So spurred some some cheap-o flights to New Zealand, I have booked a ticket for late November, early December. As some of you know I lived there for four years when I was about 11 to 15, and my mother and sister are still there. Periodically I get asked various advice on travel and tourism etc. I’ve been meaning to write a blog post offering some pointers, and my trip has finally spurred me to do so. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list! But here goes:
TRAVEL TIPS FOR AMERICANS
- If you live in the North I say the best time to visit is January or February, which is always when I’m getting sick of winter. Obviously, the seasons are reversed there. It is a temperate climate — doesn’t get too hot or too cold. Most houses lack air conditioning or central heating.
- The reason to visit is, of course, the natural beauty. I am not putting down Auckland, the major city of 1.3 million, but I think if you want to visit a cool city Down Under you’d be better off seeing Sydney or maybe Melbourne. Wellington is cool, though; it reminds me of a smaller San San Francisco, and the capital museum, Te Papa, is worth a visit.
- The top tourist destinations are Rotorua, on the North Island, and Queenstown. Rotorua boasts the largest concentration of geothermal activity outside of Yellowstone! The whole town smells a bit like rotten eggs. There are also cool geothermally heated pools. Queenstown is the “adventure capital of New Zealand” and offers bungee jumping, white-water rafting, heliskiing, paragliding, river surfing, and so forth. It is also the gateway for a number of tramping excursions.
- “Tramping” is New Zealand’s word for what we call hiking. Cheap and a great way to explore the country. If you go on any of the country’s “great walks” (premiere hikes) they’ll really coddle you; there are huts to stay in so you aren’t exactly “roughing it.” Check out the Department of Conservation’s Web site for details. If you do have money to burn, there are also luxury all-inclusive “guided hikes”. Either way, it’ll be an experience you’ll never forget.
- The west coast of the South Island is really wild and untamed and there’s glaciers to see. Some people rent cars and drive down; if you start at the south and drive north you’ll probably get better rates. (I once got to drive a rental car from Christchurch north to Nelson for free, just paying for gas, because everyone is driving cars southward and they need to be moved north).
- Nelson and Wanaka are also cool smaller cities.
- Flying is the easiest and a very affordable way to get around the country. I’ve found it is cheapest to book my travel to Auckland using a U.S.-based Web site such as Expedia, Kayak or my new favorite for international flights, Vayama, and then booking internal travel with a New Zealand-based site marketed to Kiwis. Check out airnewzealand.co.nz (NOT airnewzealand.com),Jet Star, Qantas and Pacific Blue, as well as travel comparison site House of Travel … just remember the dollars quoted are $NZ.
- Once I took the ferry from the North Island to the South Island and then the train to Christchurch, which was a great trip.
NEW ZEALAND QUIRKS
- Entrees in New Zealand are what we call appetizers. And “supper” is different from “dinner” — the former is a light, early evening pre-dinner meal.
- If you ask where’s the “bathroom” you may be taken to a room with a bath but no toilet. (They are often in separate rooms in NZ). That’s the “loo” or WC (water closet).
- Kiwis are the flightless birds that serve as New Zealand’s national symbol; New Zealanders also call themselves Kiwis. Kiwifruit is what you eat. Don’t be an Ugly American and talk about eating kiwis!
- Māori (the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand) is pronounced MAW-REE, not MAY-OR-EE. They make up about 14% of the population, and are a very proud people but there’s a lot of social problems in the community.
- Tips aren’t really customary.
- In summertime it stays light until quite late at night, because it’s so far from the equator. The sun sets in Dunedin around 9:30 p.m. in the midsummer months of December and January, compared to 8:30 p.m. in June and July in NYC. But it can get chilly once it does get dark because the island landmass doesn’t retain heat as much, so bring a sweater if you’re going to be out on the town…
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