Epilogue

After a trip like what we have just completed it is worthwhile reviewing some of the highlights and lowlights, so I have compiled a list:


Liked

1) Traffic circles and the general lack of stop signs and traffic lights. In this day and age where energy conservation is very important one of the most wasteful is stop and go traffic. The use of traffic circles and yield (Give Way) signs, to me, is much more civilized!

2) As mentioned previously the inclusion of taxes (specifically GST as there are no Provincial taxes) in all prices makes things so much easier when determining what the final cost is going to be!

3) The scenery. What’s not to like when you can view the ocean on one side and snow capped mountains on the other with rain forest in between!

4) The general availability of public toilets, which without exception were always very clean and well maintained!

5) The many tourist information bureau’s (i-Sites) where one could get information on local attractions and facilities as well as information on other near-by areas.

6) Tourist Radio! At times it was frustrating in that the signal would be lost due to interference from a local station but it was still great to have.

7) How clean the whole country is! Seldom did we see any litter, other than dead opossums, on the highways and even on local streets for that matter. Canada pales in comparison and it is the opposite of Indonesia.

Didn’t Like

Not too much here as New Zealand is a very clean and friendly country but like anywhere there is always room for improvement.

1) Drivers who tail gate in dangerous areas, such as tight corners along the side of a mountain!

2) The general lack of a usable shoulder where one can pull over to let tail-gaters by or to stop and examine the rocks/scenery more closely.

3) Frivolous warning signs (i.e. “100 kph is Not a Target” – of course it is, that’s why the speed limit sign even looks like a target!).

4) And speaking of speed limits they should be set to the local driving conditions. Most of the roads we drove on should have had the speed limit set at 80 and not 100!

And finally our most favourite sights!

Alan’s top 10 favourites:

1) The New Zealand Wine Centre in Napier.

2) The hot springs and mud pools at Waiotapu.

3) The Yellow-eyed Penguins at Oamaru.

4) The snow capped mountains of the Southern Alps.

5) The Kauri Museum at Matakohe.

6) The Kauri Trees north of Dargaville.

7) The Fur Seals at Kaikoura.

8) Celebrating our anniversary in the Thai restaurant overlooking the Queenstown Harbour with the snow capped mountains in the background.

9) The Auckland sky line, including the harbour bridge.

10) The turquoise waters of the Waitaki River.

Janice’s top 10 favourites:

1) The Blowholes and Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki, north of Hokitika.

2) The Yellow-eyed Penguins at Oamaru.

3) The Beach Boulders at Moeraki.

4) Mount Cook.

5) The Kauri Trees north of Dargaville.

6) The city of Napier.

7) The Kiwi’s at the Otorohanga Kiwi House.

8) The many sand beaches, especially on the North Island.

9) The Palm trees!

10) The greenery and the many colourful flowers!!

And in closing I need to make an observation of the local New Zealand accent. While very easy to understand, unlike some I have come across, it does have its peculiarities the most obvious of which is how vowels are pronounced. Where in North America we would use a hard vowel (like “eh” as is glacier [glay –sure]) in New Zealand, and Australia for that matter, they use a soft vowel (for example [glah-sure] for the word glacier).

And thankfully in New Zealand they do not use a lot of slang (like “biskie” for a biscuit, “Mossie” for a mosquito, etc., etc.). When I had been in Australia that was the one thing I quickly found annoying and I really appreciated not being subjected to the same here!