where one can read a story about Americana or discover information on the many people and places of interest in beautiful New Zealand.

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today ... it's already tomorrow in New Zealand!
Trust me ... I'll let you know. Admittedly, I'm starting to wonder!

Lord, please keep Your arm around my shoulders and Your hand over my mouth.

A letter I received from the District Health Board:
Dear Wilderness-Wally (name changed to protect the innocent)

We have received a referral for you to our General Surgery Department,

While you have a clinical condition that needs attention we are not able to see you within six months due to our current resources. We are therefore returning your referral back to your General Practitioner for ongoing care.

If your condition changes or you have concerns about your condition please return to you(sic) General Practitioner for further assessment.

Yours sincerely
Elective Services & Bookings
(I'm not kidding!)

New Zealand as an example of socialized medicine - Link

AUSTRALIANS LIVE LONGER, have better employment - Link
(I wonder if Australians get letters from Elective Services & Bookings telling them to get lost when they are referred by their GP? They might you know.)

SUMMER SUCKS - BLAME IT ON GLOBAL WARMING - OF COURSE
New Zealand Herald:
More floods, droughts and extreme weather events associated with the El Nino and La Nina cycles can be expected in New Zealand in a warming world, Auckland researchers predict.

A group of University of Auckland scientists looking at 700 years of climate records found that El Nino and La Nina cycles "ramped up", or became more common as air and sea temperatures rose.

From Citizen Services - Link
New Law Makes Absentee Voting Easier for Overseas Americans - DON'T WAIT – PLAN TO REGISTER TO VOTE NOW!

Continuing Mrs Wilderness' Birthday season, we ventured over to Devonport on Anniversary Monday and ended up at the Platter Cafe Bar and Restaurant, 33 King Edward Parade. We hadn't been there in a long while and they have done nothing but improve. The servings of delicious food are generous and the wait-staff are attentive, pleasant and knowledgeable ... one couldn't ask for more. Yet, all of this is accompanied by a spectacular view.
Platter Cafe-Bar-Restaurant Link

Hooked on chicken nuggets: Girl, 17, who has eaten nothing else since age TWO rushed to hospital after collapsing

Petrol price ... in New Zealand of course ... in the US it would be gas! We pay NZ$2.119 per litre. 1 US gallon = 3.7854 litres so that's about NZ$7.99 a gallon! The NZ-US exchange rate today was about .78 ... that's US$6.23 for a gallon of gas ... or petrol, call it what you will.

Time Keepers to Introduce Leap Second June 30 - Link

MELBOURNE, Fla. – A man involved in a home invasion in Melbourne, Fla., was inadvertently shot by one of his accomplices who was trying to shoot the resident, police told the Orlando Sentinel Sunday.
Cops said 20-year-old Nathaniel James Clay broke in to a house in the 2800 block of Colbert Circle, about 70 miles southeast of Orlando, about 9:40pm Saturday, along with two other men.

The resident living at the property got into a fight with Clay, Central Florida News reported, with the accused struck several times with a baseball bat.

Investigators said one of Clay's accomplices then tried to shoot the resident, but instead inadvertently shot Clay.

Clay was transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center in the wake of the incident, while detectives were Sunday still hunting for his accomplices, who fled the scene.

Police said Clay would be arrested on a charge of home-invasion robbery when he is released from the hospital.

From Suzy
Hello Wally,
I have a small California style Mexican take-away in New Plymouth. I was just looking for new sources of imported goods and found your site... Add us on!
Tesoro Fresh Mex
211A Devon Street East
New Plymouth Tel:06 751 5033

Just doing the best we can over here. We're happy Mexican food is catching on in NZ--we love everything about both of them (Mexican food and New Zealand).
Thanks

Jambalaya is now open on Sunday for Lunch! Take a ride out to beautiful Whangaparaoa, have a great meal and take a walk on one of the many beaches in the area.

Martha's Backyard Updates - 4 February 2012 Updated - Martha's Backyard is a store where us expat American's get some of the items we can't easily get in New Zealand and, at times, can't live without. Martha's Backyard Updates Link

Thieves arrested after pocket-dialing 911
It happened in Madison, Wisconsin as two suspected thieves made an escape after taking DVDs and computer games from a Target store, according to the Madison Police Department. A 27-year-old and a 28-year-old were driving away in a blue SUV and chatting about where they were going to try to sell the stolen merchandise, police said.

When the men got into the SUV, one of them "pocket-dialed" 911. An emergency dispatcher listened to the open cell phone line as the men "bragged about what they stole, described the vehicle they were in, and where they were going," one of the arresting officers said. The dispatcher relayed details to police about where the men were headed.

Officers were waiting with guns drawn when the pair stopped in a parking lot near a Video X-Change store. Police said the men appeared dumbfounded. "You guys tap my phone?" one of the men asked.

While officers were taking inventory of the stolen items, one of them found the phone and pressed the hang up button. The men received citations for retail theft. The suspects gave us "everything we needed," police said.
Reportedly, one of the charges was 'Felony Stupid.'

Bah Humbug - The Tax Man Commeth - Check out what the IRS has in store in 2012 for Americans Living Overseas at this web-site - Link
It is called the The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
(Thanks Amanda)

Just do not get between me and my In-N-Out burger! - Read at Wally's Front Porch

- Click here for newspapers around the US, possibly your home town

- Click here for Weather Map of USA - Place cursor anywhere and see local weather

American Club Christchurch Link Here

Bob's Bites Link Here

Link here to Wally's Recommended Reading - The World's Shortest Books

"If I Die Before You Wake" Tribute to Armed Forces - Click Here for youtube presentation.

Click on 'Miscellaneous' in the Table of Contents to expand and find US Contacts In New Zealand, WW's Privacy Promise and Send WW an E-Mail.

Click to view some of our photos of New Zealand As usual, a work in progress.

Thank You:
28-12-2011 Welcome Page hits = 9000 hits in 60 days

Come back often, have fun, keep in touch...
Mr and Mrs W-W