If you get to New Zealand - you must take this

[hammersley]

boat ride.....



YouTube - extrem

 

[Tinman]

That does look like fun. I was looking at NZ pretty hard as a place to escape, but I got turned off by there gun laws. They are somewhat libertarian (prostitution is actually legal) but they still have issues. Still, it'd be a great place to visit. I'd love to climb Mt. Cook.

 

[Regcabguy]

New Zealand.

N. Z. is a spectacular country which has learned from other country's mistakes in that they severely restrict immigration. You have to have a occupation they need and you need lot's of money. You sign a document preventing any attempt at collecting the dole(welfare). Their crime rate is extremely low. My friend's went on a surfing trip there and rented an Isuzu tiltcab diesel w/5 speed. It was outfitted as a self-contained camper. What a way to go!

 

[Tinman]

Yes, immigrating there is tough. I was looking at it, and it's still on the radar, but I'm looking at other things currently. I really want to go backpacking on the south island sometimes.

 

[Regcabguy]

Travel!

In 1979 I spent four months in Australia,another pretty country. I choked though in that I didn't extend my layover in Auckland from 90 minutes to maybe two weeks. We were in the middle of the oil embargo here and it was affecting the economies worldwide. Lot's of Kiwis were surfing in OZ and collecting the dole. Most were getting by on $57. 00/week. My Aussie friends owned a Chevy "Ute" (El Camino). They picked me up at the Sydney airport and towing a Caravan we toured the east coast. Very tidy caravan parks averaged $28. 00/weekly. I'd definitely go for it with your backpacking plans. Do it while you're young.

 

[Tinman]

I'll be young until I die

 

[WILLD420]

Been there done that. Ours was a little different, but still very fun. We went at a different place, can't remember the name, but they were supposedly one of the first ones to do it.

Was a total blast. Ride didn't last nearly long enough.

If you ever get a chance to go, you really should. NZ is one of the few remaining places in the world where you are still on your own for a lot of things. Very little "Big Brother" or "Nanny" to protect you from life.

I missed the U. S. once we had spent a couple weeks there, but looking back, I really enjoyed myself there. I should have figured out a way to stay longer, but maybe I can go back again someday.

Only one thing to watch though. After dark, there are some pretty bad issues with street thugs in the bigger towns and cities. Gotta watch your back and don't take too many chances. Trouble won't find you if you know what to look for and stay away from it.

 

[Regcabguy]

Right hand drive.

One thing that I could never get comfortable with is driving on the left side. My Aussie friends drove 90% of the time. The roundabouts are especially challenging as I'd never seen one at that time. Funny place though,you could go to the drive-in bottle shop and fire one up as long as your blood level was under 1. 0 at the time. However,if your elbow was on the window sill,immediate ticket. My friends would always remind me,"Elbows in mate!"

 

[WILLD420]

Yeah, definitely took a little getting used to for driving over there.

It was what I imagine life here in the states must have been like 50 years ago. Primitive in some respects due to the cultural differences and the fact that they don't import all the b. s. from the states there. There isn't a Walmart or Costco, the grocery stores carry very little that isn't made in NZ and everything seemed to be in smaller quantities and cost about 1/3 more than it does here.

A 12 pack of Coke over there, when I could find one, was about $9 NZ or about $7 U. S.

I'm used to paying $3-4 here. Gas and auto parts were also crazy over there, but having a car over there is somewhat of a luxury compared to here. Many of the places I visited, people didn't own a car,or they only had 1, not the 2 or 3 that U. S. citizens have.

Overall though, I'd highly recommend it. Made me appreciate what we have over here a lot more.

 

[MLee]

They have NO TSA at the airports and you can board with no problem. I got so I liked the roundabouts, It moved the traffic better than here in the states. Traffic in Auckland is like LA all day long. We spent four weeks down there two years ago. Beautiful country I loved it, Friendly people and all.

 

[hammersley]

Driving on the Left is one thing in the country ....

They have NO TSA at the airports and you can board with no problem. I got so I liked the roundabouts, It moved the traffic better than here in the states. Traffic in Auckland is like LA all day long. We spent four weeks down there two years ago. Beautiful country I loved it, Friendly people and all.

Do it at Night in a Freaking Round About

 

[WILLD420]

By the 2nd week I was used to driving the wrong way everywhere. Took me a day or two when I got home to quit driving on the left... .

One thing's for sure. I learned how to take a corner over there. Every freaking road we took had at least an hour worth of sawing the wheel back and forth to stay on their windy little roads.

The trip down the coast of the south island was a workout for my hands. I was SOOOO done with the stiff azz steering on that car. Sure, it's cool for the hi speed stuff, but I would have killed to have an old crown vic with it's over-boosted power steering by our 3rd day of coastal driving. .