February 10, 2006
NZ Holidaymaker -- Issue #001 -- February 2006
Table of contents
1 Sharks!
2 Freedom camping
3 Advancing glaciers
4 Crowded Abel Tasman NP
5 Beautiful West Coast Highway
6 Flights to New Zealand
Sharks!
One of the reasons we love NZ so much, is because there are no dangerous animals. No snakes, no scorpions, no bears, no sharks... At least, that's what we thought. In fact, there have always been small sharks in the New Zealand waters. You can admire them from a safe distance at Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World in Auckland. But recently, there have been several shark sightings (of a big white) off the Taranaki Coast. The presence of this type of shark in the NZ waters is very unusual. Several kayakers and fisherman were taken by surprise when this big monster appeared. So if you plan to sea kayak, swim in the sea or surf during your trip to New Zealand, ask around first. You don't want to be caught off guard by the Taranaki Terror, do you?
Freedom camping
If you love to free camp, and plan to do so during your trip to New Zealand, you might be glad to hear that the Marlborough Disctrict Council has decided to allow free camping in some parts of the region. However, freedom camping will still be banned in the Picton, Shelley Beach and Waikawa foreshore reserves, and in any area within 500 m of a camping ground. So spending the night in your camper van in a nice spot on the Queen Charlotte Drive after you've arrived with the Wellington ferry in the middle of the night is still not allowed! Free camping will also not be permitted on council reserves, including road reserves, within towns, or on river stopbanks or floodways. Furthermore, your camper van should have a self-contained toilet and a greywater tank when free camping.
Another spot where you might be tempted to free camp, is
Wellington. Wellington doesn't really have good camping
sites near the city centre. The closest one is in Lower
Hutt, and this is still a 20 minute drive from the city
centre. So it's obvious that some campervanners prefer to
park somewhere around the Wellington bays. But realise that
this may cost you. Though the New Zealand police is
generally really nice, free camping is not allowed here and
the district court may impose a maximum fine of NZ$10,000 on
offenders!
Prepare yourself for your trip to New Zealand and bring the following items:
Advancing glaciers
One of the attractions New Zealand is famous for are its glaciers. And we agree - they're really worth a visit. But
recently, they've become quite dangerous. Both the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are advancing rapidly at the moment and there is a risk of giant chunks of ice falling off at the face of the glaciers. A number of warning signs are put up at both glaciers, but a lot of people are ignoring them and crossing the rope barriers to get closer to the ice. Though it still looks like as if the glaciers are not moving at all, in reality they move at a high speed of 1 metre a week! So you'd better respect the ropes and stay at a safe distance, hire a glacier guide to visit them, or do as we did, and book a helicopter trip to view the glaciers!
Crowded Abel Tasman NP
Good news, at least - that's our opinion: most tourism operators in Abel Tasman National Park support a new campsite booking system to address overcrowding of the region. And on top of that, DOC (the Dept. of Conservation) released a draft management plan in which it proposes to place a cap on the number of tourists commercial operators can take into the park each day, and to ban jet-skis on the park's coastal edges. Last year, when we visited the Abel Tasman NP in January in order to walk and kayak part of the Abel Tasman Track, we were put off by the sheer amount of people in the park. Eventually we opted for a day walk and though we agree that the Abel Tasman coastline and its beaches are very scenic and attractive, personally we prefer the much quieter Marlborough Sounds for kayaking. (Maybe next time we'll give the Abel Tasman NP another try during the off season!)
Beautiful West Coast highway
The road along the West Coast of NZ's South Island has recently been named in the Lonely Planet one of the best
holiday drives in the world. But it seems that some parts are also very dirty: freedom campers are using the bushes at roadside laybys extensively as toilets. If you don't like to stay on the commercial campgrounds in this region (they can be quite busy in the summer season), we suggest you download the list of DOC camping sites -- there are some quiet, attractive DOC sites along this drive.
Flights to and from New Zealand
If you didn't book your flight to New Zealand yet, here are some changes that might be of interest to you:
- From June 5 Air New Zealand offers a daily Auckland to San Francisco service
- From March 26 Air Tahiti Nui, the airline of French Polynesia, will operate a direct flight between Auckland and New York, landing only for a short refuelling stop at Papeete. The flight will take only 18 hours and 40 minutes.
- Air New Zealand stops flying to Taipei and Nagoya (Japan) from March 24 and 25.
- Air New Zealand suspends its twice weekly non-stop service between Christchurch and Los Angeles during the off season, from April 3 to October 28.
All the best,
Boukeline & Rob