Thanks for the welcomes.
Yep, I'd have to agree that having run a CBR1000, Super Tenere and an old MTX200 in the UK, every single one of which someone attempted to steal, it is a little more bike friendly in NZ. Fewer cars, almost as many roads (ish) but sadly, a large number of dicks on the road too (of the 4 wheeled variety). Just got rid of an R1200GS which is probably the ideal bike for NZ as there's quite a lot of unsealed out here. On the subject of which, pleasing, or not pleasing to see a number of people with a distaste for Scorpion tyres on the forum. Think I will be looking at the suggested upgrades.