New Zealand offers travellers a pristine experience

Scenic landscape: All over New Zealand you can find extremely scenic landscapes — a mix of ocean, cliffs and forests. Hundreds of scenic reserves and nature parks ensure greenery wherever you go. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Shakespeare Regional Park, Muriwai beach where hundreds of Australian Gannet birds reside.

Self-drive: Most nationals, including Indians, are allowed to rent a car and drive in New Zealand. This can be done with your Indian Driving Licence and no IDP (International Drivers Permit) is necessary. This will be a most fulfilling experience and cheaper than a taxi as well. I rented a Toyota Corolla from Avis and drove for about 300-400 km over three days. I could stop at various scenic spots at my convenience and enjoy the drive in New Zealand countryside. However, do study the rules and regulations that govern driving in New Zealand. Violation of rules could not only get you a penalty but in serious cases, your car may be impounded and you will have to walk home!

Caravan culture: New Zealand also has a great caravan culture. It is possible to rent a caravan and explore the country with family, as easy as it is to rent a car. Many national parks have dedicated areas for caravans.

Impressive islands: I took a couple of day tours from Auckland to Rangitoto volcanic island, Coromandel, etc. Rangitoto is the youngest and largest volcanic island around Auckland. Coromandel is a nice little town with a charm of its own. There’s an ancient driving creek railway track, originally used for transportation of clay and pine wood in the 1960s. Wine tours to Waiheke Island are popular with tourists too.

Extreme care to protect biodiversity and nature: New Zealand has some of the strictest rules on earth on what you can bring into their country and what is not allowed. NZ is an island country and its fauna and flora are susceptible to a wide range of biohazards and diseases, which have the potential to wipe out acres of greenery and wreak havoc on the economy. Thus there are extremely stringent immigration norms on declaring what you are allowed to bring in. If you’ve worked on a farm, you’re supposed to get your shoes sterilised before entering NZ. Wide range of home cooked food, meats, etc. are not allowed into New Zealand. Pay attention to rules and comply fully, else a hefty fine may follow. To give an example, not declaring an apple or orange can get you 200-400 dollars fine. This is because oranges and apples may have worm or insect that if they enter New Zealand, the environment could cause long term damage.

Kauri Dieback was another major crisis New Zealand had to deal with. The disease would kill trees it infects and there was no cure. The only solution is the prevention of its spread which can happen even via soil. Thus visit to various national parks requires you to sanitise your shoes to ensure no potential bacteria get transmitted.

History and cultural diversity: New Zealand had a local population of Maori in the early days. Over time many Europeans came and settled here. It was once a British colony like India. The history and cultural aspects of Maoris are an interesting thing to know, exhibited in detail at the Auckland Domain.

Ever changing weather: There’s a saying in New Zealand: “If you don’t like the weather, just wait for five minutes.” New Zealand weather tends to change very frequently from cloudy to windy to sunny to foggy. 

Hostels with community kitchens: New Zealand is relatively expensive to visit. A proper meal can set you back by about Rs 1000-1500. Most hostels in New Zealand thus offer a community kitchen, where guests can get their own groceries and cook some food for a fraction of what it costs in a restaurant. Using this facility it is possible to cut your expense significantly.

Overall, visiting New Zealand is so different from travelling to any crowded tourist destination. New Zealand offers a pure, pristine and precious experience of exploring a beautiful island country very different from the rest of the world.