New Zealand Drive Program


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Folks,
Its was in the year 2009 when I landed in New Zealand & spent 10days driving in the beautiful country. Trust me, NZ is a drivers paradise. Firstly, its right hand drive similar to India, secondly, all road signs/maps are in english & last but not the least the roads themselves. Butter smooth hard tops carressing through the countryside, minor elevations & curves throughout the journey(unlike boring motorways of USA). Miles & miles of roads bordering the vast ocean on one side & snow capped peaks on the other, flat plateau like land/forest with the road cutting through it. The air was so pure, every car would feel like a S class on these roads!

We had hired a Toyota Corolla and was surprised to find out that the car was a hatchback in NZ. It didn't matter cause we were three adults & not much luggage. We did have to split fold the backseat though to make space. But the best part was its engine. It had a 1.8lt petrol with auto transmission. It got me smiling from the moment the 'Europcar' guy came & handed over the keys to me. But my joy was shortlived as I soon found out that there wasn't much I could do with it, as the speed limit was a mere 100km/hr in the highways.

Driving in the cities like Queenstown, Christchurch, Dunedin was a breeze as parking was never an issue. The primary reason for this was less population resulting in fewer vehicles & very organised traffic. In fact theres hardly any traffic as we know it. I recollect fondly, our pickup car driver from the airport in Christchurch suddenly excalimed that theres a lot of traffic today. I looked ahead & saw hardly six to seven vehicles in front of us waiitng at the signal. Seeing this I asked him if he was referring to some other street, to which he replied that it's the traffic ahead of us that he is referring to. I sat back in my seat & chuckled in my mind trying to imagine what would have happened to this person if he were to come to India.

Apart from the roads, cars & road signs, people are very friendly in NZ (unlike their Aussie neighbours). They are always willing to help out with directions & also advising the more scenic or shorter routes to us a per our requirements.

NZ rocks and I hope to visit the stunning landscapes & drive across the incredibly pure country sometime again in my life.

Hope you like this small narrative...theres so much more to express...

Cheers

Jazzy
 

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Re: NZ Drive Program

That was a nice crisp review Jazzy but more of travel experiences would be great and only 2 pics! should post more to complete the T-LOG.

And regarding the traffic yes yo can hardly find any vehicles plying and my friend who had visited NZ told me that only once in a while he could hardly look at a speeding car.

BTW the second picture is a wallpaper item
 
Thread Starter #3
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Re: NZ Drive Program

Vishwas- [:)] Thanks a ton. Actually since this was was first travel related post I wasn't sure how people would receive it & hence kept it as short as possible. I'm glad you liked it. Will post a few more pictures & some narratives explaining the picture. BTW the second picture is of Lake Pukaki enroute to Mount Cook from Christchurch in South Island.

Cheers
Jazzy
 
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350Z

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Re: NZ Drive Program

It’s a joy reading that travelogue and watching those wonderful photographs. Do keep that coming. I couldn’t resist rating this thread 5 Stars. [thumbswink]

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #7
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Re: NZ Drive Program

In continuation to the travelougue, here are a few more pictures with brief narratives:
Pic1> The World's Steepest Street: Baldwin Street in Dunedin (yes I did conquer it[clap])

Pic2> 'The Devil's Staircase'- enroute to Queenstown from Te Anau (brilliant to drive on as you can well imagine)

Pic3> Monster Truck near Wanaka (alas didn't have time to drive one..how i wish [frustration])

Pic4> On the way to Paradise (Yes thats actually the name of the place). Need I say more about the roads?

Cheers

Jazzy
 

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In continuation to the travelougue, here are a few more pictures with brief narratives:

Pic2> 'The Devil's Staircase'- enroute to Queenstown from Te Anau (brilliant to drive on as you can well imagine)

Pic4> On the way to Paradise (Yes thats actually the name of the place). Need I say more about the roads?

Cheers

Jazzy
Those were good set of pictures[thumbsup].

Pic3> Monster Truck near Wanaka (alas didn't have time to drive one..how i wish)
It's a monster Bus!The name's awesome though.

Pic1> The World's Steepest Street: Baldwin Street in Dunedin (yes I did conquer it)
I would have admired at a distance! But while coming down yeehaww


dont ppl drive in nz or what. roads are empty! [surprise] anyway great travelogue dude!!
Guess they are not much enthusiastic like us Indians [glasses]
 
Thread Starter #11
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350Z: Really appreciate your rating, means a lot to me...thanks
Dodge: Yes thats precisely what I thought when I landed there!
Vishwas: Thanks again...
 
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Thanx for sharing your New Zealand experience. The photos are superb and the drive must have been great.

How did you get to choose the car. What were the options and what was the rate charged against them.
 
Thread Starter #13
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How did you get to choose the car. What were the options and what was the rate charged against them.
Chandranath- I had communicated on mail with Europcar & opted for a corolla.There are suvs available too. In fact on the last driving day we collected a Hyundai Tuscon from Christchurch to Picton (it was a free upgrade since we had gone to their outlet to collect the car).

Cheers

Jazzy
 
Thread Starter #14
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Guys,
A fee more pics of South Island NZ. On the last driving day I really enjoyed the adaptive cruise control feauture of the Hyundai Tuscon we were upgraded to. The speed was se at 100km/hr & I could feel the electronics working beneath to keep the speed in check on the gradients. In fact the car used to shift down a gear to maintain the speed on slightly higher inclines & also deccelerate accordingly on the downhill slopes.

Cheers

Jazzy
 

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