New Zealand?

[Anonymous]

Just booked tickets for this December. Any other suggestions for NZ.

[Anonymous]

The restaurants were fantastic thanks to the quality ingredients you will get there.

We loved Piha Beach, the Rotorua area, and zorbing!

We were able to get an automatic - although it was a crappy Yaris with almost 100000 miles. The scenic roads really are no joke - major hills and extreme hairpin turns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you rent a car be sure you know how to drive a stick shift and be comfortable driving on the left side of the road.

I used to work in NZ and never saw a stick shift rental.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NZ is quiet, beautiful and a bit like traveling back in time to the 1950s

I think you should expand on this for people. It's a bit misleading. I have spent a lot of time in the country and if I had to describe NZ succinctly I would not say this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NZ is quiet, beautiful and a bit like traveling back in time to the 1950s

I think you should expand on this for people. It's a bit misleading. I have spent a lot of time in the country and if I had to describe NZ succinctly I would not say this.

Is this the way people describe small towns? We were in France and there are small rural villages without any shops, which are definitely not Paris. New Zealand has small rural towns with one petrol station and a cafe, which are definitely not Auckland. West Virginia has small rural towns with one diner and a gas station, which are definitely not New York.

If you are driving around NZ you are going to encounter small rural towns because this is where the best scenery is. It doesn't mean that the country is like the 1950s.

[Anonymous]

There’s also great scenery close to “cities” like queenstown and Nelson that have pretty much all the services you could need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NZ is quiet, beautiful and a bit like traveling back in time to the 1950s

I think you should expand on this for people. It's a bit misleading. I have spent a lot of time in the country and if I had to describe NZ succinctly I would not say this.

I have had two long trips to NZ, first was six months as an exchange student in 2001 and last time was three weeks in 2016. In 2001 I did feel like I was stepping back to 1950s. In 2016, the observation remained the same. It is not 1950s stereotypical values but the scale of infrastructure is much more of the past. Everything is smaller. Roads are smaller. There are no beltway or eight lane wide interstates. Little country highways is the rule. You drive right through the towns, there are few bypasses. The buildings are smaller, the scale is smaller. It's very much of the scale we found in the US outside perhaps the downtown cores of cities. And people still use corner shops and town centers rather than shopping malls or sprawling box stores in much of the country. That's why NZ still feels very much like the 1950s even if in other areas it's quite modern and progressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NZ is quiet, beautiful and a bit like traveling back in time to the 1950s

I think you should expand on this for people. It's a bit misleading. I have spent a lot of time in the country and if I had to describe NZ succinctly I would not say this.

I have had two long trips to NZ, first was six months as an exchange student in 2001 and last time was three weeks in 2016. In 2001 I did feel like I was stepping back to 1950s. In 2016, the observation remained the same. It is not 1950s stereotypical values but the scale of infrastructure is much more of the past. Everything is smaller. Roads are smaller. There are no beltway or eight lane wide interstates. Little country highways is the rule. You drive right through the towns, there are few bypasses. The buildings are smaller, the scale is smaller. It's very much of the scale we found in the US outside perhaps the downtown cores of cities. And people still use corner shops and town centers rather than shopping malls or sprawling box stores in much of the country. That's why NZ still feels very much like the 1950s even if in other areas it's quite modern and progressive.

I mean that is how most of America is too in flyover country. Ever been to Kansas or South Dakota or Iowa? Heck, ever been to Clarke County, Virginia?

[Anonymous]

Going for Christmas!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just booked tickets for this December. Any other suggestions for NZ.

Watch out for the school holidays rush. The Christmas period is the main vacation season for New Zealanders.