For the first time, we have had 25 nights away on holiday in New Zealand and at age 28 Francesca, our daughter is having 3 months away in Asia. Many students go travelling straight after university (or sometimes prior) before they start their career path. In New Zealand, we came across many young Brits extending their stay to fit the 3-year visa to maximise their visit and enjoy themselves. We also met two French visitors who had been to visit and have now been there 8 and 16 years!
I think there is a danger, as a Brit, that we live to work, whilst for instance the French tend to work to live. Maybe after Covid and working from home there is a different mindset over here too. Being now semi-retired we have more opportunity to take extended breaks as long as we aren’t away from Minnie (our mad Cockerpoo) for too long! What is particularly good now is that we have time before hand to look forward to our break and of course to look back and enjoy. When we worked full time, we never had time to enjoy the build up to our holiday. Suddenly we were back at work without being able to savour the break.
Why New Zealand made such a big difference for me
I felt totally detached after travelling for over 30 hours and more importantly having a 13-hour time difference which was refreshing in its own way. Nobody had any expectations of immediate message responses. Yet with family WhatsApp you could still give an immediate response normally at 8 in the morning or in the evening. In addition, as the holiday was effectively for a month nobody had any expectation regarding responses. A complete break mentally as well as physically.
Travelling
I naively thought NZ would be a bit like going to the Isle of Wight back in the 1990s with very little traffic. In fact, NZ felt more like the States with traffic flowing at the right speeds, not too quick and not too slow. Watch out for their 50 KPH limits around schools. NZ is such a safe place that the police have nothing better to do than catch out tourists and give them a 120 dollar fine! If you like driving around bends, up and down big dippers on the lefthand side of the road you will love driving in NZ. Maybe it is not quite so good for the passenger!
NZ Culture
Obviously, we only got a snapshot of what it would be like to live in NZ but here goes.
- Very relaxed, polite and courteous
- Environmentally very conscious
- Everywhere clean and tidy, no rubbish/chewing gum or dog poos on pavements or in the countryside (they don’t seem very keen on dogs or cats as they are not allowed in many public spaces)
- Excellent service, friendly, not expecting or fishing for tips
- Tap water immediately given in cafes and restaurants by professional staff, always paying at the till
- Excellent coffee
- They abide by the simple and sensible rules they have
- They honour their dead from wars and their history
- Multinational culture and they all seem to get along
- No obvious sign of drugs and homelessness that is so evident in Canada and the USA
- No potholes! (plenty of road works owing to resurfacing work for the long term!)
Whilst on our electric bike wine tour ride, we stopped to talk to an old guy painting by a scenic pond. He said “I was a bit flat at Christmas, all the relatives visiting and having parties – I am OK now for another 12 months! Who says all old people are lonely!
Simple and consistent rules to be followed throughout NZ
- Parking generally generally free, showing P15/30/60/120 for the waiting times in minutes
- Always parking in the direction of the traffic flow
- Filter lights at every major crossing which works extremely well although sometimes frustrating for pedestrians
- Showing recommended speed limits on bends from 15 KPH up to 65 KPH depending on acuteness
- Bin your rubbish with separate bins for recycling
- If traffic is building up behind you, be courteous and pull in to let the traffic pass (and they do it too!)
Summary
I fully realise NZ only has about 5 million people (as against 70 million in the UK) with 2 million based in Auckland on the North Island. They have an incredible amount of space including so many amazing mountains, lakes and scenic views. An incredible break, but to live there permanently would be difficult due to the big time difference and vast distance from here. They are literally at the bottom of the world having to fly both internally and externally to get anywhere.
I am fully recharged, so if you know of anybody who could do with coaching or mentoring support please get in touch at neil@nvwsolutions.co.uk. I must mention and thank Liz who put this holiday together for us as well as many others. So for any of your holiday plans, contact Liz Penn liz.penn@travelcounsellors.co.uk
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