Owner: New Zealand Touring URL:http://www.nztourmaps.com/blog Join Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:37:16 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Independent traveller tips on NZ accommodation and touring Site statistics:Click here
New Zealand "Hostile" Accommodation 2007-02-12 00:26:34 Backpackers make up a large portion of our tourist numbers. These mainly young travellers are well catered for in the many first rate Hostels that dot the country and cities alike. However, not all hostel accommodation in NZ offer the independent traveller a safe environment. Another recent incident involving theft and attempted rape against an Asian backpacker has highlighted the not so uncommon risk associated with this form of communal accommodation.
Like many western countries, New Zealand
's social services are under increasing budget pressure as central Government look for new methods of cost cutting. So what does this have to do with backpackers safety in Hostels? Simply it is a three fold social problem -
1 - Rising rentals mixed with a decrease in Government and Local Council subsidised housing has led to an increase in some members of the community accommodating themselves in hostels. These people tend to be unemployed and rejects of the state housing sector. They drift from Read more:Hostile
, Accommodation
, New Zealand
You won't read this on a Map of New Zealand 2007-02-01 05:46:46 You are driving along, reading the road map and you see many little highlighted spots of scenic interest. You pass many spots in the middle of what seems like nowhere, that have road signs alerting you to this waterfall or that walking track. You stop at one of these spots to do the well sign posted and formed track through virgin forest to the river or waterfall. You return to your car after a short stroll to find that your baggage is gone!
Yes it is happening more and more at what seems remote spots. And why wouldn't a criminal scum target tourists who have their entire holiday possessions, often including cameras, laptops, Ipods etc etc, neatly packaged up in an easy to carry bag. It happened to me in a busy car park and I should know better. So it can and does happen often to anyone.
New Zealand
Tour Maps has a page dedicated to this topic "theft from tourists" but for some reason it receives the least amount of visits. Perhaps when planning your holiday you don't want to Read more:New Zealand
NZ Tourism up despite the Summer cold 2007-01-26 00:16:33 The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research has reported that New Zealand has experienced one of its coldest December in 60 years. Despite the summer chills the tourism industry is reporting a bumper start to the summer with many NZ accommodation providers stating that their occupancy rates are well ahead of last Year.
New Zealand camping grounds that are very weather dependent have reported very few cancellations due to the rain. South Island holiday parks that have suffered the brunt of the unusual cold spell say that they are still turning people away from some of the popular camping spots.
The national average temperature for December was 1.9C below normal at 13.7C and the nations capital, Wellington has experienced its coldest December in 70 years. So what's the best time to visit New Zealand to experience settled dry warm weather? Despite the gloomy statistics for December, the first month of summer has never been a month you can rely on. Generally speaking summer Read more:Tourism
, despite
, Summer
New Zealand Back Country Rivers 2007-01-15 03:24:42 The recent drowning of a 45 year old man from Melbourne, Australia in the Matukituki river 30 km of Wanaka has once again highlighted the drowning risk that faces New Zealand
ers and overseas tourists during the summer season. Two thirds of all drowning occur in New Zealand
rivers, streams and creeks. New Zealand has almost double the drowning rate per head of population compared to Australia and four times the drowning rate per head of population than the United Kingdom.
The 45 year old man and his 9 yr old son were crossing the river when they both lost footing and were swept away down towards dangerous rapids. The 9 yr old was pulled from the river by his elder brother but the father was found deceased 1 km from where he was swept away.
New Zealand national parks are riddled with fast flowing streams and rivers fed from mountain snow and as such they flow strongly almost all year round. New Zealand camping grounds and holiday parks are often located next to picturesque rivers. Local Read more:Country
, Rivers
New Zealand holiday queues 2007-01-04 01:44:01 If you are planning to travel New Zealand
during the new year period of early January be prepared to be patient on our roads. Although New Zealand
offers in contrast to Europe and US, a relatively traffic free road experience, the early January period is the exception. As mentioned previously, this is the time that New Zealanders take holidays resulting in long queue of traffic in and out of the popular summer "hot spots". Reports of traffic queued 5 to 10 kms heading back into Auckland are common on the weekends as Aucklanders head home to work. Beware of parking wardens that small towns employ during the holiday period to police and liberally issue parking tickets to the unsuspecting tourist.
Towns like Wanaka and Queenstown are among the South Islands busiest holiday spots. The Southern Lakes district receives an enormous amount of visitors during this period. Here you will find parking impossible and long queues
at the petrol stations. The areas roads are thick with cars towing
Finding New Zealand accommodation during xmas holidays 2006-12-14 04:24:04 Its that time of the year when all NZ seems to go on holiday. Having a "hobby" accommodation property on the lakeside in Wanaka we are inundated with overseas people looking for accommodation during the Christmas new year period. Although we shut for this period due to our own holiday requirements, I notice that our enquiries for this period have a distinctive pattern. New Zealand
ers aware of the "rush hour' period, tend to make enquiries for accommodation prior to October where as we find overseas traveller enquiries come in at the last minute. The point of the post is if you are planning to visit New Zealand between 20th December and 15th January then you need to book ahead. I am a advocate of "freedom" travelling New Zealand, that is to say, NZ offers tourist the opportunity to plan your itinery and sort your accommodation out as you go. There are few countries in the world that offers you the freedom to travel in this way however the xmas period is the clear exception.
Read more:Finding New
Is the Left the Right side of the road 2006-12-06 01:28:27 Keeping within the genre of "New Zealand' travel and particularly independent driving tours of this country, I thought we should report another car accident in the central North Island associated with tourists from those countries that drive on the wrong side of the road. We know you guys think that NZ is on the bottom of the world and we drive on the left hand side of the road….. but for us down under, we know we are on the top of the globe and we drive on the "right" side of the road.
A common occurrence for our European and American travellers are head on accidents. These accidents are directly associated with tourists from these counties who are accustomed to driving left hand drive vehicles, who end up driving on the wrong side of our state highways. In more populated countries like the UK this is not as much a problem, but here in New Zealand when the state highways resemble quiet country roads that are empty of traffic, the tendency to end up driving on the wrong si Read more:Right
Campervan Honeymooners robbed 2006-11-13 14:11:57 Theft from vacant parked campervans are a increasingly common occurrence particularly in the north island. However in a weekend attack on a young Dutch couple has shocked police and New Zealanders alike. The newlyweds, two months into their honeymoon were attacked by two masked men armed with a shotgun just before the couple were preparing to sleep. The incident occurred at the pituresque car park of Haruru Falls, just out of Paihia in the Bay of Islands.
The couple were forced into the back of the motorhome and tied up where the young women was raped by the two men in front of her husband. The two attackers thought to be local Maoris due to there description and knowledge of this remote area, then drove the van and hostages for several hours, forcing the couple to empty their bank accounts via automatic teller machines.
Detective Inspector Mike Pannett said such incidents were “extremely uncommon in the Far North area and police have significant concerns over the nature and seri Read more:robbed
Tourists deal a coup on travel to Fiji 2007-02-14 23:18:49 If you haven't heard already, Fiji has had another military led coup, the third in a well trodden path of Military leaders disposing of the elected government. These coups have a crippling effect on Fijis tourist dependent economy.
The recent coup has resulted in many countries issuing travel advisories warning against non essential travel. These warning together with the political uncertainty has resulted in an immediate fall in tourist booking from Fijis two largest markets namely Australia and New Zealand.
Tourist wholesalers have had a rocky road in recent years rebuilding tourist confidence only to have it shattered once again by the repetition of military coups. These inbound tourism operators have however gained the expertise to rebuild tourist numbers learnt from previous coups.
Someone's misfortune as another one gain aptly applies to Fiji travel deals on offer to Australian and New Zealanders wishing to ignore Government travel warnings. Holiday makers have flocked to
Dying to come to New Zealand? 2007-02-25 04:14:20 In keeping with our doom and gloom New Zealand
travel theme, we thought it would be prudent to publish recent statistics relating to accidental death of tourists in New Zealand
.
In the five years to September 2006 some 779 overseas residents died in New Zealand. In comparison, 95 tourist deaths occurred in Australia for the two year period between 2003 and 2005. A direct comparison with NZ and Australian figures are not available due to the lack of NZ government agencies collecting these statistics.
Although Australian international visitor numbers are nearly three times those of New Zealand, an extrapolation of international visitor deaths would suggest that the New Zealand's tourist death rate is over three times more than in Australian.
New Zealand is still a very safe destination to visit. An analysis of these statistic reveal that the cause of death are mainly grouped by three areas.
Traffic accidents resulting from driving on the wrong side of the road and fatigue. A Land Trans Read more:Dying
NZ tourist scam 2007-02-25 00:59:53 You don't hear about many scams committed against tourist
to New Zealand, but when you do they are often classic humour.
My all time favourite was the tour bus guide that would charge each of his passengers a $20 departure tax for leaving the North Island to transverse the Cooks Strait to the South Island.
The latest in a very short list of New Zealand tourist scams, is the sale of working visas. The visas permitted the bearer to gain paid employment for the country of "Aotearoa". Aotearoa is commonly given as the Maori name for New Zealand.
New Zealand accommodation world class. 2007-03-01 01:09:41 Five New Zealand
hotels and luxury lodges have gained a place on the prestigious Conde Nast Traveller magazine list of the world’s best hotels. Conde Nast Traveller magazine latest 2007 Gold List includes Huka Lodge, Taupo, Kauri Cliffs in Northland, Wharekauhau lodge, Wellington’s Bolton Hotel and Blanket Bay Lodge located on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown.
Huka lodge is a regular on the list, however Queenstown’s Blanket Bay Lodge received special recognition for their level of food and was described as a “gourmet haven” by the magazine. It was the only New Zealand
property to feature on the food Gold list. Conde Nast Traveller compile the Gold list using feedback from both readers and the magazines many roving editors.
Read more:class
NZ visitor numbers decline 2007-03-01 23:45:41 Earlier on February 15th I posted a prediction of a potential drop in overseas visitor numbers to New Zealand with the promise of a update when statistics become available.
The statistics are now out and show the number of short-term overseas visitors declined 2 per cent, compared with the same period in 2006. Japan which is traditionally a strong market at this time of the year for New Zealand visitors, showed the largest decline of 19 per cent.
The Tourism Industry is blaming the high New Zealand dollar for the decline. Analysing the NZD/USD exchange rate show that the dollar was trading at .68 to .70 range December/January last year compared with its present .69 to .71 range. I believe the fall out from the Fijian coup that I reported previously has had a much greater effect than the reported higher exchange rate.
Fiji is heavily discounting accommodation and airfares which must be viewed as strong competition to New Zealand as a destination. The traditional Fiji stopover may now se
More Flights but less Queenstown accommodation. 2007-03-07 00:22:52 The same week Qantas and Air New Zealand announced an increase in direct flights from Australia to Queenstown for the coming ski season, the Queenstown Lakes District Council has threatened a clampdown on short term holiday rental properties.
The council strategy committee has recommended that accommodation owners that rent their property for more than 28 days require a special consent. The controlled activity resource consent will often require neighbour approval, traffic management considerations, added parking requirements, noise abatement and the list goes on and on in a typical bureaucratic way.
The resultant effect of this proposal and associated compliance cost will see a rapid decline in available accommodation for those people seeking larger properties with full facilities. This type of accommodation has historically been popular with Australian families and skiers.
The latest apartment boom in Queenstown has been fuelled by projected holiday rental return and has proven popul
The next flight could be tomorrow 2007-03-17 01:45:25 The recent public out cry over New Zealand's largest national carrier "Air New Zealand’ policy of over booking flights, has led the Consumer's Institute to speak out.
Overbooking is a standard practice in the aviation industry because of the significant percentage of passengers who do not turn up for flights. Air New Zealand will endeavour to book you on the very next flight, however in many small regional airports the next flight could be the next day.
Air NZ require a minimum of 30 minutes check in prior to departure. Many travellers are claiming that Air NZ are using this check-in policy as a excuse to bump passengers off flights. Passengers have reported arriving a few minutes past the 30 minute minimum to find check-in staff claiming the flight is closed rather than the flight is over sold. Depending on your ticket type a closed flight can effectively mean that you have missed your flight and forfeited the fare. Non transferable ticket conditions usually always apply t Read more:tomorrow
Delays and Who Pays 2007-03-25 05:32:41 When travelling by air around New Zealand you only have the choice of two airlines, Air NZ covering all the major towns and cities while Qantas only services the main trunk routes, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.
Now with this in mind if you are using our regional carriers to connect with a different international airline the you need to check your status if you miss your connection due to a delay caused by the internal national carrier.
If your internal New Zealand flights were ticketed together with your international flight then you are covered for the cost of the delay and subsequent NZ accommodation costs incurred. If however you have made separate arrangements exclusive from one another then you could be out of pocket.
Although NZ consumer law requires that the airline compensates you for any reasonable costs. This does not include delays for safety reasons and weather issues.
A recent personal experience comes to mind. A flight from Queenstown to Auckland for Read more:Delays
Fiji Coup & Visitor Arrivals 2007-03-25 03:53:54 It has been seven years since I have travelled to Fiji. I was keen to explore the new developments at Denarau Island and reorientate myself after such a long absence.
Fiji latest coup has been generally well received by the local population and has been described as a very smooth coup. Apart from the occasional military road block there is little evidence of military muscle and in true Fijian style one of these road blocks was manned by a soldier asleep behind his machine gun.
As reported earlier, visitor arrival numbers suffer during this political unrest, however the Fiji visitors bureau is hoping the industry will recover by June and arrival numbers will once again be over the 50 000 per month figure.
The bureau has reported that tourist arrivals were better than forecast. In January 26 000 visitors were forecast to arrive with actual numbers exceeding 35 000. Februarys forecasted 26 000 visitor arrivals resulted in 34 000 arrivals.
Bureau chief executive Viliame Gavoka said that Read more:Visitor
Unaccompanied Children to Heavy to Fly 2007-04-11 02:59:27 I have previously talked about the increased tendency to bump passengers from New Zealand flights with a subsequent warning to check in early.
The latest story to float around our shores is the story of two unaccompanied children aged 8 and 11 that were bumped of a Qantas flight from Wellington to Australia.
The two children where checked in by their Aunty and check in staff were informed that the children were travelling alone. Special assistance was requested.
Later the children where denied boarding and rerouted to Auckland for a later connection to Australia.
Qantas claim that 8 passengers were bumped due to a aircraft over weight problem and claim that as the booking was made via the internet they were not aware of the unaccompanied status of the two children.
It seams rather unusual to deny boarding due to a weight issues of two very little and rather light children if aircraft take off weight was truly the issue.
Read more:Children
, Heavy
NZ inexpensive hotel rates 2007-04-11 02:33:54 Hotels.com annual Hotel Price Index has been released and show that New Zealand accommodation is among the cheapest in the world. The online agency surveyed 20,000 hotels.
The survey showed that the average cost of a hotel room in New Zealand was $153 a night while in the countries larger cities, Wellington proved to be the most expensive at an average of $164 while Auckland came in at $157 average per night. This compares with Moscow’s average double room rate was $476 followed closely in second place, New York at $429.
The world’s cheapest city for international class accommodations was Bangkok, at $122 per night.
New Zealand’s accommodation prices compare very favourably at the lower end of the survey however it should be noted that if you are looking for luxury accommodation, NZ rates are up there with some of the most expensive charged in large cities like London.
NZ Deer Roar results 2007-04-23 00:54:59 The New Zealand annual deer roar hunt has just finished with great results
reported from trophy hunters particularly in the South Island. Deer numbers have increased over the years due mainly to the end of decades of helicopter hunting which helped established New Zealand’s farm populations. As these farms carried out breading programs the need for live wild deer diminished resulting in less pressure on the wild population.
For those not familiar with “The Roar” it is a period of about four weeks when male stag deer are actively mating and there calls or roar can be heard through out the forest and parks through New Zealand. At this time Stag deer have fully developed antlers and can be called to the hunter by imitating the roar sounds.
The reason for the ’Roars” popularity with trophy hunters is that the old shy stags are usually never seen outside this period where their mating desire makes them most vulnerable.
Many overseas hunters flock to New Zealand during this period
One lane bridges 2007-04-30 01:36:05 Unless you come from rural areas you may not be aware of the one lane bridge sign that are very common on New Zealand roads.
Another recent accident between two tourist driving rental cars has once again highlighted the need for visitors to familiarise themselves with this type of traffic hazard.
New Zealand country roads and state highways cross many rivers that are often only bridged by a one lane roads. The announcement of the upcoming one lane bridge is by means of a sign indicating which side of the road has the right of way and which lane has to give way. The signs are as follows.
The first sign indicates the upcoming one lane bridge with the red arrow indicating that you are to give way to traffic approaching or on the bridge heading towards you. If the red arrow was on the other side point towards you, this would indicate that you have the right of way and that all on coming traffic must give way to you. The second sign show this and also indicates the two different formats o
NZ ‘ers’ travel overseas choose to travel at home? 2007-04-27 01:55:05 New Zealand’s largest newspaper ran an article on Friday April 20, 2007 - “More NZers travelling overseas
” and then on Thursday April 26, 2007 the same paper ran a story “ More NZers choose
to travel at home”
The latter story was based on a Ministry of Tourism survey of 15000 house holds and concluded that overseas travel by New Zealanders declined by 0.4 per cent.
Fridays story arguing that more New Zealanders were travelling overseas was based on figures published by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) and showed 132,400 resident departures in March, compared with 123,600 for March a year earlier.
So what’s really happening with the domestic market. Both figures are correct. That is to say, the record high New Zealand dollar has posted it highest value against the US dollars since its float, has meant that more New Zealanders are taking advantage of cheaper overseas holidays.
With the domestic economy booming in recent years many New Zealanders are travelling more both domestica Read more:lsquo
NZ Toilet training 101 2007-05-07 02:32:33 “Don’t use New Zealand country side as a toilet” was the message from Queenstown Lakes mayor and councillors at a recent meeting. During a very heated discussion at the board meeting, Queenstown mayor Clive Geddes has suggested that the council support a national policy for freedom campers, in a bid to stop urinating and defecating waterways, picnic spots and roadside rest areas.
The mayor and board contended that tourists cause most of the problem which is slowly increasing due to the advent of cheap camper van rentals that are not self contained with toilet facilities.
The board recommended that Queenstown council develop a freedom camping policy that could involve the banning of campervans without toilet facilities from over nighting in many areas. As well, the board resolved to work with the New Zealand Ministry for the Environments tourism waste working group which was established 15 months ago to advice policy in this area.
Queenstown mayor stated that a educational progr Read more:Toilet
Use it or Lose it Fares. 2007-05-08 01:01:03 I have touched on this earlier but I feel it prudent to expand and clarify further the potential airfare saving while flying internally in New Zealand.
As previously stated, a domestic fare purchased in conjunction with your international ticket offers the traveller the protection against costs associated with a missed international connection resulting from delays caused by the domestic New Zealand carrier.
Now this is an important form of insurance that however comes at a high cost. New Zealand’s two airlines offer a three level fare structure, “use or lose it”, semi flexible, and fully flexible. The cost difference between the lowest fare level and highest can be as much as three times the price.
When you book your NZ domestic fares overseas with your international flights, you will be charged the highest fully flexible airfare in order for the airline to guarantee the costs of delays. Your travel agent will rarely proffer this information. The cost of this peace of mind can,
Squeeze on flying 2007-05-19 03:07:01 With the latest announcement by Air New Zealand that they are going to increase the seating onboard their 737 NZ domestic fleet it makes more sense than ever to tour this country by road.
Air NZ is adding one more row or six seats resulting in less leg room on what locals describe as already cramped flights. Industry sources are asking the airline to decrease fares due to the new increased capacity . Well that will be a wait and see prospect as the local carrier operates in what can only be described as a duopoly.
New Zealand is relatively small in size so the best way to travel and see the sights is by renting a vehicle, allowing you the freedom to go as you please. Air travel domestically is relatively expensive by international standards which makes rental car or motor home hire a more attractive proposition.
We answer many enquiries from travellers asking the feasibility of driving from this town to another. The underling feeling from these enquiries is that most travellers are uns Read more:Squeeze
Audio tour New Zealand 2007-05-17 00:31:05 A great way get the most out of your independent tour of New Zealand
is to use audio guides. Dayout.co.nz offers travel guides to popular New Zealand
locations.
These guides can be downloaded onto your computer, internet capable PDA, MP3 player or iPod for NZ $ 9.95 for the whole 200 guides. These guides include mini maps that can be printed out to follow while you listen to the audio description.
The guides are written by professional writers and covers all of New Zealand from Northland to Southland. The North Island of New Zealand is divided into eight regions, while the South Island has five. Within each region there is up to twenty mini audio tours covering the countries many “must do” sights.
If you are only touring smaller sections of New Zealand you can now download those areas of specific interest directly to your mobile telephone for NZ $1.25 each.
Read more:Audio
Vehicle Burglary Epidemic 2007-05-24 16:47:45 The insurance council have just released disturbing figures for car burglary or theft from vehicles. The council reported 50 000 claims for losses or damage to parked cars caused by thieves breaking into vehicles in the last year. Insurance firms believe that this figure could be much higher as many crimes go unreported.
Wellington police have reported a epidemic in recent months with an average of 10 cars targeted in the city every day. Once again Detective Senior Sergeant Warwick McKee claims that this figure is lower than the actual as these crimes often go unreported In the past week alone 88 break-ins were reported to local police.
McKee said many motorists are unwittingly encouraging thieves by leaving items in their cars in plain view. “Theft from vehicles is an opportunistic crime,” he said.
“Thieves only target cars that have got property that’s visible inside.”
The insurance council is warning vehicle owners that premiums will go up to cover the Read more:Vehicle
C Rate B&B Accommodation 2007-05-23 18:21:49 At the recent Trenz 2007 travel industry conference held in Rotorua, A British travel executive from Travelmood UK claims that there are to many B&B’s in New Zealand masquerading as luxury lodges or boutique hotels.
The popularity of operating part time life style bed and breakfasts was frustrating inbound travel companies due to the difference in the travellers perception and the delivery of the accommodation.
Tourism Industry Association chief executive Fiona Luhrs agreed that “lodge” and “luxury” descriptions were overused, resulting in confusion for the up-market accommodation sector.
Travelmood UK claims many part time B&B owners are rating there properties at $300-$500 per night and were not offering the level of service tourists expected for the prices charged.
These criticisms are well based and many travellers can get caught out when booking sight unseen. New Zealand’s Qualmark standard is an efforts to create some defining standard and was Read more:Accommodation
Illegal Mountain Guides 2007-05-21 19:44:15 The recent court case of a recreation guide fined for running an illegal operation in New Zealand’s Mt Aspiring National Park highlights the potential safety issues faced by his clients. The outdoor recreational guide admitted a charge in the Queenstown District Court of guiding people without a Department of Conservation (DOC) concession.
The requirement to hold a concession to take paying clients into NZ national parks is more than a revenue rasing exercise. This court case outlined the safety concerns and requirements to guide visitors into some of New Zealand’s more rugged back country.
Mt Aspiring National park from Lake Wanaka
The guide in question was warned last year by DOC about running a commercial operation in a national park without its authority. The guide then applied for a permit to take clients on a 10 day climbing trip to Mt Aspiring which was granted subject to conditions. The permit was subject to providing DOC with an independently audited safety plan owing Read more:Mountain
, Guides
Trust your Travel Agent? 2007-06-06 19:02:10 With Air New Zealand recent announcement of their online sales surpassing $1 billion in a financial year for the first time, it appears that more people are shunning travel agents.A recent guest to New Zealand told me an interesting story regarding travel planning and his experiences involving a large chain of Australian travel agents.
Before the advent of the internet, travel agents were the only way one could book and plan a overseas holiday. There are two methods that travel agents book accommodation in New Zealand for inbound guests-
1. Direct booking with the New Zealand accommodation providers. The agencies in return ask a commission of 30% from the property
2. Many agencies negotiate monthly minimum guaranteed room bookings. It works like this, the travel agent books X amount of rooms per month at a heavily discounted rate and agree to pay the accommodation provider for those room regardless of whether the agents filling these rooms.
Now in both methods the guest, in this case a Read more:Travel
, Agent
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