What are the rules down under? I thought NZ and Oz were glider friendly places? Or don't you have clouds?
Can't speak for Australia, but the Maori name for NZ, Aotearoa, translates to "Land of the Long White Cloud" so yes we have cloud here, on numerous occasions down to ground level.
As for being glider friendly, I would agree that NZ has some excellent geography for gliding in the South Island, but you'd have to ask a Kiwi glider pilot for details as I don't live down there.