y mate went to NZ and converted back to JAA, now Easyjet, saved buckets of $,
I agree, same experience here, just that I did it in the US not in NZ.
love it, made me laugh there, whilst your nearly 100% correct.
He's not, quite the contrary. You've got loads of time on your hands, go modular, start out and do it step by step part time, you'll be done with it in 2 or 3 years, and ready to jump on the train.