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New Zealand Tourist Traps


Tips and photos of New Zealand tourist attractions and tourist traps, posted by real travelers and New Zealand locals.
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Don't be overweight with baggage.
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  • kiwi
  • By kiwi on February 28, 2005
  • New Zealand Page by kiwi
  • 20kg max - New Zealand
    20kg max
    by kiwi
    You have to send excess baggage home before you depart, if you are over your limit. You will be charged a LOT of money if you expect to fly with escess baggage. As you see, it's as high as $25/kg to some parts of the world.

    Call the airline before your day of departure to try to arrange some extra baggage allowance.

    Freight home a bag of stuff so you aren't overweight when you turn up at the airport for your flight.

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    Water or Sugar
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  • kiwi
  • By kiwi on February 7, 2005
  • New Zealand Page by kiwi
  • Bottled Water - New Zealand
    Bottled Water
    by kiwi
    Just take care when you want to buy bottled water. There are brands now, marketing water that has flavouring and sugars in, and claiming to be energy drinks.
    Some of it looks just like water, clear and lovely.

    Read the label to see if there are any additives in the so-called Water.

    Water is fine, our New Zealand water is particularly pure and wonderful to drink. Just make sure you are buying water.

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    Some Words on Fox Glacier Walk
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  • EagleEye
  • By EagleEye on April 17, 2004
  • New Zealand Page by EagleEye
  • Bored of waiting? - New Zealand
    Bored of waiting?
    by EagleEye
    Let's get it straight : the landscape here is wonderful. But, I though the glacier walk was far from what I expected : if you go for a so-called "falf-day walk", you'll end up walking around 45 minutes on the lower part of the glacier, obviously not the nicest...

    So you'd better go for the full day option which I did and we walked 2 hours (instead of the 1 and 1/2 scheduled because the weather was great). So this was good, but the truth is that the pace of walking is very slow because of safety measures and big groups. So kind of disappointing...

    Well, I guess that walking on a glacier if you have no experience sounds too dangerous and stupid, no? So try the neighboor Frantz Joseph Glacier , they sort groups by fitness level.

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    Take A Plate!
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  • kiwi
  • By kiwi on October 3, 2005
  • New Zealand Page by kiwi
  • Take A Plate. - New Zealand
    Take A Plate.
    by kiwi
    If ever, during your travels, you are invited to a local function, you will be very happy I’m sure. But if the invitation includes the words “bring a plate” you need to understand it’s meaning. This is a local term, and means bring a plate of food. Please don’t be embarrassed as has often happened, when visitors from overseas arrive with an empty plate. It is not meaning that the host doesn’t have enough plates and you need to bring your own, it means that the food offered will be from a shared source and everyone coming should bring one item. Often a salad, or cold meat, or a dessert, or selection of breads etc. All the food is put together on a table and then everyone can select from there what they wish to eat. The theory behind this is if everyone brings enough food for one person to eat, then there should be enough on the table, if you see what I mean.
    It’s an old tradition here in New Zealand, but can often catch the visitor out when they don’t know it’s true meaning.

    Take some food, doesn't have to specifically be on a plate. Can be supermarket prepared dishes.

    Normally travellers, with limited ability to be prepared, are not expected to take anything to a function or dinner.

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    Some Words on Queen Charlotte Track
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  • EagleEye
  • By EagleEye on April 17, 2004
  • New Zealand Page by EagleEye
  • New Zealand Tourist Traps
    by EagleEye
    I was a bit disappointed by the beauty of Queen Charlotte Sound : most of its virgin and native forest has been destroyed by Human Beings 90 years ago. In some parts the forest is only 20 to 70 year old, and some of the deforestation still takes place...

    However, the extremity , from Ship Cove to Resolution Bay has been preserved and offers virgin forest : there you will really enjoy your day walk!

    So before the whole Sound looks great in some 50 years, I would suggest you spend at least a day walk at its extremity and save time for the west coast native bush, for Abel tasman, for Doubtful or Milford sounds, or for many other places in the south of the very south!

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    No such thing as a short-beaked kiwi.
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  • kiwi
  • By kiwi on February 12, 2006
  • New Zealand Page by kiwi
  • Weka checking out my bag. - New Zealand
    Weka checking out my bag.
    by kiwi, 4 more photos
    If you are out in our bush and see one of these little darlings, NO it is not a "short-beaked" kiwi as one traveller told me! These are called Wekas and although similar in appearance to the Kiwi, that they are not. Besides the Weka is out and about during daylight hours, and the Kiwi is nocturnal.
    Wekas are very cheaky and like to steal from your pack, hoping for food. However it is not only food they take, equipment especially shiney stuff, they cart off too. they are quite strong. So keep a good eye on your gear, even your boots!
    Our native parrot the Kea, steals too, but so does this little Weka fella :-))

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    Coromandel
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  • slometa
  • Updated By slometa on August 25, 2004
  • New Zealand Page by slometa
  • One of the evening images - New Zealand
    One of the evening images
    by slometa
    Very popular destination for locals and tourists. But still worth to see it and try to build your own spa! But be careful, because we were told the wrong hours, so came too late, when it was getting a high tide. Still we digged our legs into the sand - not for long! It's prickling hot even though the cold sea sprayed over us, so I was wondering how it looks when you dig a hole and sit in it...

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    Huka Falls -- The Most Visited Spot in NZ
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  • AKtravelers
  • By AKtravelers on March 20, 2006
  • New Zealand Page by AKtravelers
  • A rainbow in made by Huka Falls - New Zealand
    A rainbow in made by Huka
    Falls
    by AKtravelers
    We heard that Huka Falls is the most visited spot in New Zealand, which alone is to make it a place to be wary of. Being around Lake Taupo and near Rotorua, Huka Falls is on the itinerary of every tour bus, including those that have very little time. To view the falls only takes a few minutes and they are beautiful (though hardly spectacular) so we wouldn't recommend skipping them. we would recommend having low expectations of communing with nature -- there's not much of that there.
    If you're a kayaker on the other hand, this looks like a great ride. Our friend Kirk kayaked over the falls and must have loved it. In fact, part of the reason we visited here was just to see where he rode.
    By the way, there is no entrance fee, so it's okay to go here, shrug your shoulders then go somewhere else. It's nice, but it doesn't deserve to be such a tourist spot.

    Walk to the end of the falls and check out the raibows made by the mist and the sun. And watch the tourists take pictures of each other.

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    Tekapo
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  • grets
  • By grets on September 15, 2004
  • New Zealand Page by grets
  • Sheep dog statue - New Zealand
    Sheep dog statue
    by grets
    I'm afraid I failed to be moved by a small stone and wood church bult in 1935 and a statue of a dog, surrounded by fifteen bus loads of tourists.

    Lake Tekapo is an incredible turquoise colour, and the surrounding scenery is stunning.

    Tekapo is a good place to take a flightseeing tour of the Mount Cook range. Now, that IS spectacular!

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    Surcharge in Restaurants on Public Holidays
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  • Kakapo2
  • Updated By Kakapo2 on March 8, 2007
  • New Zealand Page by Kakapo2
  • Good sign: No surcharge on public holidays! - New Zealand
    Good sign: No surcharge on
    public holidays!
    by Kakapo2
    I do not know if this is a Kiwi invention but I think it is rather weird: Restaurants take a surcharge of normally 20% on public holidays.

    They explain it with the extra money they have to pay their staff on public holidays - as if they did not earn any money during the year and would go broke if they did not apply the surcharge. Of course, this is not only a tourist trap but a bad practice towards all customers who also complain about it.

    In other countries they have to pay staff up to 100% surcharge on public holidays and no surcharges apply for customers.

    Boycott surcharging restaurants on public holidays, cook your own meal or have a cold or microwave-dinner from the supermarket, get your drinks from the supermarket or liquor store. As most supermarkets and dairies are open on public holidays except Good Friday and Christmas Day this should not be a problem.

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