Thread Starter
#1
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
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
![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
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.
![[thumbswink]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Thumbs%20&%20Wink.gif "Thumbs & Wink [thumbswink]")
![[clap]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Clap.gif "Clap [clap]")
)![[frustration]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Frustration.gif "Frustration [frustration]")
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![[surprise]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Surprise.gif "Surprise [surprise]")
anyway great travelogue dude!!![[thumbsup]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Thumbs%20Up.png "Thumbs Up [thumbsup]")
.![[glasses]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Glasses.gif "Glasses [glasses]")
