Petersontravels

Here is a list of some of the things we have taken note of regarding New Zealand:

1.  NZ claims their roads are very different than anywhere else (you will see signs all over stating it), but we haven’t found that to be the case.  Yes, they have very few freeways, but the roads are just the same as driving in most rural areas.  The one thing that will slow you down is the speed limit, which tops out at 100km/h (62mph).  We saw very few police officers, so I was regularly driving 110-120km/h.  Driving times are generally better than they claim, even at the speed limit.
2. The same deal goes for hiking.  Trails that they claim will take 2 hours take about an hour and a half, usually less.  Do people here just hike really slow?
3. You know how the dotted lines on your side of the road indicate a location where it’s safe to pass?  They have them here that continue around blind corners and along very short sections of road.  I’ve been left wondering under what conditions somebody could pass….even if a truck was pulled partway over and not moving, it was unsafe.  I don’t get it.
4. Every hotel we checked into gave us a bottle of milk for our morning coffee.  Every single one.  Smart!  This is something that needs to happen worldwide.  Every hotel has also had a refrigerator (which makes sense when they are giving you milk).  It’s also worth noting that nearly every hotel had a small kitchenette, and several had laundry facilities, which proved quite helpful.  We never did have to go to a laudromat.
5. Tipping is not common here.  Some people have refused a tip.  Some have been openly grateful to receive one.  One looked at me funny wondering what the extra money was for.  Not giving a tip is completely normal.  It took some getting used to…..and now I need to revert back!
6. Everybody here is SUPER friendly.  I mean “have the shirt off my back” friendly.  Just like Portugal.  The only person who was the least bit unfriendly was the Soup Nazi woman at Lottin Point Motel.
7. NZ likes their old music.  I don’t know if it’s just taken 20 to 25 years to make it here, but they play a pretty constant mixture of 70’s and 80’s rock on the radio and in restaurants here.  We have flipped around the radio during our travels looking for some news, and have never heard Rap once.  Told you this place was awesome!
8. I’ve mentioned it once before, but hiking trails are called “tracks”.  They are everywhere, and you will see a ton of people hiking.  They love the outdoors, and who could blame them when your outdoors look like this?
9. If you have an emergency in NZ, the phone number is 111, not 911.  Why?  I have no idea.
10. We saw no mosquitoes, but we saw PLENTY of sandflies.  They are actually worse, as their bites are very itchy and the scars they leave behind last a long time. Buy bug repellent and use it.  It was very effective.
11. There is a large hole in the ozone layer over NZ, so you can get burned very easily and quickly if you don’t wear sunscreen.  Even on a fully overcast day with rain, you can get burned.
12. In restaurants, the starter is called the Entree, and the entree is called the Main.  This must be something they got from the Brits….or the French.  You also walk up to the counter when you are ready to pay, which I liked.  No more sitting and waiting for the check.
13. New Zealanders love calling themselves Kiwis, and don’t EVER ask one if they are from Australia.  Wow did i find that out the hard way!  Kiwis like to bag on Australia, particularly when it comes to wine.  More than one Kiwi mocked the Aussie use of the word Shiraz versus Syrah.
14. Flying from NZ to Australia is referred to as “flying across the ditch”.

I know there are a few more, and if they dawn on me as we are isolated at home, I’ll come back and add to this.  One more post regarding experiences with travel companies, which is constantly evolving.  Stay safe everybody!

We drove south from Paihia to Piha for our final night in New Zealand.  On the way we stopped in a very small town for lunch, and they had a “Wharfinger” pizza on their menu.

In my prior life before retirement I was the Chief Wharfinger for the Port of Oakland, and nobody ever knew what in the hell that meant (basically like a commercial real estate manager mixed with a city government job).  We didn’t try the pizza because it sounded a little strange…..just like the name.

We also ran across this waterfall just outside of the city of Whangarei (pronounced Fangary….it’s a Maori to English translation screw-up).  Wh=F….gotcha.

Piha is a quiet little beach community that is just under an hours drive away from Auckland airport, so it’s perfectly situated for a stay before our flight home.  Here is the view from our place in the hills above the coastline.

Piha is New Zealand’s most famous surfing beach, and we saw quite a few surfers while we were there.  The beach has black iron sand and it’s supposedly very crowded in the summer time.  We only saw a handful of people on the beach.

Walking among the rock formations we ran across this hole through the rocks where the surf was running all the way through.

There is a short 1km hike near the beach to Kitekite Falls.  It’s worthwhile for the falls as well as the hike through some very dense NZ bush.

My attempt at a selfie.

The falls are pretty impressive but I would love to see it when they aren’t in the middle of a drought.

We had dinner at a nearby restaurant called Elevation, with an awesome view of Auckland.  We were even treated to a bit of a rainbow during dinner.

I really liked the label on this bottle of wine.  It helped that the wine was quite good.

During our drive to Piha we heard on the radio that NZ was shutting it’s borders to all but NZ citizens.  We knew the flight we were taking the next morning was coming from SF, so we were concerned United may cancel our flight, but fortunately that didn’t happen.  We were very happy when our flight took off.  Here is a last shot of Auckland out the window.

Getting through Customs at the airport was surprisingly fast.  Nobody was being screened in any way, and Customs only asked us two questions (any fruit? any alcohol?).  No paperwork to fill out, no health check, nothing.  We made it from the plane to the exit in 20 minutes.  I will say that we saw some people being screened before we boarded in Auckland, but it must have been random or they were simply looking for anybody who might appear sick.  I was expecting more of a vetting process based on how this is all playing out.

I am working on one last post regarding things we found interesting about NZ, as well as an update on my efforts to cancel 6 weeks worth of bookings in Australia.  It’s been quite interesting to see how some companies have reacted, both positive and negative.  Thanks for reading!