Geography and Population Language Climate Passports and Visas Airport Customs Duty Free Allowance Departure Taxes Airport Transfers Goods and Services Tax Credit Cards Banking Health General Safety Getting Around Communications

Time Zones Public Holidays Disabled Facilities Dress Religion Sport Diving Photography Electricity Food and Restaurants Tipping Emergency Numbers Travel Tips Map of New Zealand

Geography and Population

Imagine the geography of Europe wrapped up in a much smaller package - that's New Zealand. There are alps and glaciers, fiords, sweeping green plains, volcanoes, majestic forests, sparkling lakes and beautiful beaches. Mountain ranges extend down much of the length of the country.

And there's a surprising amount of space for such a small package. The population is under 4 million people with the vast majority of them living in the three main cities of Auckland and Wellington on the North Island and Christchurch in the south. Auckland is the largest city and Wellington is the capital.

Language

English is spoken and, in spite of what the locals will tell you, they do speak with an excent (sorry, accent). You will come across many Maori words as well, especially in place names.

Climate

The seasons are quite pronounced and the weather can be changeable but temperatures only vary about 10 degrees between winter and summer. The north of NZ is sub-tropical and the south is temperate. Rainfall is higher on the west coast and snow is largely confined to the central part of the North Island (Mt Ruapehu area) and the Southern Alps.

For a current New Zealand 4 day weather forecast, click here.

Passport and Visas

All visitors must have a valid passport with at least three months validity beyond the date of departure and a ticket for return or onward travel. Tourist visas are granted on arrival, free of charge, for a stay of up to 3 months for most countries including visitors from Australia and the United States of America.

Airport Customs

There are three international airports, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Most travellers arrive via Auckland. If a New Zealand holiday is a stopover on the way to or from Australia, it may be worth considering Auckland - Christchurch - Australia (or vice-versa). NZ Customs operates a Dual Channel System - the Red and Green Channels - for clearance of air travellers.

• If you have any prohibited or restricted goods, or dutiable goods exceeding your duty free allowance, you should seek customs clearance at the Red Channel.
  
• If you do not have any prohibited, restricted or commercial goods, or dutiable goods exceeding your Duty/VAT concessions, you should use the Green Channel.

Note: Your baggage may be examined by Customs whether you take the Red or Green Channels.

Duty Free Allowance

Travellers over the age of 17 can import 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco, 1 x 1125ml bottle of spirits or liqueur and 4.5 litres of wine (6 x 750ml bottles) and up to NZ$700 per passenger of any duty free goods. There are airside duty free lounges in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Departure Taxes

An airport user fee of NZ$20 is payable by all international passengers 12 years and over departing from Auckland and NZ$25 from Wellington and Christchurch. Children aged 2 - 11 pay NZ$10 from Wellington.

Airport Transfers

Shuttle buses and taxis meet all flights. If transfers aren't included in your package, the costs from the airports to the city are approximately:

Destination	Distance	Taxi	Shuttle	Public Bus
Auckland	(25km)	NZ$35	NZ$15	NZ$10
Wellington	(8)	NZ$15	NZ$8	NZ$4
Christchurch	(11)	NZ$18	NZ$10	NZ$3

Goods and Services Tax

All goods and services are subject to a 12.5% tax (GST) which is usually displayed in the price. Visitors cannot claim a refund on this tax but if a supplier agrees to transport a major item to a visitor's home address, GST is not charged on the goods or the freight.

Credit Cards

All major credit cards are welcomed by most hotels, restaurants, shops, car rental companies and tour operators. Provided they are encoded with a PIN, international credit cards may be used to withdraw cash from automatic teller machines which are widely available in shopping centres and malls.

Banking

Normal banking hours are from 9:00am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday. All banks are closed on public holidays.

Health

There are no requirements regarding vaccinations. The water is completely safe to drink although, if you prefer bottled water, it's readily available.
New Zealand's public and private medical and hospital facilities provide a high standard of treatment and service but it's not free (except in the case of an accident). Health insurance therefore is highly recommended.

General Safety

New Zealand is one of the safest holiday destinations in the world but occasionally visitors can fall victim to petty crime (as they can anywhere!) Common sense should prevent this happening - lock unattended vehicles, don't leave cameras or other valuables lying about and use hotel safes for valuable. For more information on comprehensive travel insurance, click here.

Getting Around

Public transport is efficient and taxis are metered. Unless you take an organised coach tour, we recommend a self-drive holiday. It's the ideal way to get around, giving you the freedom to go where you want and when. The roads are excellent are posted with good signs.
There are more than 80 independently-owned visitor information centres throughout New Zealand, all coordinated by the NZ Tourism Board. Staff are committed to providing visitors with accurate and objective information about where to go and what to see. This Visitor Information Network has a distinctive logo:

Communications

Most hotels have direct dialing facilities. Check with the operator for long distance and international charges, which may also be found in the telephone directory. The international country IDD code for New Zealand is 64. Mobile customers are advised to check with their network operators for their roaming status before travelling to New Zealand. Mobile reception on the whole is good as are on-line facilities for email sending/collecting.

Time Zones

New Zealand is 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
As a result, when it is 9am in New Zealand it is:

• 9 pm in London - previous day
  
• 10 pm in Frankfurt - previous day
  
• 4 pm in New York - previous day
  
• 1pm in Los Angeles - previous day
  
• 7 am in Sydney - same day
  
• 6 am in Tokyo - same day

When your country is on daylight savings, add one hour to above time. From October to March, NZ time moves ahead one hour with its own daylight savings.

Public Holidays

New Year	1 January
Waitangi Day (New Zealand Day)	6 February
Good Friday	21 April (variable)
Easter Saturday	22 April (variable)
Easter Monday	24 April (variable)
Anzac Day	25 April
Queen's Birthday	7 June (variable)
Labour Day	25 October
Christmas	25 - 27 December

Retail stores in New Zealand are open 7 days a week in the suburban shopping malls, however are closed on Good Friday, Anzac Day & Christmas Day.

Disabled Facilities

New Zealand is a great destination for the disabled traveller. Apart from the sights being so accessible, the law requires that every new building and major reconstruction provide reasonable and adequate access for people with disabilities. Every motel and hotel must have units with accessible facilities.

Dress

Autumn and winter can be quite cold (see climate) and dressing in layers to put on or take off as required is a good idea. Coastal areas in summer are usually warm enough to go out in the evenings without a jacket, but it's still worth taking one (or a light jumper) in case the weather turns cooler. In the west and Fiordland you can expect some rain so a light waterproof jacket or coat is recommended.

Photography

The New Zealand scenery is so spectacular nearly every visitor will take home photos that look like postcards. You should also take a camera to any traditional Maori ceremonies. Because of the exchange rate it can be worth having your photos processed before heading home.

Electricity

230/240 volts, 50 hertz (same for Australia and most of the South Pacific).

Religion

New Zealand is a very multi-cultural society with the vast majority of the population being Christian, however there are many other denominations.

Sport


New Zealanders love sport.
In fact, this bit could well have gone under the previous heading. Rugby is huge in winter as cricket is in summer. For such a small population NZ produces an amazing number of world champions. 1999 however wasn't kind to the Kiwis on the international stage (rugby, rugby league, netball, cricket).
Undoubtedly NZ will bounce back to world champion status but, until then, it may be wise to avoid rugby wisecracks unless you're certain your audience has a sense of humour. (E.g. What's the difference between the All Blacks rugby team and an arsonist? An arsonist would never lose his last two matches.)
Other sports include soccer, golf, tennis, squash, badminton, hockey, netball and basketball, water-skiing, sailing, horse trekking, fishing and skiing.
It's also a great place for adventure sports like abseiling, rafting, cave tubing, kayaking, skydiving or swimming with dolphins. They're also big on bungy!
And, if you visit during rugby season, it's well worth catching a game to find out why EnZedders consider it to be the game they play in heaven.

Diving

Scuba diving in New Zealand is very underrated. There are many spectacular dives for both novices and certified divers (and, because of the exchange rate, offer great value). Two world-famous dive spots are Poor Knights Islands and the Rainbow Warrior wreck in the Bay of Islands.

Food & Restaurants

The range and quality of dining is superb. For a selection of fine restaurants, click here. Be sure to sample New Zealand wine with your meal, even if you don't find time to visit a winery.

Tipping

Tipping, even in restaurants is not expected. New Zealanders do not depend on tips for their income but if a visitor wishes to tip in appreciation for special service, attention or kindness, that's fine too. A tip of more than 10% would be over-generous. Service charges are not normally added to hotel or restaurant bills.

Emergency Numbers

Dial 111 for Ambulance, Police or Fire.
AA Highway Reports 0900 33222.

Travel Tips

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Contact Information
Phone:	+61 7 3876 4644
Fax:	+61 7 3876 4645
Email:	[email protected]