Helpful
Advice when Travelling through New Zealand. (offered by Senior Travel.)
Languages:
English is spoken everywhere and two thirds of
the people are 'Europeans'. Maori is a recognised second language, but
most Maoris have English as their main language. They make up about 15%
of the population. Pacific Islanders make up about 7% and most are
bi-lingual. Different Asian countries make up the balance of about 10%.
While many speak their own language, most also speak English.
Currency: The
decimal system prevails and the money is in
dollars and cents.
Tap water:
Everywhere the tap water is purified and
therefore safe to drink, the possible exception may be when we are in
glacial country of Franz Josef and Fox, after heavy rains.
Water from streams is not very suitable for drinking since the wild
possums of which there are estimated to be about 80 million have caused
giardia to be present in the water.
The weather:
Rain is distributed all year round, but clearly
evaporation is more rapid in the warm season and less in the
cool
season so it seems like it is wetter in the winter.
We have a maritime climate with a series of Highs and Lows moving from
west to east over the country. This tends to give us warm temperatures
in the summer and cool temperatures in the winter without too much
extreme variation.
Thus winters will have snow on the mountains but very rarely in the
valleys and lowlands, while summer temperatures hardly ever get above
28 Celcius or 82 Fahrenheit.
Medical Services:
It is a good idea to have medical insurance.
Some urgent cases are able to be taken in the public hospitals without
any charge, although any doctor or specialist required will need to be
paid.
The medical system in New Zealand is largely public funded
and of
a high quality.
General Insurance: Again it is a
good idea to have this in case,
for a variety of reasons, plans are interrupted, either by weather or
some other reason. The possibility of having something stolen is always
present unfortunately.
Some credit card users will be able to obtain insurance as part of
their card purchase.
Luggage. Most airlines allow 30kgs of luggage in two bags, but
you would be wise to check what the allowances are with your airline,
since they tend to vary between airlines, and also between countries.
Some travellers bring 'old' or 'second hand ' clothes with them and
leave them after they have finished using them. This lightens the
suitcase and allows for gifts etc from the country visited to be taken
home in existing suitcases. A note left in the room explaning the left
clothes means the hotel does not have to try to forward your 'left
behind' property onto you.
