Learnings from New Zealand

A number of folks have expressed interest in visiting New Zealand and the conversation usually turns to "What is it like?" Here are some of our observations before we forget ...

Driving

• Obviously, it's on the left side of the road. This isn't as difficult as it might first appear. It took only a day or two to get reasonably comfortable, but the problem comes when after a few weeks you run into a situation where your instincts take over. Fortunately nothing serious happenned to us, but we did scare a few other drivers.
• 99% of the roads are 2-lane (one each way). There are a few 4-lane roads (in Christchurch and Auckland) and a few one-lane roads. There are lots of one-lane bridges in the mountains.
• Speed limits vary. You can do 100 kph on the straight stretches, but the mountain roads follow the terrain, so speeds from 25 to 60 kph are quite normal. Don't expect to maintain the same pace as in North America.
• One dangerous traffic rule: When you're making a turn and there is oncoming traffic making the same turn, the vehicle that has to cross in front of you always has the right-of-way. Even if it is just a lane into a parking lot, you must yield to the oncoming vehicle. This is the opposite of North America and is counter-intuitive when you're driving.
• They have photo radar! A ticket arrived 2 months after we returned. This is mostly around the large cities like Christchurch and Auckland.
• Gas stations aren't as plentiful as in North America (especially on the South Island).

The Internet

• There is a reasonable amount of high speed internet service in New Zealand but you have to look for it.
• Properties that advertise high-speed internet don't necessarily offer it for free. Many of them either charge you on your bill or require you to buy time from a local ISP.
• Speed is so-so but because most service is routed through either underwater cable or satellite; use of video is pretty impractical. Skype audio was tolerable though.

Golfing

• There are lots of reasonably-priced golf courses in acceptable condition throughout the country. All courses appear to accept public play.
• Some golf courses will allow you to become a member at a monthly rate. This will provide a membership in the New Zealand Golf Association and entitle you to a reduced green fee throughout the country. A real value for serious golfers. (We joined a course for 2 months and never actually played it!)
• For the most part, the conditioning of the courses is reasonable, especially the tees and greens. Bunkers and fairways are more like country courses in Canada.
• Golf equipment is very expensive. Bring your own balls, tees, etc. (e.g., a long wooden tee costs about 25 cents.)
• All golfers are expected to keep a score for handicap purpose and to exchange their card with their playing partner. Cards are personalized at many courses and some don't have a general score card like in North America.
• Courses are in metric distances.
• Many golf courses have 2 holes on each green. They move the pin each day and only create new holes weekly (to save resources).
• It is not difficult to get tee times on most courses. In 22 games we were never booked to play with anyone else (even though we would have enjoyed meeting some locals).

Shopping & Money

• Most things are a bit more expensive in New Zealand than in Canada. When we booked the trip, one NZ dollar was 69 Canadian cents, but by the time we were there it had reached 80.
• Tipping is quite unusual and not expected, even in restaurants. The sentiment we heard was "only Americans tip".
• The GST is included in prices, so what you see is what you pay.
• The penny and nickel coins have been eliminated. "Penny rounding" is used, so that any price that would otherwise require a penny or nickel will be rounded to eliminate it. This is not the case when you charge to a credit card.
• Because of penny rounding and lack of tax being added, most prices are nice simple numbers. (e.g., $2 for a cup of coffee)
• Restaurant prices seem comparable to Canada, especially when you eliminate tipping and taxes.
• Things not manufactured in New Zealand are generally more expensive.
• Housing and land is fairly expensive because there is a belief that owning property is important and a significant investment for your future.

Geography, sight seeing, weather

• It's really neat almost everywhere.
• The South Island seems to be more attractive than the North. But the North is pretty good too.
• The South Island is less populated. You can drive for 30 minutes and rarely see another car. Not so in the North.
• The 45th parallel runs through the South Island so you are a long way from the equator. But the temperature is still quite moderate, and nowhere near as cold as a Canadian might expect. The coolest we saw was about 8C in Dunedin in January. The warmest was around 32C in several places.
• Because of the mountains, you can get quite a bit of rain. The locals become experts at reading the wind patterns and anticipating the rain.