Let’s talk about the weather

A view of Pretoria from the New Zealand Official Residence Rain! We woke up this morning to a gentle shower. And despite growing up in Wellington, where it rains one day in every three, it took us a while to figure out what that strange pitter patter noise was coming...

Security

A view of Pretoria from the New Zealand Official Residence A Facebook commenter said of my first blog from South Africa that the security concerns were exaggerated. I thought I would respond in this post because, in many ways, I agree. South Africa certainly has a lot...

The lighter side of lockdown – RSA

A view of Pretoria from the New Zealand Official Residence The lighter side of lockdownI want to post a piece about the security issues we face in South Africa. However, my last two posts have come to some rather depressing conclusions. I needed to break the monotony...

Level 3

A view of Pretoria from the New Zealand Official Residence.    © Felix Geiringer  Surprise announcementsSouth Africa is moving to alert level 3 on Sunday. This has been the most controversial step of the COVID-19 response so far.There is of course a group that opposes...

Life in the time of the virus

A view of Pretoria from the New Zealand Official Residence.    © Felix Geiringer  South Africa formally went into lockdown one day after New Zealand. It was a stricter lockdown than NZ’s. For example, no one was allowed to go outside for exercise. In any case, walking...

Moving to South Africa

A view of Pretoria from the New Zealand Official Residence.    © Felix Geiringer  In January, I moved to South Africa with my family. The move came about after my partner was appointed New Zealand’s new High Commissioner to South Africa. The question of what I will do...