Friday, September 5, 2008

I'm really starting to wonder about New Zealand



Ebony, who found this listing, lives in New Zealand -- so I guess we can presume she knows what normal listings there are like, and that they don't usually contain tortoises. Which is a shame, really, because it would be something people could say about New Zealand, something that didn't have to do with Lord of the Rings or sheep.

12 comments:

Meg said...

No pets? Then why the turtle in the photo?

Brandy said...

Hmm, it lists 2, count them, 2 compost bins, but doesn't mention the guard turtle...

I would hope "other pets may be negotiable"... Or may be that should be "negotiated with - bring lettuce"...

TisforTonya said...

If the turtle is included - what about that Alf doll?

Angela said...

I'm surprised you haven't heard of the "Turtle Test"! If an unassuming turtle likes your lawn it does wonders for your property's value. How can you tell if they like it, you ask? Oh, WELL...they cock their head to the side...just so. If you listen real close, you may also hear some hearty praise in surf-speak. Who can argue with a turtle? This house obviously has "totally tubular" lawns.

Angela, NZ

Joe Pettis said...

What, no points for the foursome between Donatello, Bart, Alf, and the Cookie Monster in the kid's room (dear God I hope it is a kid's room).

Cookie Monster has that creepy uncle hugging all the nieces and nephews vibe going for him.

Anonymous said...

No one mentioned the prominently displayed shoot-em-up artwork. I hope it's included!

Janice said...

Hey Joe, no dissing Cookie Monster! But you get points for mentioniong the odd assortment on the twin bed anyway.

I like the turtle photo, maybe NZ real estate listings are all about including a bit of pizzazz or artistic flair when appropriate! Snaps for that.

Janice said...

Oh, and I forgot to add, you can also talk about Xena and Hercules having been filmed in NZ, but neither of them has anything to do with turtles either. Unless there's a Greek turtle god I didn't learn about in 9th grade. Amazon Warrior Turtle!

Anonymous said...

About photo No.4 - does anybody know what that is in the corner with a big pipe coming out of the top of it? All I could think was a water heater but why would it have a drawer at the bottom?

Apologies for my ignorance :-)

Charlene said...

There is a Ponapean turtle god, though, called Nanusunsap.

Nanusunsap is the greatest name in the history of names.

Anonymous said...

Flight of the Conchords has given me boundless affection for New Zealand and its residents. I now have a massive crush on every single one of them, thanks to Bret and Jemaine.

(And if there's really a preponderance of turtles, well, all the better.)

Leisha Camden said...

It's not a tortoise - tortoises are land-dwelling. This picture shows a freshwater turtle (known in Britain as a terrapin). It's either a red eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) or a yellow bellied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) - it looks more like the latter, although the former is more common. Both are native to North and parts of South America, so I hope it's someone's pet. A pet that's being well enough looked after that it can't escape to wreak havoc on its environment, which these opportunistic little predators may well do. (Not to slam them, I have one myself and I think they're great pets, but they sure don't belong in the wild in New Zealand.)