Introduction
Original Dateline: Auckland January 12,
1996. (When the Net was still new outside the academic /
military world and few had heard of the WWW.)
Latest Update: 4 August 2004
When I was a kid of about 12, I went on a Boy Scout trip to the South Island and for over 50 years since I've never stopped travelling the length and breadth of this breathtakingly beautiful country. Over those years I've published a variety of Visitors Guides, trying to transmit to other travellers the things I've learned that will enhance their visit.
Breaking free of the limitations, the linearity, of printers, paper and ink I commit these ideas now to the ether of the information highway - make use of them as you will. Any ideas, suggestions or queries are very welcome. Talk to me at drm@visitnz.co.nz.
The objective of the exercise is to give you the essential information, at a strategic level, to plan a visit to New Zealand. That means trying to chronicle the major attractions in each region so that you can budget time and distance.
It never ceases to amaze me, as someone who talks to many hundreds of travellers just as they are about to set out on their journey of discovery, that they have no idea of where to go. I guess they just potter along taking whatever comes along . . .and that's OK. Except isn't it galling to find, after you got home and started to read the instructions, that just two or three kms from your set track was something really fascinating, something you'd really liked to have done or seen or experienced?
In my humble way I hope I can assist by cataloging the best of what's to be had - spreading before you a veritable smorgasbord of peripatetic delights to tempt you into perhaps staying a few days longer.
That's the strategic stuff. Where do we go, why, and what do we want to do there.
But there's also the tactical stuff: What other things can we do when we get there? Where do we stay? Where do we find those special restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs that provide the herbs and spices to the main course, the scenery? Right now I'm working on that - an eTravelGuide to New Zealand. You can downloaad the Auckland material right now.
In the meantime, accept these offerings for what they are . . . the meanderings of a wanderer, or the wanderings of a meanderer . . . not always coherent, certainly not compleat. But then, can any true travel guide ever be compleat? I think not.
A confession: I work for a family-owned rental car company called Downtown Rentals. My motives in publishing this are not, therefore, as pure as the driven deeply-cold-white-stuff. If you are thinking of using rental cars, or buying a car while you are here . . . and it really is the only way to see it all . . . have a look at our rates and options.
So . . . enjoy planning your visit. But most important of all, enjoy every hour you are here. It really is, as one of our early Prime Ministers, "King" Dick Seddon, said, "God's Own Country".
Kia kaha.
| Get
my detailed Travel Guide To Auckland Download a detailed guide on where to stay, where to eat, where to shop in Auckland. Written by a local who eats, lives and shops in his own city every day. Guaranteed to save you money and make your stay a lot more enjoyable, Get more details. |
Home Page
All you need to know about a visit to the
place where God set the contrast and colour and man
hasn't fiddled with the dials.
Introduction
What, hopefully, you'll get out of this
mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.
General Information
Background bumpf on the country.
Getting In
Visas, customs, immigration, duty free
shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody
important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.
Getting Around
Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or
by sea.
Accommodation
"nuff said.
The Regions
What to see, what to do, why to go there.
Special Interests
Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing,
skiing - and more.