Welcome to Kiwi land
We landed in New Zealand on November the 29th while we toke off on the 27th, but after only a 13 hours flight. The plane was not a time machine, it is just that we crossed the international date line. Thus, we lost the 28th and all the lamb meat that would have come with it, as it was the day in which Aïd el-Kebir was celebrated this year.
During the first few days, the food, the road signs, the left-hand traffic, the vegetation and even the weather gave us the feeling that we were in the UK. But this idea vanishes as soon as you end up with New Zealand dollars in your wallet instead of British pounds .
We spent the first three days in Auckland, just enough time to get used to the Kiwi accent. After that we headed to the south island that we drove all over with our yellow match box during two weeks. The cities, except a few number, are of little interest. They are of a limited size compared to the ones in Europe. There are only 4 million people living in this country as big as the UK and the capital, Wellington, has 200 000 people living in. The tourists come primarily to New Zealand to enjoy the beautiful landscape and scenery but as well all the outdoors activities like “tramping”, kayaking or fishing. The sight and activities are often hard to reach by public transportation, which is by the way quite expensive. So, you better have a ride to take fully advantage of your trip.
The South Island charmed us with its natural beauty. After a visit to the most British kiwi city, Christchurch, we went to hike around Mount Cook that stands majestically in the center of the island and reaches an altitude of 3700 metres. We headed next to Milford sound and the lakes close to it that amazed us with some dramatic and very green scenery. But we found the setting greener with a dense rain forest while cruising the west coast, where the rain does no seem to ever stop, to the point that it is nicknamed the 'wet coast'. We met people who had been waiting a week for a milder weather to start visiting the area. Finally, Golden Bay and the Abel Tasman Park, up north, rewarded us with some very nice walks ended on untouched dream beaches with a turquoise sea (quite chilly though).
The first part of our trip in New Zealand was very pleasant thanks as well to the kindness of the Kiwis and to a very developed touristic infrastructure. The youth hostels that are aimed to people traveling on a budget are very well equipped : we treated ourselves to some sunny barbecues. Do not forget that it is summer over here even if Santa-Claus is on every corner. Talking about accommodations, we tried “Couchsurfing” for the first time and it has been a great experience : you make some savings, but the best was to hang out with the people living on the land, and all our hosts were always open minded and welcoming.
The only thing missing were the Maoris, the initial inhabitants of the country. Maybe the North Island will give us the opportunity to meet some.
Karim
During the first few days, the food, the road signs, the left-hand traffic, the vegetation and even the weather gave us the feeling that we were in the UK. But this idea vanishes as soon as you end up with New Zealand dollars in your wallet instead of British pounds .
We spent the first three days in Auckland, just enough time to get used to the Kiwi accent. After that we headed to the south island that we drove all over with our yellow match box during two weeks. The cities, except a few number, are of little interest. They are of a limited size compared to the ones in Europe. There are only 4 million people living in this country as big as the UK and the capital, Wellington, has 200 000 people living in. The tourists come primarily to New Zealand to enjoy the beautiful landscape and scenery but as well all the outdoors activities like “tramping”, kayaking or fishing. The sight and activities are often hard to reach by public transportation, which is by the way quite expensive. So, you better have a ride to take fully advantage of your trip.
The South Island charmed us with its natural beauty. After a visit to the most British kiwi city, Christchurch, we went to hike around Mount Cook that stands majestically in the center of the island and reaches an altitude of 3700 metres. We headed next to Milford sound and the lakes close to it that amazed us with some dramatic and very green scenery. But we found the setting greener with a dense rain forest while cruising the west coast, where the rain does no seem to ever stop, to the point that it is nicknamed the 'wet coast'. We met people who had been waiting a week for a milder weather to start visiting the area. Finally, Golden Bay and the Abel Tasman Park, up north, rewarded us with some very nice walks ended on untouched dream beaches with a turquoise sea (quite chilly though).
The first part of our trip in New Zealand was very pleasant thanks as well to the kindness of the Kiwis and to a very developed touristic infrastructure. The youth hostels that are aimed to people traveling on a budget are very well equipped : we treated ourselves to some sunny barbecues. Do not forget that it is summer over here even if Santa-Claus is on every corner. Talking about accommodations, we tried “Couchsurfing” for the first time and it has been a great experience : you make some savings, but the best was to hang out with the people living on the land, and all our hosts were always open minded and welcoming.
The only thing missing were the Maoris, the initial inhabitants of the country. Maybe the North Island will give us the opportunity to meet some.
Karim
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