7 Things No One Ever Tells You About New Zealand

Scenery

If scenery is your thing, head to New Zealand. It has almost everything you could want. Rugged alpine peaks? Check. Glaciers? Check. Rolling hillsides? Check. Geysers? Check? Hot springs? Check. Swimming beaches? Check. Surfing beaches? Check. Rainforests? Check. Spectacular coastal drives? Check. Lakes, big and small? Check. Lots of golf courses? Check. Big, cosmo-politan city? Check. It's hard to think of anywhere else in the world with so many scenic block-busters within such easy reach.

Specific recommendation: Rotorua, about a three-hour drive from Auckland, is the epicenter of the North Island's geothermal areas, but they're dispersed over a distance of some 50 miles. If you want to pick just one geothermal visitor center, my suggestion is Wai-O-Tapu, about 10 miles south of the city, where you find the full gamut of features. The impressive geyser there erupts every morning at 10:30, as encouraged by a dollop of surfactant.

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(Photo: Milford Sound via Shutterstock)

People

I have yet to meet a New Zealander, or Kiwi, as they often refer to themselves, who wasn't friendly, pleasant, and willing to help a visitor beyond what almost anyone could expect.

My one caution: The New Zealand accent is not the same as the Australian. In addition to some of the Australian approaches to treating our long-A sound as a long-I (as in "what a cute bye-bee"), the Kiwis let some of our short-E sounds morph into short-I ("chick your baggage"). All in all, I found it second only to Highland Scottish as a hard-to-understand variant of the tongue we all supposedly speak. Fortunately, Kiwis are tolerant.

(Photo: Dave Young via flickr/CC Attribution)

Accommodations

You see many of the usual worldwide hotel chains represented in Auckland and the other cities, but as you drive through the countryside, most accommodations you encounter are something of a throwback: Single-story motels ranging from as few as five to maybe two dozen rooms, with parking in front of each room. You don't see any of the worldwide names; the motels are a mix of mom-and-pop independents and small indigenous local chains.

This is not to say they're antiquated. Many feature modern architecture, fixtures, and furnishings; many have Wi-Fi; and many have short-stay kitchen facilities. But the overall impression makes you think you're back on Route 66.

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(Photo: Waipara, NZ via Shutterstock)small>

Food

If you're looking for the latest in "trendy" fare on the menus, go somewhere else. Sure, you can find that in Auckland, but in the countryside, your choice is either one of the worldwide fast-food chains; an ethnic cafe, principally Chinese, Indian, or Italian; or a local eatery featuring a very limited se-lection of meat, chicken, and fish dishes. Kiwis are also big on sauces with their steaks. I en-countered one culinary aberration at several stops: rack of lamb encrusted with pistachio nuts. Feh!

Local wines and tap beers can be quite good. I picked up a very nice Cabernet-Shiraz for $NZ12 (about $US8) at a supermarket.

One big surprise: Not much lamb. I was expecting to overdose on lamb chops and roast lamb, but the reality is the only lamb dish you see almost everywhere is lamb shank. I saw several menus with rack of lamb, but I didn't see a single listing for either lamb chops or roasts. The only places you always see lamb is in the Indian restaurants, and with all the spices, you really don't know what's truly in that "lamb vindaloo."

Specific recommendation: Outside the big cities, when you've finished your meal, don't expect the server to bring you the "chick." Instead, when you're ready to leave, go up to the cashier to pay.

(Photo: New Zealand salmon via Shutterstock)

Driving

When it comes to driving on the "wrong" side of the road, North Americans fall into a binary dis-tribution pattern: either "no problem" or "no way." If you're in the "no problem" camp, you'll find that highways are adequate and well-marked. Although New Zealand boasts a few motor-ways, most of the roads you encounter are two-lane, with occasional "slow vehicle lanes" strate-gically located where needed. Some motorways are toll, with cars identified electronically; you can pay fees online up to five days after use. And if you're on the "no way" side of the driving issue, plenty of tour companies will drive you around on buses.

Specific recommendation: A South Island circle route is a popular rental-car drive. But if you start in Christchurch, head directly to Greymouth (that's the route the train takes), then head south to the glaciers, you miss out on one of the world's most spectacular coastal drives: The "Great Coast Route" is at its best North of Greymouth. You can either extend your circle trip to include Westport or do an out-and-back from Greymouth at least as far as Punakaiki.

RELATED: 7 Scenic Roads Too Terrifying to Drive

(Photo: Cinematic Road to Mount Cook via Shutterstock)

Trains

New Zealand is realistic about how best to use trains: The electrified suburban network around Auckland is efficient and reasonably priced; it provides frequent service linking outlying areas with the center. Ditto the mostly electrified, smaller system in Wellington. Both systems make the cities easier to navigate and enjoy, designed for locals but useful to visitors as well.

New Zealand's long-haul trains, on the other hand, are designed for sightseeing and people who like riding trains. If you need to go from Auckland to Wellington, you fly; you take the all-day train only if you want to watch the countryside pass.

New Zealand operates three long-haul sightseeing trains:

• The Northern Explorer operates three times weekly each way between Auckland and Wel-lington.
• The Coastal Pacific operates daily round-trips during the summer season (September 25-May 1) between Picton (port for Wellngton ferry connection) and Christchurch.
• The Tranzalpine runs daily round-trips from Christchurch to Greymouth, crossing the South-ern Alps.

All three trains use cars that are designed for sightseeing, with big windows and roomy seats. The rail system operates no other passenger trains.

(Photo: Steam train in South Island via Shutterstock)

No Tipping, No Pennies

New Zealand is wonderfully free of the pernicious practice of tipping. Restaurant and hotel workers get paid reasonable wages and do their jobs without expecting anything extra. You don't think about how annoy-ing the entire tipping culture is until you encounter one where the practice is absent. Way to go, Kiwis!

Another monetary delight: No pennies! As with Canada, any total price in New Zealand is rounded off so that nobody has to cope with pesky, low-value penny coins.

(Photo: New Zealand money via Shutterstock)

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