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Backpacking New
Zealand (cont.)
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New Zealand - Overview
New Zealand and it's
people
New Zealand offers up just about every conceivable
landscape you can think of in one tidy little package (click
here for a map of New Zealand). The country itself is larger
in mass than the U.K. but has just 4 million people scattered
around it. The majority of people live in the main city of
Auckland, with about 1.25 million people living there. The
rest get the luxury of the remainder of the country to spread
out in and enjoy, and that can be seen in the laid back and friendly
attitude of the folk you meet. The people themselves are a friendly,
eclectic mix of European descendents, Maori, Pacific Islanders,
and an increasing Asian population. This heady mix can be more
readily seen in Auckland which has a very cosmopolitan feel to
it as opposed to the rest of the country which is predominantly
Maori/European.
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New Zealand, mainly because of its isolation, can be an expensive
place to fly to but it is certainly a relatively cheap place to
travel around once you get there, and the backpacking culture is
very much alive and well. Food and drink is reasonably cheap and
plentiful, and hostel and other accommodations are many, varied
and are very reasonably priced. You'll find the overall cost of
living in New Zealand to be quite reasonable and the exchange rate
normally works to your advantage, but one way to cut the cost of
your holiday is to buy the ‘Travel
Discount Card’ before you get there. This will save you
money right across the board on many attractions, travel, tours,
food and accommodation. The cost is NZ$49.95 but if you intend on
doing a bit of travelling around New Zealand then the card will
undoubtedly save you many times that amount.
From a personal safety point-of-view, backpacking around New Zealand
is as safe as you’re likely to find anywhere on the planet.
As with all places however, use your commonsense when dealing with
strangers or venturing into unknown areas. If you’re planning
on hiking or ‘going bush’, make sure that you have the
right equipment, knowledge, and that you let people know where you
are going. Every year many people, New Zealanders and tourists alike,
get into trouble in the bush and on the walking tracks as the New
Zealand weather can turn nasty almost in minutes. Be prepared and
be careful.
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Getting
around New Zealand
Getting around New Zealand, at least between
towns and cities, is relatively easy as there are only really
a handful of main roads going either North or South (there isn’t
too much land going East to West!), but within the cities your
choices are rather more limited. Public transport in the major
towns can be flaky at times and aside from buses and a limited
rail network there isn’t a lot to choose from. If you’re
intending to stay within the major cities for any length of time
you might be wise to choose accommodation as close to the centre
as you possibly can get to make getting around easier. Hitchhiking
in between towns and cities is common (particularly in the South
Island), and is about as safe as you’re going to find anywhere
else in the world, but of course you must use commonsense when
accepting rides from strangers.
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