Loved NZ, and here are the reasons

This was a really special trip for us. Our first trip, even before we were married, was hitchhiking around Europe for months. We stayed in a small tent, and ate what we could buy in grocery stores. It was awesome. Our next big trip was a few years later, in 1975, when  we took our 74 Volks bug cross country for 6 weeks or so. We started by using the same tent we used in Europe, and then upgraded in Denver to a huge tent you could actually sit up in. At various times over the years, we've traveled with an 8 x 10 tent, a pop-up tent, a 19-foot hard sided trailer, a 35 foot class A motorhome, and a 28 foot motorhome. We've "moteled" it too. Usually we try to get our biggest bang for our buck, and save money where we can. 

This trip was a relatively last- minute choice for us, and as with most travel decisions we've made, settled on with little discussion. (Hey--you want to go to "fill in the blank"? Yeah, that'd be cool) What made it unique for us was that we decided to travel first class.

And rather than make all the accomodation and excursion reservations ourselves (aka me), we chose to have a tour company arrange everything: hotels, activities, transfers, travel methods. All we had to do was show up ( and pay the tour company).

So what we got was a fantastic trip in luxurious style, with activities that we loved. 

In these 3 weeks, we learned a lot about NZ , its culture, its plants, it's land, it's customs, and came away with a great deal of respect for this special place. If it weren't so far away from friends and family, and if I were looking for another country to live in, I would choose NZ. But I love the US -passionately, I couldn't be away from those I love, and I can't see myself ever leaving.

Along the way,  we had these minor observations about NZ:

• There are very few public waste receptacles in towns and cities. Yet the country is refreshingly clean. Even in Auckland, a city of 1.7MM people, there's no litter on the streets. Glorious!
• There are sheep everywhere. There are 4 sheep for every person in the country.
• In hotels, they give you 1 hand towel and 2 bath towels.
• In hotel rooms, they place 1 miniscule waste basket in the room.
• There is no tipping in restaurants. In casual restaurants,  you enter, check out the menu, and order and pay. Your food is delivered, you eat, then leave when you're done.
• Prices in the grocery store are reasonable.
• In summer (our only experience here), there are lots of tour busses and camper vans on the road.
• Other than sand flies, there are really not a lot of biting bugs here, even in the rainforest. But the sand flies are the equivalent of NH black flies, biting and itchy.
• Gas stations don't have trash receptacles or windshield wash cleaner or squeegee. 
• There are many one lane bridges. You may be driving on a 2 lane road at 60 mph, then find a one lane bridge ahead that requires you to stop and wait for a car coming in the opposite direction.
  
• Chinese tourists seem to make up over half the population.  We happened to be here during Chinese New Year, and I expect that made a difference. 
• There are signs along major road that warn: "Take care, Accident Black Spot"