Here you will find information on traveling to and within New Zealand. We will provide links to transport and lodging web sites and try to provide some handy hints and anecdotes along the way.

From 1 July 2008, travel from or via Auckland International Airport will incur an additional Passenger Service Charge of $13 per person per one-way journey. This charge replaced the $25 departure fee paid at the Auckland International Airport.

Air New Zealand not alone with new charges for second bag
SAN FRANCISCO -- Continental Airlines Inc. said late Friday it will begin charging a $25 fee for a second checked bag to help offset rising fuel costs beginning May 5. The carrier joins Northwest Airlines Corp. , UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and U.S. Airways Group Inc. who have also said they will begin charging $25 for a second checked bag on May 5.
Note: On a slow news day in New Zealand, the New Zealand Herald decided a $20 charge for a second bag was worth a front-page headline! Either that or Air New Zealand hasn't purchased enough advertising space in the Herald lately. WW


Time Zone
New Zealand is 12 hours ahead of Greenwich mean time making it one of the first places in the world to see the new day. Summer time (Daylight Saving Time) is an advance of one hour at 2am in the morning on the first Sunday in October and back to NZST at 3am in the morning on the first Sunday morning of April. NZST (GMT+12) or NZDT (GMT+13) October - March.

Traffic Lights:
North American and Canadian visitors:
In New Zealand you cannot turn left when a stop light at an intersection is still red!

FOR THAT SPECIAL TOUCH OF NEW ZEALAND ON YOUR ENTIRE TRIP CHOOSE OUR NATIONAL CARRIER:
From the USA to New Zealand and US residents travelling overseas:(flights ex-USA)
A list of Air New Zealand Web Specials:

New Zealand residents travelling abroad (flights ex-NZ)
or within New Zealand:
Air New Zealand Hot Deals

For low New Zealand domestic airfares: Check This Out Flight specials change daily!
Now these are what I call special: Grab-a-Seat
(In the movie Space Balls, Dark Helmet orders Colonel Sanders to go to Ludicrous Speed! It has nothing to do with Air New Zealand (they were in a space Winnebago) except these are ludicrous prices!)

Try This - How Far will Your Dollar Take You?

The above links to Air New Zealand will always show the most current prices and best deals offered. Anytime you or someone you know wants to fly, check with Wilderness Wally!

Signs of the Times
In a Yugoslavian hotel: The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid.
In a Japanese hotel: You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid.
In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery: You are welcome to visit the cemetery where Russian and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursday.

Air New Zealand ranks second in world!

Money Exchange:
Just a word to the wise, when travelling overseas, exchange a small amount of money for your destination currency 'before leaving.'

Not only will you probably get a better exchange rate at a local bank (assuming they carry the destination currency) but you will also be assured of having enough cash to get local transportation or other necessities in case machines don't work at the destination airport.

Wilderness Junior faced this problem when landing at LAX last year. He didn't carry any cash, assuming he could use his credit card in a machine at the airport. The machines didn't work! There he was at the airport in LA without a dime.

I won't go into the drama that he experienced except to say he finally found a lone machine, deftly hidden, that thought he looked honest enough to give him some (of his own) cash.

Mobile phone service while travelling:
'Generally' the most cost effective way of getting mobile phone service while travelling is to buy a SIM card in the destination country. Assuming you will be there for longer than just a couple of days.

Most importantly, the phone you are using must be a multi-frequency (usually referred to as tri-band and now quad-band)GSM network phone and it must be 'unlocked.' There are many ins-and-outs to this subject so look into this before leaving home.

Click here for a web site that might help.

When we go to the US we usually buy a Cingular or T-Mobil SIM card for our unlocked, GSM mobile phone.

Region GSM Frequency
Europe 900/1800MHz
Asia Pacific 900/1800MHz
North America 850/1900MHz
Caribbean 900/1800/1900MHz
South America 900/1800/1900MHz

Coming to NZ with Laptop Computers: You will need an RJ45 type plug so you can connect your laptop into a computer socket in New Zealand, and an adaptor with a flat two or three-point power plug to connect to the power supply.

Air New Zealand Buys Dreamliners from Boeing
Air New Zealand's purchase of eight 787 Dreamliners will enable the airline to dramatically increase the destinations it flies to. Air NZ will pay about US$1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) for eight 787s, the first of which will go into service in late 2010.

The new planes mean between 20 and 25 new routes were now being seriously considered, said group general manager international, Ed Sims. Air NZ currently flies direct to just 10 long-haul destinations.

"If you put a blindfold on and tried to design the perfect aircraft for Air New Zealand, you couldn't come up with anything better than the 787," he said.

New Zealand's most affordable places

New Zealand Visitor Information: The Visitor Pack is designed for people who are considering a holiday in New Zealand and would like additional tourist related information, including if their country has a visitor visa waiver with New Zealand. Also included in each Visitor Pack is the official immigration visa application forms and documents for those that are required to have a visitor visa to enter New Zealand. New Zealand Visitor Visa Pack

Seen in a Zurich hotel: Because of the impropriety of entering guests of the opposite sex in the bedroom, it is suggested that the lobby be used for this purpose.

New Zealand Immigration Information: For informative current advice and official government documentation regarding NZ visas, permits and residency along with knowledgeable articles on Government & Law, Kiwi Business, Education, Employment, Cost Of Living and New Zealand Life.
New Zealand Immigration Packs

Link to a list of countries on the Visa Free List

Link to a list of airlines currently flying to New Zealand

INSIDE NEW ZEALAND
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Link to New Zealand Met Service

Power: New Zealand has a 230 - 240 voltage power supply, and power adapters will be needed for most international plugs. North American 110 volt items should not be used, unless you have an adapter.

Electrical power points are usually three pins and for those visitors from 230volt countries, adapters to fit local sockets can easily be purchased.

Driving in New Zealand - Most importantly, we drive on the left side of the road! When you are on the road with other cars this is quite obvious. The danger lies when your car is the only only one visible.

Think left:
It is just as important to think left when stepping off a kerb to cross a street. Motorcyclists find it much more difficult to adapt, try tying a red rag to the left handlebar to remind you of this important difference.

Intersections:
Another feature of New Zealand driving is that we have a unique give way rule at intersections. Become familiar with this before taking to the road.

Traffic Circles:
In his blog A New Zealand Motorcycling Adventure Steve Larsen says about Traffic Circles; "Further complications came from traffic circles (called rotaries or roundabouts elsewhere). If your only experience with them is from the Boston area, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the civility and smooth traffic now at these intersections. These you enter and bear left and go around clockwise, yielding to traffic on the right."

This blog is a very good read by the way. On the other hand, I remember the rule about traffic circles by the saying; "If you get hit on the driver's side of your car by another car, you are in the wrong." I know, if you get hit by another car it's too late! I thought of that too.