New Zealand: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:44, 5 June 2015

New Zealand is divided in two islands, the North Island (or Te Ika-a-Māui) which is a bit smaller but has 3,5 million of NZ's 4,5 million inhabitants, and the South Island which is more touristic and supposely more beautiful although this is not scientifically proven yet. People often compare Australia to New Zealand and they indeed have a lot in common. The culture is very similar and people seem to be even more relaxed in NZ as they are in Australia, the fact of living on an island probably. Still there are two main differences: First New Zealanders play rubgy, and not this weird Australian "footie", and distances are much shorter than in Australia and you don't risk as much with NZ's climate and wildlife. Depending on when you travel, and on which island you should be careful that there can be heavy snow with blocked roads for some days (especially on the West Coast of the South Island). A story says that New Zealand has 20 sheep for one person but this is actually a myth. 1982 NZ indeed had 70 million sheep for 3,5 million people, but this number dropped to only 31 million in 2011. Which is not too bad already.

Because/thanks to the closeness to Asia, you will enjoy taking pictures in the touristic places with full buses of Asian tourists. The Working-Holiday Visa is a great opportunity for all young people of the countries in the convention, and you can soon feel at home surrounded by mainly Germans and Frenchs. You really have to go out of the beaten tracks if you don't like too much taking selfies in front of glaciers.

Now, once this is said, it is really understandable why New Zealand is so visited. It is a very safe country with amazing landscapes, in 15 minutes or half an hour the nature changes completely, from yellow sunshining hills to snowy mountains diving into deep blue sea, rivers and tropical forests, huge empty beaches. Even if you don't like to visit touristic places, you can still enjoy Kiwiland by taking other roads. A bit of an expensive country though, especially on beer and tobacco, but quite well paid and jobs even not declared are not too dificult to find.

Where the hell is Kiwi?

Although it is the dream of every NZ-traveler to see a kiwi, you would be very lucky if you see one elsewhere then on road boards, on the shops, on the banks, in the souvenir shops. If you want it so badly that you cannot come back without having seen one, go to Stewart Island also called Rakiura, otherwise you will have to stop dreaming. But no, don't give up your dreams godamm'it, you will see one! On the other hand, you can easily find another type of kiwi, as it is how New Zealanders call themselves "Hey I'm Kiwi, nice to meet you. What about you?". "Oh what nice, me I'm Sagittarius" could then be a typical conversation.

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+New Zealand is divided in two islands, the [[North Island]] (or Te Ika-a-Māui) which is a bit smaller but has 3,5 million of NZ's 4,5 million inhabitants, and the [[South Island]] which is more touristic and supposely more beautiful although this is not scientifically proven yet.
+People often compare [[Australia]] to New Zealand and they indeed have a lot in common. The culture is very similar and people seem to be even more relaxed in NZ as they are in Australia, the fact of living on an island probably. Still there are two main differences: First New Zealanders play rubgy, and not this weird Australian "footie", and distances are much shorter than in Australia and you don't risk as much with NZ's climate and wildlife. Depending on when you travel, and on which island you should be careful that there can be heavy snow with blocked roads for some days (especially on the West Coast of the South Island).
+A story says that New Zealand has 20 sheep for one person but this is actually a myth. 1982 NZ indeed had 70 million sheep for 3,5 million people, but this number dropped to only 31 million in 2011. Which is not too bad already.
+Because/thanks to the closeness to Asia, you will enjoy taking pictures in the touristic places with full buses of Asian tourists. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_holiday_visa Working-Holiday Visa] is a great opportunity for all young people of the countries in the convention, and you can soon feel at home surrounded by mainly Germans and Frenchs. You really have to go out of the beaten tracks if you don't like too much taking selfies in front of glaciers.
+Now, once this is said, it is really understandable why New Zealand is so visited. It is a very safe country with amazing landscapes, in 15 minutes or half an hour the nature changes completely, from yellow sunshining hills to snowy mountains diving into deep blue sea, rivers and tropical forests, huge empty beaches. Even if you don't like to visit touristic places, you can still enjoy Kiwiland by taking other roads.
+A bit of an expensive country though, especially on beer and tobacco, but quite well paid and jobs even not declared are not too dificult to find.
+==Where the hell is Kiwi?==
+Although it is the dream of every NZ-traveler to see a kiwi, you would be very lucky if you see one elsewhere then on road boards, on the shops, on the banks, in the souvenir shops. If you want it so badly that you cannot come back without having seen one, go to Stewart Island also called Rakiura, otherwise you will have to stop dreaming. But no, don't give up your dreams godamm'it, you will see one!
+On the other hand, you can easily find another type of kiwi, as it is how New Zealanders call themselves "Hey I'm Kiwi, nice to meet you. What about you?". "Oh what nice, me I'm Sagittarius" could then be a typical conversation.
 [[hitch:New Zealand]]
 [[trash:New Zealand]]
 [[couch:New Zealand]]
 {{Country
-|transport===Cheap travel options==
+|transport=Here again, road organization and price of the fines is pretty much the same as in Australia. One difficulty can be to cross from an island to the other, especially by hitchhiking. NZ have some big restrictions on where you are allowed to camp and authorize in some place only 'self-sufficient' vans, which basically means you have toilets. This can help you chose between when you want to buy or rent a van.
+==By car==
 ===Hitchhiking===
-[[Hitchhiking]] is fairly common and quite doable. It is more common in the South Island. Be aware of the distances involved and how infrequently you come across settlements in some areas.
+[[Hitchhiking]] is very doable in NZ, the biggest difficulty will be more the amount of cars than the genuine of the people and other travelers. Have a look on [http://hitchwiki.org/en/New_Zealand Hitchwiki] for more tips.
+===Traveling in the car of other backpackers===
+There are so many travellers in NZ that it is really easy to find people to travel with by car/van in order to share costs and fun. However, it is not sure you will find like-minded people! In the youth hostels' bulletin boards or on [http://christchurch.gumtree.co.nz Gumtree] you can often find people offering rides from a place to another, for free or asking some money for food/fuel expenses, this really depends on the persons and the length of the trip. If you do not meet the people beforehand, and actually even if you meet them, you can have as much a bad as a good surprise!
+===Buying a car/van===
+This is often a favored option when traveller arrive for long-term in New Zealand. It is much cheaper than renting, and you can pretty easily re-sell when leaving. If you try to sell at the same time everybody does, you might not manage to sell it.
+===Rental relocations===
+If you don't mind a short schedule you can use a rental car relocation company such as Transfercar or Imoova, but there are hundreds of websites offering these kind of relocation services. Because some itineraries are prefered by tourists, a lot of cars can end up in some place and the company needs to bring it back to a big departure city. They offer then to get a car for free or cheap price for a predetermined amount of days, sometimes fuel offered and sometimes you can have an extra day by noticing the agency. It is a good way to cover long distance in a short amount of time with few money, especially if you are more than 2 and that hitchhiking doesn't look like an option to you. However be careful not to be "ethically" fooled: in a way you help the company by driving their car down and making them save a lot of money, so they shouldn't charge you too much for this, if not charging you at all.
+[https://www.transfercar.co.nz/ TransferCar] offers free one-way rentals for short-term relocations, e.g. [[Christchurch]] to [[Auckland]] in 4 days, including ferry pass and a full tank of fuel.
+===Car rental===
+The big name rental cars are fairly expensive, but some comparative websites offer very often good deals. They might charge you more if you are under 25 and only show the normal price until you fill the online form. Be aware of the restrictions such as where you can take the car and drop it and how many kilometers you can do per day (the cheapest cars are usually limited to 100km a day).
-===Rental relocations===
+A rental camper van with friends is likely to be your cheapest option because you will save on accommodation costs. Consider motorhomes as well, some can fit 6 people and splitting costs can make it affordable. And it gives a nice "grandpa and grandma going on holidays"-feeling! Look at [http://www.wickedcampers.co.nz Wicked Campers], they are usually pretty relaxed. They use old vehicles that they paint so the cars and vans are really cool and unique, and they are often the cheapest of all rentals, except when other companies have good deals. As well, if you come and pick your vehicle naked, you get an extra free day, it gives you an idea of the company ;)
-[https://www.transfercar.co.nz/ TransferCar] offers free one-way rentals for short-term relocations, e.g. Christchurch to Auckland in 4 days, including ferry pass and a full tank of fuel.
-If you are hiring any kind of car you will need to know the road rules (the "Road Code") as police have been cracking down on tourist drivers recently. You can learn the necessary rules for free at [http://www.drivingtests.co.nz this site]. You must carry your licence with you at all times. It must be in English or you will need to have an approved translation or international driving permit.
+Make sure you know the road rules (the "Road Code") as police have been cracking down on tourist drivers recently. You can learn the necessary rules for free at [http://www.drivingtests.co.nz this site]. You must carry your licence with you at all times. It must be in English or you will need to have an approved translation or international driving permit.
+===Carpooling===
+If you have regular travel requirements for a short period you can try carpooling. The NZ Government carpool initiative is [http://www.letscarpool.govt.nz/ here] and Jayride, probably NZ's busiest ridesharing site is [http://nz.jayride.com/ here].
+==By plane==
+[http://www.jetcost.co.nz Jetcost NZ] gives some pretty good results, Have a look at [[How to find cheap flights]] as well. And be careful of your luggage limitation.
-===Budget bus travel===
+==Budget bus travel==
 Bus travel tickets between cities in the same island can be as cheap as $1, but usually range between $10-50 with companies such as [http://nakedbus.com/nz/bus/ Naked Bus] and [http://www.intercity.co.nz/ InterCity].
-===Carpooling===
+==By bike or walking==
-If you have regular travel requirements for a short period you can try carpooling. The NZ Government carpool initiative is [http://www.letscarpool.govt.nz/ here] and Jayride is [http://nz.jayride.com/ here].
+NZ is full of mountains and elevation differences so if you are fit or want to loose some weight, [[biking]] is a pretty awesome option. Landscapes are changing all the time and with a good itinerary, you can find empty roads far from the busy and much less enjoyable ones.
+The country has some awesome [[walking]] paths as well.
+==Travel passes==
+Cities have local travel passes, e.g. Hop Card in [[Auckland]]. These give you access to multiple types of transport ([[bus]], [[train]], [[ferry]]) on one card for a lower fee.
+|accommodation=Backpackers (youth hostels) are to be found everywhere but will not be your cheapest option.
-===Travel passes===
+[http://www.bbh.co.nz/ bbh.co.nz] is a listing of cheap '''backpacker accommodation''' in New Zealand, as well as a noticeboard advertising jobs, used cars for sale, people looking for travel buddies and a discussion forum. Invaluable resource while backpacking in NZ.
-Cities have local travel passes, e.g. Hop Card in Auckland. These give you access to multiple types of transport (bus, train, ferry) on one card for a lower fee.
-|accommodation=[http://www.bbh.co.nz/ bbh.co.nz] is a listing of cheap backpacker accommodation in New Zealand, as well as a noticeboard advertising jobs, used cars for sale, people looking for travel buddies and a discussion forum. Invaluable resource while backpacking in NZ.
 [http://www.backpackerboard.co.nz/ Backpackerboard] also has information on accommodation, events and generally travelling around and staying in New Zealand.
-There are many rooms available in New Zealand on AirBnB and Couchsurfing.
+There are many rooms available in New Zealand on [https://www.airbnb.com AirBnB] and [[Hospitality exchange]] opportunities.
+'''Backcountry huts''' are amazing - there are about a thousand (1000!) all over the country. They operate on an honesty system and are never locked, and cost either $0, $5 or $15, payable by hut tickets that need to be purchased in advance (but can then be used anywhere). Huts usually have mattresses and a wood burner as well as toilets and drinking water. The exception are some very popular huts and those on the great walks, which must be pre-booked if in season - and go back to regular hut status in off-season. Consider buying a back country hut pass - as of 2015, it's $92 for 6 or $122 or 12 months and includes unlimited use of all $5 and $15 huts. Even when not on an epic tramping trip this can be a great option for overnight stays - lots of huts are just less than 2 hours walk away from the road - take a nice evening walk to your private hut - chances are high the less popular ones will be empty outside the main season weekends ... DOC has a good map to see what's close [http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-stay/stay-in-a-hut/]
+==Wild camping==
+Rules have tightened up since the 2011 Rugby World Cup on freedom [[camping]]. However, this does not apply to the backcountry: "Freedom camping is permitted on public conservation land, except in areas where it is expressly prohibited or restricted to self contained vehicles. This is indicated by signage." [http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-stay/stay-at-a-campsite/freedom-camping/] These areas are usually just car parks or other easily accessible entry points. Otherwise as soon as you are on public conservation land (and 30% of the country is), away from the road, you are free to set up your tent and enjoy the great outdoors! Please do not abuse this privilege! Pack it in, pack it out, leave no trace. Bury your waste far away from any water source so we can all keep drinking water directly from the streams.
+On council land such as raods, carparks however, in general if you pitch a [[tent]] basically anywhere that isn't a designated camping spot you can face a NZ$200-$300 fine. This depends on the council, if you want to be certain find the respective bylaws online or call. The main reason behind this is because too many tourists left their rubbish and poop on the ground in traditional free camping spots.  Please respect New Zealand and never leave anything, including your defecation, on the ground after camping somewhere.  A map with all camping spots including free ones can be found at [http://www.rankers.co.nz/respect http://www.rankers.co.nz/respect]. But unfortunately a lot of free ones are only available for the rich tourists with fully enclosed camper vans and you might find yourself woken up by a council person giving you a $200 fine if you are found tenting there. So check the rules first.
+However, police and rangers are usually nice and will often let you a second chance, or even a third chance if they catch you again sleeping in a non-authorized place.
+If you have a car, tell them that you were too tired to continue and that it was dangerous. Police will love to hear that and might be nicer.
+There are a lot of empty spaces in NZ, so you shouldn't struggle too much to find a place to pitch a tent.
+==Spontaneous hospitality==
+Kiwis are very hospitable and in the countryside, the second house if not the first one will let you pitch your tent in their garden, or even invite you inside. In touristic places such as [[Picton]] or [[Te Anau]], you might have to ask 5 to 10 times, or more. In bigger cities, it might be a more difficult and you could try the suburbs.
+Look at the [[Spontaneous hospitality]] article.
+There are many [[WWOOF]] opportunities in New Zealand. Be careful, some of them are closer of exploitation than WWOOFing, don't accept everything. Be aware that New Zealand, unlike Australia, considers volunteer work such as WWOOFing paid work and requires you to hold a work visa. [http://www.dol.govt.nz/immigration/knowledgebase/item/1238] If you do not have one, your host would usually neither mind now know about this, but make sure you don't mention it or give your WWOOF host as your first address on your arrival card.
+|food=Food is expensive, but you can reduce your budget by combining these three ways. In NZ a lot of supermarkets are reducing the prices of their products that expire soon, from 10% to 70% or more the closest they get to expiry date so you can easily divide your food budget by two. As well, dumpster diving infos in NZ can be found on [http://trashwiki.org/en/New_Zealand Trashwiki].
+And petrol stations can be a nice rescue solution. By law after midnight products expire, and you can ask for "out of date products". You will definitely not get the first quality, organic, environmental-friendly-produced food but it will be free or very very cheap. Probably the few coins you give are going into the seller's pocket.
+In terms of supermarkets, Pak'n'Save tends to be the cheapest of the big brands, but you will often get a better deal on fruit and vegetables at an Asian marketplace. If you can organise yourself to be at one of the larger regional marketplaces, e.g. Avondale Market in [[Auckland]], you will find wholesale prices.
+See [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=zDmpvgICAwkk.kizpiFBt6ocg&hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&ll=-41.310824,173.891602&spn=13.855902,15.380859&z=5&source=embed New Zealand food share map].
+[[Shoplifting]] is easy in New Zealand.
+Be aware that shoplifting is a strong debated question among travelers as an ethical issue.
+|connectivity=Libraries usually offer free wifi and computers.
+: There are three networks, Vodafone, Spark (Telecom NZ) and 2degrees. 2degrees is available only in urban areas but uses Vodafone where not available through national roaming (no extra charges). Check their sites for packages, the usual is a $19/month with 500MB data, 100 minutes and free texting, with minor variations, promotions and packages to add on to that.
+Be aware that Telecom NZ/Spark has no GSM (2G) network, only 3G. Main frequency is 850Mhz which your phone may not support if it's not coming from the US. 2degrees and Vodafone use 900Mhz/2100Mhz, which again may be a problem with a US bought phone, but also offer regular 2G/GSM on the usual 900/1800Mhz. Check before you buy.
-Note that freedom camping/wild [[camping]] is not permitted in many areas and you can get a fine for doing so.
+If you get a Spark SIM card there are free wifi hotspots in some cities with up to 1Gb per day allowed - however this only applies if you're on a combo package costing you at least $19 per month.
-There are many WWOOF opportunities in New Zealand.
+|busking=No infos for this! Someone?
-|food=In terms of supermarkets, Pak 'n Save tends to be the cheapest of the big brands, but you will often get a better deal on fruit and vegetables at an Asian marketplace. If you can organise yourself to be at one of the larger regional marketplaces, e.g. Avondale Market in Auckland, you will find wholesale prices.
-|connectivity=If you get a Spark SIM card there are free wifi hotspots in some cities with up to 1Gb per day allowed.
 }}