New Zealand is a two-color country. Green and Blue. Green for the mountains and hills and rain forests and jungles. Blue for the water - oceans, bays, rivers, lakes and rain. The landscape on both the North and South Islands is rugged and spectacular. Volcanic steam pours from the ground in many areas; New Zealand is very new in geological terms. The entire country is a tourist destination; almost every town has an information center, complete with helpful people, plentiful maps, and a free bathroom.
As frugal adventurers, we traversed the Pacific between Los Angeles and Auckland using frequent flyer miles. The trip was long (12 hours going; 14 return), but the time difference is 20 hours meaning that jet lag is far less of a problem than when traveling to Europe. We pre-purchased a bus pass with 30 hours each of bus and ferry travel. It was all via bus down to Christchurch on the South Island. Travel in any foreign land is more memorable when you travel with the locals. To better see the sights on the South Island, we boarded two trains to take in the spectacular scenery. To increase flexibility, we rented a car for the last four days back on the North Island. (Driving on the left was relatively easy, but I never got the hang of the turn signal - I kept putting the wipers on.)
We planned to stay in the homes of real Kiwis (the people) so we started with Bed and Breakfast reservations on the North Island - Auckland, Roturua, and Opotiki. The B&Bs were nice but isolated - after all we were traveling by bus and needed to be centrally located. Foreign travel means you learn as you go and adjust accordingly. We learned, for example, in New Zealand distance is measured like this - "it's just 10 minutes." As in "our B&B is just 10 minutes from city center." We naively thought this would be a leisurely one or two block stroll. Turned out it could be a 20-minute bus ride, or a 40-minute hike in the rain. We adjusted thereafter for a central location, and the Youth Hostel Association backpackers' hostels fit the bill in Napier on the east coast and in Wellington, the beautiful capital city. We are neither "youth" nor "backpacker," but that didn't seem to matter. My partner favored "en suite" (a private room with a bathroom), but she survived the several places with a bathroom across the hall. South Island accommodations were a YMCA in Christchurch (en suite with good, basic, inexpensive meals to boot). Returning to the North Island, we stayed in a motel in Paraparaumu, a backpackers' inn at Lake Taupo, and a room with bunk beds in a Raglan house. The hostels had shared food storage and food preparation areas, which turned out to be a real plus for we could prepare breakfast and store leftovers and talk to the other travelers.
Auckland is New Zealand's largest and most diverse city as well as the starting point for most international visitors. Waiheke Island, 35 minutes and two climatic zones by ferry from Auckland, is highly recommended as a day trip. The ferry provides spectacular views of both Auckland and the many off shore islands. Waiheke was sunshine and warmth to Auckland's overcast and coolness. The colonial British loved Waiheke for its huge trees which were used to build ships. The tree of choice now is the olive, newly planted for cooking oil. The estates are picturesque; the little town inviting, and the people, as throughout New Zealand, wonderful.
The original New Zealanders, the Maoris, play a substantial role in NZ society; larger than our Native Americans; larger than aborigines in Australia. Maori names abound, and believe me, they are hard to pronounce and remember. We were entertained by a Maori troupe in the Auckland Museum, and saw Maoris throughout the islands.
New Zealand has four million people and 40 million sheep. Most of the people are in the North Island; the sheep are everywhere. Dairy cattle contribute milk, the country's largest export, and New Zealand venison is catching on in Europe. With the rain and mild climate, trees are everywhere. Some are in virgin forests, others are farmed and exported. Asia is New Zealand's primary trading partner, and its influence is growing, especially in Auckland which has a large Asian population.
The New Zealand road system is right out of the 1950's in the United States. Major roads are two lane with periodic passing zones; roundabouts frequent intersections instead of stoplights except in the major cities (where there are real freeways as well). And, on occasion, there are one-lane bridges. One thing for sure, their roads are in better shape than ours. Gas is US$5.09 equivalent so you don't see many big cars and SUVs. The Kiwis are very practical (made me see the U.S. as very wasteful). Real estate prices are not from the 50's however. We saw a very small, not very pretty house on the beach for US$1.5M.
The weather is forever changing with "it will be lovely later" the most common weather report. We visited in early spring, and it was a bit cooler than expected. While in the South Pacific, New Zealand is not tropical, but it is temperate. It rained with consistency only one day of the 17 we were there. Rain makes it green (but we missed the blue skies of Colorado). Much of New Zealand's weather comes from Antarctica so when the wind blows, it can blow cold indeed.
Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island, is the most "English" place in New Zealand. Our hotel was adjacent to the large, centrally-located botanic gardens founded way back in 1863. From Christchurch we took a day trip across the Southern Alps aboard the Tranz Scenic Train, which definitely lived up to its name. Otira near the summit at Arthur's Pass receives 25 feet of rain per year; we were there on a dry day, just fog. Not to be forgotten is that 70% of those headed for Antarctica leave from Christchurch. It was in a park on the outskirts of Christchurch that we saw two kiwi birds. The flightless kiwi has been devastated since the introduction of ground predators by colonialists.
I like to add up the costs of a foreign trip. Our combined total was US$145 per day, 40% of which was internal transportation. Lodging averaged $60 per night (and that included two free exchange nights at a participating B&B). Best coffee to order is "flat white" (US$S 2.40). Meals were affordable in the US$15-20 range. We purchased New Zealand dollars before we left and used that money for food and miscellaneous travel. We charged most lodging on a credit card that had only a 1% conversion fee. We had money left over at the end of the trip.
There is something for everyone in New Zealand, especially if you love the outdoors. Sightseeing and tramping (hiking) lead the way with sports next. Rugby is the country favorite, and there is bungee jumping, bike riding, glacier walking, and sky diving. With water everywhere, anything you can do on or under the water is a Kiwi passion.
All in all, it was a great trip. We made all our connections, didn't get sick, and took hundreds of pictures. Only mishap was a broken antenna mount on the rental car, and they haven't charged us yet. My partner got separated twice, but I found her both times.
New Zealand is an invigorating adventure; go there and explore!
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