What we did: 27 days spent as follows: 21 days in the South Island, making our way from Christchurch through the Otago Peninsula, to Milford Sound, Queenstown, up through the west coast to Abel Tasman National Park, then over to the Marlborough wine region. 7 days in the North Island, starting in Wellington, up to Rotorua, over to Matamata, then Waitomo, and finally flying out of Auckland.
Would we do it the same way? No. We needed a lot more time in New Zealand. If we had it over to do again, we would spend one month in the South Island and one month in the North Island.
Indispensable item/gear: Warm clothing in layers. We recommend purchasing merino wool sweaters once you reach New Zealand because popular thermal clothing lines like Icebreaker (my favorite) are New Zealand based and offer excellent deals in gear shops around the country.
Worst food: Several people recommended that we try Lone Star, a chain restaurant found throughout New Zealand, that turned out to be the New Zealand take on American food. Like Outback uses random Australian words to describe its food, Lone Star has "Cajun Chicken" and "Redneck Ribs" on their menu. Their "Dixie Chicken," a poached chicken breast in a wine and vegetable cream sauce, must have been named by someone who didn't know much about Southerners' propensity for butter and fried food.
Our favorite part of New Zealand: The ability to exercise our inner adrenaline-junkies and find adventure sports that suited our every mood.
The best deal: The Internet Access Company (IAC). We purchased a $50 internet access account that lasted a month at over 250 locations (including campervan parks and hostels) across New Zealand.
Worst new experience: Getting hassled by security both entering and leaving the country. We didn’t realize that you must show proof of onward departure to enter New Zealand and spent a harried several hours running between the Virgin Blue ticketing counter and the JetStar ticketing counter trying to get the proper documentation. On the return, the New Zealand security confiscated our two decorative boomerangs claiming that they were potential “weapons”. Patrick in mid-argument with the security guard said, “I would have better luck banging someone over the head with my laptop then using these boomerangs.” The security official responded, “So, you want me to confiscate your laptop? I can do that.” to which I fervently exclaimed “No!” and told Patrick to stand in the corner and stop talking to people.
The must see attraction:Milford Sound, but only if you spend several days there fully experiencing the awesomeness of this place.
Most over hyped attraction: All of the cities. This is a gross generalization but, for the most part, New Zealand cities were filled with bland, practical strip malls, cardboard placards, ranch-style houses, and boxed office buildings. Notable exceptions include Wellington’s Te Papa Tongarewa Museum and the surrounding central area and Dunedin’s center.
The people: We expected New Zealanders to be like the Aussies, open, friendly, and gregarious, but instead found them to be more reserved with British mannerisms. Kiwis rarely made the first move to get to know us but if we made the effort to communicate and let them know that we weren't just fly-by-night travelers, then they would open up, give friendly suggestions, and talk to us about our views on New Zealand and the world. At the same time, we noticed, as the Rough Guide to New Zealand pointed out, that some New Zealanders have an "underlying inferiority complex" about their country, perhaps because they have lived under the shadow of their larger neighbor for so long. In three separate instances, when we mentioned that we had previously spent five weeks in Australia, New Zealanders showed contempt toward Australia and Aussies. It was a bit strange and somewhat off-putting when we realized that these otherwise-perfectly friendly individuals were not joking but seriously disliked Australia.
Fern fronds
Best surprise: The incredible trail/hiking system. Every hike we did was on a well-marked path leading to stunning sites. Signs at the beginning of each hike accurately describe trail conditions (easy/moderate/strenuous), any equipment required, and the length of the hike. We recommend stopping by the Department of Conservation (DOC) offices in major towns to get a copy of their mostly free guides that describe trails in the surrounding areas.
Biggest disappointment: The lack ofrestroom facilities in the South Island.Without getting too graphic, we found public restrooms to be few and far between on the drive from Te Anau to Blenheim and I, in particular, was not too thrilled about that fact. I know that this does not seem like a big deal but, for a country that attracts so many travelers and has such an excellent tourist infrastructure, this made our travels much less comfortable.
Language lesson: Kiwi = a New Zealand resident, a tropical fruit grown in New Zealand in green and gold varieties (known in New Zealand as kiwifruit), a large flightless bird who abandons its young at birth leading to its current endangered status; tramping = hiking, the New Zealand national past time; kia ora = a Maori term that means be well or hello; pounamu = greenstone, jade
The big test, would we come back: Absolutely, 100% yes. Next time, we want to hike one of the Great Walks, spend more time in North Island, go south to Caitlin's Coast, and go back to the West Coast.
And, now we’re off to: India for one week to visit my family in Chennai (perhaps the most boring city we will experience on our travels but I know I will get some excellent South Indian recipes from my grandmother) and then a month in Thailand.
This is great info on NZ! I'm likely headed towards NZ this spring and I'm saving this post for later reference. There's tons of good info in here. That video is awesome too! Thanks for sharing all this info :)
We just bought our tickets for a trip to New Zealand. Your info will help in our planning.
-- maya 01/11/2010 14:24:00 maya's recent blog post: Life Cycles
I can't believe the security guard threatened the laptop! Agree with Amy, these wrap up posts are really useful and provide such a great overview of your experience. I haven't made it there yet, but it looks like such an amazing place :-)
Nice summary - I like how you've formatted the content. Very consumable. If you had to choose one place in New Zealand in which to spend one month, where would it be?
Great blog and I have been to New Zealand twice, mostly for tramping. It was great to relive some of my favorite places though your adventures. I am surprised though that you spent a month in Oz and didn't know about the Kiwi/Ozzy rivalry. It's right up there with Jedi vs Sith or Toothpaste vs. Orange Juice. Check out the "Beached As" videos send up of Kiwis (by Ozzies) on youtube.
-- Ahimsa 01/12/2010 05:35:34
Wonderful, beautiful and so exciting. Thank you for sharing your experience. It will help us all be better prepared. (especially the public bathroom issue, YIKES!)
Good wrap up of NZ. Very amusing incident with the laptop - glad you still have it!
How funny - I've never thought of Chennai as a boring city. Brussels definitely gets that accolade from me! I think the temple architecture and sculptures in Chennai are intricate and stunning, and a day trip to Mahabs is a good "heritage" trip. If you have some time, you can always travel around Tamil Nadu to see some pretty waterfalls, the impressive temples at Madurai, Tanjore etc.
Enjoy the next phase... Rups
-- Rupa 01/13/2010 11:55:28
Great stuff for me to add to my file. Let me ask did you find New Zealand very expensive? In my planning I've been limiting my time there to about three weeks because of budgetary concerns. Good luck on your next leg!
Great stuff for me to add to my file. Let me ask did you find New Zealand very expensive? In my planning I've been limiting my time there to about three weeks because of budgetary concerns. Good luck on your next leg!
Shannon and Rupa, I know - I honestly couldn't believe that the security officer could be that rude.
Keith, it's hard to pick just one place to spend a month in but I think I would go with the Fiordlands region. The whole area is ridiculously beautiful and there are tons of amazing hikes. The negatives are that it is also the region that gets the most rain and the sand flies are really painful and intense. Alternatively, if you don't mind doing a bit of driving, I think Queenstown or Wanaka would make a great base to see much of the South Island. Both are about a three hours drive from Te Anau/Milford Sound, the glaciers, and other gorgeous places.
Thanks Ahimsa! We knew that there was a rivalry between the two countries but in Australia, it seemed to be a fun and friendly rivalry, while in New Zealand, there was definite hostility. It was the hostility that surprised us rather than the rivalry itself.
Thanks Katie! Yep, definitely use the restroom whenever you can before you hit the road in New Zealand.
Rupa, that's funny that you never thought of Chennai as a boring city. It is possibly our least favorite city in the world (but more on that next time) and I actually have never been that impressed with the temples within the city. But, of course, we don't go there for the sightseeing but instead for the family!
Stephanie, food, lodging, and transportation weren't too expensive because we had the campervan. The campervan cost about $40/day (USD) + $20 for the holiday park + $10-15 for food (because we cooked almost all our meals). We thought that $75 USD for both of us per day was pretty reasonable, especially after coming from the much more expensive Australia. The most expensive part were all of the attractions. Glacier hiking was about $125/person USD, canyon swinging was about the same, and so on. We tried to do one big ticket item per week and spend the rest of the time on cheaper activities like tramping, boating, etc.
I agree with you that the NZ'ers are more reserved than us. Neither likes to be compared to the other. It's a bit like the relationship between Americans and Cana dians!
kia ora korua - i am a Kiwi married to a Malayalee living (currently) in the US. Your Kozhakattai are making me hungry! I'm also useless at making them round and have an easier time making ada which are pressed flat in a banana leaf.. do you do those ones also?
Don't worry, we don't actually hate Aussies! We'll just never admit it. NZ humour is dry as a bone and people will swear up and down that they can't stand Aussies, wish the entire place would go up in smoke, etc. In reality virtually everyone has relatives there and if you press people about the reason for their deep and seething hatred they'll probably trace it to the Infamous Underam Bowling Incident of 1981 (see Wikipedia for details)
And you're 2/3 right about the meanings of kiwi - the fruit is called a kiwifruit, all one word ;)
Loved your posts about my homeland and look forward to reading about the rest of your adventures!
-- Stephanie RJ 01/21/2010 16:44:45
Stephanie, I didn't realize that Malayalees also made kozhakattai. We also make them flat in the banana leaf but, personally, I don't like the taste of them as much - then again, I am just picky! And thank you for clarifying about the New Zealand humor thing - we did figure out that New Zealanders have a really dry sense of humor so maybe we just misinterpreted their jokes! I am going to fix the language lesson on kiwis right now as well.
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