Mar 02, 2019

Some Observations!

Some observations from 2 Aussies on our NZ adventure.

Disclaimer: We are legends in our own lunch boxes so our own opinions and listing are not any sort of grading of importance or anything else … just as we have thought of them.

1.     The cost of living in NZ is a good bit higher than in Australia. E.g. Petrol at home average $1.40 per litre, here $2.10. Restaurant meals (average restaurants, not top end) are also more expensive, entrees in average places $18 – 22 and mains $38 – 42.

2.     Houses of similar quality here also a good 1/3 higher in price then at home from what we can see in real estate windows.

3.     On main highways, a good number of overtaking lanes.

4.     On secondary roads, a limited number of overtaking lanes but still not bad.

5.     Very limited pull over rest stops for heavy vehicles anywhere.

6.     Lots of cars pull over and encourage us past on our bikes. Could it be ….

a.     Because they are very courteous

b.     They appreciate there are often limited spaces for overtaking

c.     There are many outlaw gangs over here and they don’t want to run the risk of ticking anyone off

7.     More trucks seem to be parked up and in motels for the night than at home.

8.     Overall trucks must deal with steeper grades and more bendy roads than at home.

9.     We had experienced more bikers waving and nodding a hello in the first week on the road here than we have experienced at home in the last couple of years. Go figure! Anyway, we like it.

10.   The roadworks signs here make more sense, are less intrusive and annoying than at home and people take notice of them!

11.   We had been warned to be wary of white vans driven by non-English speaking international travellers, but they had been well behaved until 2 very notable experiences on the South Island. The only reason I’m still here is where I met one as he was overtaking a line of traffic there was about 8inches of seal beyond the fog line for a short distance, so I was able to ride on that. Made the heart pump I can tell you.