Haha great post! As for the things that you didn't like, us kiwis just think of those things as the norm and are so used to unreliable weather forecasts, having 4 seasons in one day and having everything overpriced! You're photos of your trip are amazing and it makes me want to re travel my own back yard :)
Fabulous pics, I am a NZ'er but now not living there. Yes you are right re the costs of everything but the friendliness of the locals and the most beautiful country makes up for that. Be fair re the weather....depends on where you go, but NZ can have brilliant weather with no rain! Just got to go there at the right time, in the summer usually.
Claudia Schneebacher
I have to agree with the Internet thing, it is overpriced. I traveled for 4 months in NZ but did not find it very expensive. We mostly cooked on one of the 100 campsites. It was great as you always had fresh fruit or veggies which came from NZ as everything is growing there! The weather was very good to, you just have to be lucky I guess. :)
Patti Centenera
The Internet! I so agree. It was the biggest challenge of all. There were seven of us, and the best we got was 500MB (shared) per day. One inn gave us a 30-minute limit per day.
Stacey Lee
I was in NZ for a year & agreed with what you said for most of the points but not the weather. :) I guess you just went on a "less fantastic" timing ;)
Deborah Sadler
Lov your blog. I'm from NZ but don't live there at the moment and one of the things that puts me off is the limited data plans and ridiculously priced internet. To be honest, when I lived there I didn't realise it was that bad but it really is.
I did the same mistake with the wifi. But it's really easy and cheap!
Every library in even the smallest town has free and unlimited wifi! I just spent 5 $ for Wifi in 6 month :-)
Chloe Vincent
mostly fair comments the weather comment is untrue, though enough people have already noted that ( i wouldnt go somewhere in winter and then say phoo this country has shit weather,...) and my other gripe is your comments about the food,.. i dont know where you were or what you were eating, but i think the food in new zealand is actually up there with the best in the world.(not to mention of course the coffee wine and some of the smaller boutique beers) if you are in auckland you have a pick of all the asian cuisines under the sun (aswell as all manner of fusion there of..) - indian food is unparalleled, aswell as awesome malaysian and fresh fresh fresh japanese. fish and chips in raglan? crayfish in kaikoura?eggs benedict on the waterfront in wellington? again just cos you ate marmite toast to save costs doesnt mean its fair to say new zealand food is bad ! sure it can be bad but then can you say that every single street vendor in bangkok is guaranteed great ? or do you have to sniff out the best ones ? otherwiese good article :-)
Samuel Raymond Wilson
As a kiwi I'd say you are spot on about the weather. Yeh there are places where the weather is constant but for the most part it will change on you, esp during spring. That's why we use the saying "four seasons in one day" around here.
I agree with the costs. definitely way too expensive even for us NZer's who live here! The matter of food is 50/50. Of course, you get what you pay for and not all places will give you the best, but if you look hard enough, you'll find little gems with quality food and believe it or not, quality prices where you'll leave satisfied. But again, the prices are the problem and I do find myself being incredibly stingy and underwhelmed when there's a place that has been all hyped up. Nonetheless, love your post and makes me wonder what the hell I'm doing still cooped up in Auckland! Thanks for the reminder of how beautiful NZ can be and showing others that its worth a visit!:)
Sophie Ford
What kind of camera do you use?
Alan Hong
I love the picture you took down there, it was nice, i used to live in NZ for almost 10 years, summer is just amazing and completely agree on the internet, price and somehow on the food. we are just too far away from the rest of the world. thank you for loving the country :)
Great photos and article. I agree with most points above apart from the food. Yes we are overpriced - our house prices are ridiculous too. Everything seems to be expensive and we don't get paid enough haha. As for the weather - yip it's changeable but we are islands and that is the reason why. That's why we always take a jacket with us wherever we go. We can't help it - it's drummed into us as kids and when we are adults, even if we are in a tropical country, we take something just in case it gets cold. The food I don't agree with though - we have great food here. I'm sorry you had a bad experience there. Yip it's expensive but you can get great food in NZ - it's usually fresh and you can find lots of veges everywhere. When I travelled overseas I found it hard to find a vegetable.
I like it how you're objective and have the guts to politely explain what you dislike about the country as well as its amazing assets. It's obvious you think New Zealand is a stunning country (it is) and no one would question that, but the way your dislikes were delivered was excellent. Well done. Safe travels to you. I look forward to reading more.
Stephen Terrence Hayward
Nz is wonderful but youve got too remeber the population of bangkok is triple of nz so unlimited internet more customers better price. food well last time i was in phuket i got typhiod pork on a stick is great tho. Another thing nz you wont see the poverty like you do in southeast asia. Saying that if i could id move too koh samui in a heart beat love my samui
I traveld to Australia with my family because my Dad had a dream of starting life anew down under. It was a tough gig that didn't really pan out. But, coming to, and heading back to the US we visited Auckland. We were there for just a short time but our experience still brings back memories. As stated in this blog, great people, and beautiful country (as seen in the three Hobbit movies). Yes, tough to get there from the US, and yes they suffer export/import-wise from being alone in that area of the world (high prices), and seeming lack the culinary spices/experiences/tastes from other cultures (I guess the isolationism). Australia's in the same boat. Again, I would love to re-visit with my family asap so they can cherish those same memories. Cheers!
We just got back from New Zealand after 3 weeks of exploring the North and South Island. Your post is spot on Pete!! Great summary. Missing New Zealand very much at the moment.
Lorna Marquet
You obviously didn't eat at the right places. The food in New Zealand is amazing and fresh. The restaurants in Auckland alone are world class. The wine is the best in the world. As for the weather, yeah it rains sometimes like anywhere in the world. Nothing beats a beautiful day in New Zealand, blue sky, crisp fresh air. Comparing New Zealand to South East Asia is odd, polar opposite.
Cait Kooistra
Thanks for writing this! I recently got back home after spending over a year in NZ, and it was nice to read about the good and bad. :)
Gotta agree with you, especially the sheep comment. Haha. Thanks for the great posts on NZ! It brought back memories of my own trip there last month
I miss my time in nz ... Very impt part of my life . Thanks for all the beautiful pictures
It is such a beautiful post.. will be travelling in Feb 2015 to NZ
Haha great post! As for the things that you didn't like, us kiwis just think of those things as the norm and are so used to unreliable weather forecasts, having 4 seasons in one day and having everything overpriced! You're photos of your trip are amazing and it makes me want to re travel my own back yard :)
Fabulous pics, I am a NZ'er but now not living there. Yes you are right re the costs of everything but the friendliness of the locals and the most beautiful country makes up for that. Be fair re the weather....depends on where you go, but NZ can have brilliant weather with no rain! Just got to go there at the right time, in the summer usually.
I have to agree with the Internet thing, it is overpriced. I traveled for 4 months in NZ but did not find it very expensive. We mostly cooked on one of the 100 campsites. It was great as you always had fresh fruit or veggies which came from NZ as everything is growing there! The weather was very good to, you just have to be lucky I guess. :)
The Internet! I so agree. It was the biggest challenge of all. There were seven of us, and the best we got was 500MB (shared) per day. One inn gave us a 30-minute limit per day.
I was in NZ for a year & agreed with what you said for most of the points but not the weather. :) I guess you just went on a "less fantastic" timing ;)
Lov your blog. I'm from NZ but don't live there at the moment and one of the things that puts me off is the limited data plans and ridiculously priced internet. To be honest, when I lived there I didn't realise it was that bad but it really is.
I did the same mistake with the wifi. But it's really easy and cheap!
Every library in even the smallest town has free and unlimited wifi! I just spent 5 $ for Wifi in 6 month :-)
mostly fair comments the weather comment is untrue, though enough people have already noted that ( i wouldnt go somewhere in winter and then say phoo this country has shit weather,...) and my other gripe is your comments about the food,.. i dont know where you were or what you were eating, but i think the food in new zealand is actually up there with the best in the world.(not to mention of course the coffee wine and some of the smaller boutique beers) if you are in auckland you have a pick of all the asian cuisines under the sun (aswell as all manner of fusion there of..) - indian food is unparalleled, aswell as awesome malaysian and fresh fresh fresh japanese. fish and chips in raglan? crayfish in kaikoura?eggs benedict on the waterfront in wellington? again just cos you ate marmite toast to save costs doesnt mean its fair to say new zealand food is bad ! sure it can be bad but then can you say that every single street vendor in bangkok is guaranteed great ? or do you have to sniff out the best ones ? otherwiese good article :-)
As a kiwi I'd say you are spot on about the weather. Yeh there are places where the weather is constant but for the most part it will change on you, esp during spring. That's why we use the saying "four seasons in one day" around here.
I agree with the costs. definitely way too expensive even for us NZer's who live here! The matter of food is 50/50. Of course, you get what you pay for and not all places will give you the best, but if you look hard enough, you'll find little gems with quality food and believe it or not, quality prices where you'll leave satisfied. But again, the prices are the problem and I do find myself being incredibly stingy and underwhelmed when there's a place that has been all hyped up. Nonetheless, love your post and makes me wonder what the hell I'm doing still cooped up in Auckland! Thanks for the reminder of how beautiful NZ can be and showing others that its worth a visit!:)
What kind of camera do you use?
I love the picture you took down there, it was nice, i used to live in NZ for almost 10 years, summer is just amazing and completely agree on the internet, price and somehow on the food. we are just too far away from the rest of the world. thank you for loving the country :)
Going to NZ in 14 days and appreciate your comments, especially the nature walks. Will be at Mt cook and Picton
What did u use for a cell phone plan?
Will be at Mt Cook Village, will definitely find the
Great photos and article. I agree with most points above apart from the food. Yes we are overpriced - our house prices are ridiculous too. Everything seems to be expensive and we don't get paid enough haha. As for the weather - yip it's changeable but we are islands and that is the reason why. That's why we always take a jacket with us wherever we go. We can't help it - it's drummed into us as kids and when we are adults, even if we are in a tropical country, we take something just in case it gets cold. The food I don't agree with though - we have great food here. I'm sorry you had a bad experience there. Yip it's expensive but you can get great food in NZ - it's usually fresh and you can find lots of veges everywhere. When I travelled overseas I found it hard to find a vegetable.
I like it how you're objective and have the guts to politely explain what you dislike about the country as well as its amazing assets. It's obvious you think New Zealand is a stunning country (it is) and no one would question that, but the way your dislikes were delivered was excellent. Well done. Safe travels to you. I look forward to reading more.
Nz is wonderful but youve got too remeber the population of bangkok is triple of nz so unlimited internet more customers better price. food well last time i was in phuket i got typhiod pork on a stick is great tho. Another thing nz you wont see the poverty like you do in southeast asia. Saying that if i could id move too koh samui in a heart beat love my samui
Of course. I mean those are negatives in relation to the awesome positives. :)
I traveld to Australia with my family because my Dad had a dream of starting life anew down under. It was a tough gig that didn't really pan out. But, coming to, and heading back to the US we visited Auckland. We were there for just a short time but our experience still brings back memories. As stated in this blog, great people, and beautiful country (as seen in the three Hobbit movies). Yes, tough to get there from the US, and yes they suffer export/import-wise from being alone in that area of the world (high prices), and seeming lack the culinary spices/experiences/tastes from other cultures (I guess the isolationism). Australia's in the same boat. Again, I would love to re-visit with my family asap so they can cherish those same memories. Cheers!
We just got back from New Zealand after 3 weeks of exploring the North and South Island. Your post is spot on Pete!! Great summary. Missing New Zealand very much at the moment.
You obviously didn't eat at the right places. The food in New Zealand is amazing and fresh. The restaurants in Auckland alone are world class. The wine is the best in the world. As for the weather, yeah it rains sometimes like anywhere in the world. Nothing beats a beautiful day in New Zealand, blue sky, crisp fresh air. Comparing New Zealand to South East Asia is odd, polar opposite.
Thanks for writing this! I recently got back home after spending over a year in NZ, and it was nice to read about the good and bad. :)
Thank you Cait!