Road tripping through NZ in comparison to Australia
I really enjoyed this week’s session because we got to know so many aspects about New Zealand as a country worth travelling through.So I thought I’d compare an imaginary roadtrip through NZ with the actual roadtrip my sister and I did through Australia in 2015.
The year before last, my sister and I did a roadtrip in a campervan along the west coast of Australia. We had a pretty tight schedule because we only had about 20 days to travel from Perth to Darwin. We’re talking about a distance of around 5,000 kilometres in said 20 days! The thing is, Australian motorways are quite different from German highways, where you can easily drive 140 km/h. On Australian motorways you can pretty much only drive around 100 km/h. You can imagine that it will take you a while to get from A to B!
Now, in New Zealand, we don’t really have these immense stretches of land that one has to cover in Australia. Instead, we have a rather small country. Nevertheless, it takes quite a long time to get from A to B. This is due to many highways / motorways being only one lane and also because of the speed limit of 100 km/h. Also, because New Zealand, different to Australia, has many hills and mountains that one has to drive around. Therefore, you might only have a trip of, say, 100 kilometres one day, but it will probably still take you a couple of hours to reach your destination because you will have to drive around many curves and bends.
Another aspect you have to consider when going on a roadtrip is the side of the road people drive on — something that Australia and New Zealand have in common, since in both countries one drives on the left side of the road. When I first came to Australia, this was really hard to get used to! And it’s not only because you constantly have to remind yourself not to drive on the right side — literally or figuratively. You also have to remember that the gear stick is on your left rather than on your right side. In the beginning, I always banged my right hand on the door before I realized that I have to use my left hand to use the gear stick now. Thank God the pedals aren’t the other way round as well. Imagine having to use the break with your left foot! I also remember one time I was driving up a mountain and there weren’t a lot of cars around. After I turned off the road I was driving on and onto another road, I unconsciously resumed driving on the right side of this road. Fortunately, I soon realized something was off and I drove over to the left side. This is also something you have to bear in mind when roadtripping NZ. Because roads are often not frequently used by many people, one is tempted to drive on the right side of the road after having stopped for lunch.
Lastly, you always have to decide what you want to see and what not. You can’t see everything — as much as you might want to. This is something my sister and I also realized pretty soon. At first, we were like “Yeah, we can do all of this! We can see every attraction and every scenic lookout.” This is not how it works, unfortunately. Firstly, you might not have the time to see everything. Secondly, you might not have the money to see everything. And thirdly, there will come a point at which you will just be tired of driving, and driving, and more driving, and you will be content to stay in one town for more than one or two days so that you don’t have to drive to the next destination the next day. That’s why you should make a list of the things you absolutely want to see while being in NZ but you should remember that it’s impossible to see everything. If you only see some of the wonderful things NZ has to offer, you will also appreciate those a lot more!
I hope that this little episode of my roadtrip wasn’t too long or uninteresting and that I could draw your attention to a few things you will have to consider when roadtripping NZ.
