August 26th, 2008
Ski season brings the best and worst tourist to our shores.
Unfortunately the snow brings the “snow bums” that live on a dime, dine on instant noodles and live in overcrowded rental accommodation no better than a London squat. Some live in cars and many seek temporary employment in the retail and hospitality industries. Others stay as long as their money last while an increasing under class attempt to subsidise their travel costs with the well worn art of fraudulent claims on their travel insurance.
Police in Queenstown report a steady stream of complainants filing theft reports. Many claiming stolen laptops, cameras and snow boards. (you will note that I did not mention skis)
Police are accustom to people lying , it is part of their job to seek the facts or the truth. It therefore takes a very skilled performer to make a false complaint while being subtly questioned as to the circumstances of the loss.
Suspected false complainants are often met by police at the airport departure check-in carrying the stolen snowboard or at the gate with the missing laptop.
Apart from the waste of police resources, the real problem here is the inference on the crime perception of New Zealand as a safe destination. Queenstown police have caught ten tourist making false claims in the last two weeks but many more are not caught. The nationality of last weeks catch was reported to be Australian and British.
Posted in New Zealand Travel | No Comments »
August 12th, 2008
A common email question is “how much does petrol cost in NZ”
The answer of cause has fluctuated wildly of late but prices very depending on the area that you purchase it. Heres a few tips -
Petrol in the major centres ie; Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and major towns vary little between supplier companies although some companies offer premium octane at levels higher than their competitors. For example BP offers 98 octane whereas other brands offer 95 or 96. All companies offer standard unleaded 91octane that is suitable for most cars.
At the date of positing major centres 91 unleaded is $2.019 per litre, 95 and 96 octane $2.089, 98 unleaded $2.169 and Diesel is $1.799.
Prices in small towns are usually 5 to 10 cents per litre more than the major towns and cities. Fuel prices in very small towns that usually have only one or two pumps that are commonly part of a general store or tourist business and not operated by the major fuel companies, can be as much as 25 to 50 cents per litre more than city prices. These fuel outlets have higher transport costs but are clearly taking advantage of the “desperation” or “no choice” purchaser.
“Last fuel stop for x amount of km” I personally know of a few of these signs that are incorrect and can be found on the West Coast of the South Island. Beware of these although many are correct others are not and there purpose is to lure non locals to their pumps and inflated prices.
All the major super markets offer discount fuel vouchers that enable discounts of between 4 and 10 cents per litre at the national chain petrol centres.
Posted in New Zealand by Road | No Comments »
July 18th, 2008
Ski resort towns report the incidents of petty crime has soared with the start of the ski season.
Police report that the influx of itinerate skiers and snowboarders has also brought a increase in crime associated with drunkenness and petty thefts.
Ski fields have noted an increase in thefts of ski gear and bags left unattendered at base buildings and canteens. Theft from vehicles has also increased with police repeating the warning to not leave valuables in cars. This also applies to skis and snowboards on roof racks that do not have locking devices.
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May 16th, 2008
One of the South Islands iconic camping grounds is to close for the winter season.
Glendhu Bay in Wanaka is a popular camping ground for the winter ski season traveller and temporary ski field staff alike. However, the camp was losing money as visiting skiers and boarders increasingly chose to park on the side of the road in sleeping vans.
Many of these itinerant workers follow the ski season globally and choose to live in their vans by the side of the road. They then expect to be able to come into the camping ground to use the shower, toilets, kitchen facilities and waste dumping stations.
Glendhu Bays Ms Illington claim that it is getting worse every year. She often counts between eight to fifteen sleeping vans parked outside the camping grounds gates each night.
With the onset of the ski season local police are also preparing for the usual influx of temporary workers and itinerant ski/snowboard travellers. Crime rates greatly increase with these new arrivals.
Businesses in ski resort towns are already reporting the usual steady flow of itinerant hopefuls looking for employment.
Most real estate agencies have also reported that short term rental accommodation has all been let. Agents however report that there is an increasing unwillingness for home owners to rent their properties to ski season visitors.
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May 7th, 2008
A British couple who arrived in New Zealand yesterday on their three week honeymoon were robbed within one hour of arrival.
The jetlagged Devon couple had just picked up their rental campervan and decided to pick up some groceries for the trip to Rotorua.
They parked at the supermarkets covered carpark in downtown Auckland. After spending around half an hour shopping they returned to the campervan to find all their luggage gone
There were no obvious signs of a the break-in. No windows were broken and all the doors were still locked. While the couple still have their passports and travel insurance, they say it has put a dampener on what should have been a “trip of a lifetime”
New Zealand is portrayed as a clean green and safe holiday destination that often gives tourists a false sense of security. Theft from campervans is rife in the North Island.
Rental car and van companies advise travellers not to leave valuables in their vans or cars but what are campervan tourists meant to do with their luggage when their accommodation is also their vehicle.
See our tips on keeping your belongings safe while travelling around New Zealand
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May 2nd, 2008
Two destinations in the South Island NZ have been ranked 1st & 2nd most popular among the worlds top destinations.The travellers’ choice survey held by the worlds largest online travel site trip advisor listed Milford Sound first followed by Queenstown in second place.
The travellers’ choice survey uses a combination of popular hits, input from travellers as well as analysis of forums and user reviews.
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April 2nd, 2008
NZ Search and Rescue have released figures showing that over one third of rescues carried out this summer have been for lost or injured overseas visitors. The great proportion of these are in the South Island where mountain climbing is popular during the summer months.
New Zealand Land Search & Rescue (landSAR) say many of these visitors lack basic awareness of the dangers and requirements to venture into the wilderness. Tourists are often ill equipped and unfamiliar with NZ systems. Many man hours of searching are often wasted due to visitors not filling in intention forms.
Basic outdoor safety messages are taught to New Zealanders from a early age however this education may be lacking in visitors who venture into our parks.
LandSAR has devised a seven point safety tip to help educate visitors which will be added to tourist information distributed by Tourism New Zealand.
SURVIVAL TIPS
- Sign in/sign out. Leave a detailed trip plan with DoC or a friend including a “panic” date. The more details searchers have about your intentions, the quicker you’ll be rescued if something goes wrong.
- Don’t underestimate bad New Zealand weather. Check the forecasts before going into the outdoors for the period you’ll be gone.
- Take advice from people who know the area you’re planning to tramp or climb.
- Rivers can be killers. If it’s running too strong to walk through, wait until level drops. Be conservative.
- Going with others is better than going alone.
- Consider using a personal locator beacon, especially if you’re travelling alone.
- If lost - seek shelter and stay where you are. Use a torch/camera flash to attract attention at night. Try and position something coloured and visible from the air to help a helicopter search during the day
Posted in New Zealand by Road | 1 Comment »
April 1st, 2008
The proposed sticker law to regulate where campervans can overnight park does not go far enough for one South Island council mayor.
Queenstown Lakes district mayor Clive Geddes believes that the sticker law will not deter those tourist that pollute the area with human waste. Mr Geddes stated that his council should lead the way by being the first New Zealand district that has a blanket ban on all types of vans overnight camping in areas that do not provide toilet facilities. Reports of vans that are equipped with waste holding tanks illegally emptying these tanks has prompted the council to consider a local by-law.
Although the problem of waste holding tanks being emptied in secluded reserves and carparks are not isolated cases, they are uncommon. The real issue has been the rapid expansion of the budget sleeping van fleet that needs to be addressed rather than penalise all travellers who often holiday in luxury motor homes that can offer better facilities than hotel rooms.
Queenstown District Lakes includes some of New Zealand’s premier vacation areas and includes some of the South Islands most popular tourist spots - Queenstown, Arrowtown, Wanaka, Aspiring National Park and many walking trails including the Routeburn track. It is understandably that Mr Geddes district due to its popularity, obviously bears the brunt of this problem, but he needs to look for a surgical attack rather that a blanket bombing approach in dealing with this issue.
Posted in New Zealand by Road | 3 Comments »
March 20th, 2008
The legislation of campervans rights to freedom camp in New Zealand has gone a step closer .
All South Islands local governments have voted unanimously to put forward a proposed regulatory system that will class campervans into three categories. The proposal is to require campervans to be issued with a sticker registration system that will limit where the van can overnight camp based on the facilities the vehicle is equipped with.
The proposal is to issue green sticker registration to those campervans that are equipped with both toilet and kitchen/shower waste water facilities with holding tanks. These vans will be able to overnight anywhere within NZ.
Orange registration stickers will be issued to those campervans that only have kitchen/shower waste water holding tanks. These vehicles will only be permitted to overnight in areas that have toilet facilities.
Red registration will signify vehicles that make up New Zealand’s popular “sleeping van” fleet. These vans have no waste facilities and will be required in future to overnight in camping grounds that provide full cooking, shower and toilet facilities. As these vans are popular with the budget traveller, the added cost associated with camping ground fees will prove to be a major issue for this market.
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March 13th, 2008
District Councils have been asked to clamp down on campervan travellers that park next to or outside camping grounds and use their facilities.
The manager of two council owned holiday parks located in the Queenstown area has removed 30 people in one night from the grounds communal kitchen. Mr Hartshorne reported these people had climbed over the fence to use the park’s facilities for free. “These are the types of people who steal from your kitchens and your clotheslines” Mr Hartshorne said.
The council had also moved 27 vans who were overnight camping on the street outside the holiday park.
The problem of trespassers is increasing in line with the increase in ‘Sleeping van’ hire. The Sleeping van fleet has increased dramatically in New Zealand catering for the budget, backpacker market. Sleeping vans are camper vans that do not have any toilet facilities
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