Yeah am in regional NSW, my pings were 250-300, now its 120-140, and player numbers are around 7/8k and more in east coast AU primetime which is great (and they are all noobs lol)
DL the SEA 8.0 WOT client (Gamearena.com has it) and give it a try before you make any choices, check this thread for other NZ'ers responses
http://forum.worldoftanks-sea.com/index.ph...ed/page__st__40 , I am sure they will offer migration again at some point,
That message is a bug apparently, shortly all people joining from AU/NZ will be directed to the SEA server by default
btw 8.0 is so much fun, with the physics introduced, able to push people off cliffs now and other naughty things