New Zealand for the Independent Traveler

Adventures from a Ninety Day Budget Holiday in New Zealand

"The First Timers' Tour"

Our January to March, 2002 travels around New Zealand are described in an "Introduction" and "Trip Diary" plus our experiences and observations which may help other new visitors. This page provides quick links to go directly to each of the main headings.

Auckland

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Brief History
Haka

Trip Diary - Auckland and Vicinity
Trip Diary - Auckland/North
Trip Diary - Auckland/South
Trip Diary - Wellington / Picton Ferry
Trip Diary - South Island

Yep, sheep

Some Observations
Summary Hints
Best of ....
Costs
Credit Cards/EFTPOS
Phone Calls
Air Travel and Airport "Security"
Bus and Train Travel
Cook Strait Ferries
Car Purchase and Car Rental
New Zealand Automobile Association
Trip Planning

Kiwi Translated
(Kiwi for Outsiders)

Useful Reference Books and Web Sites
General Guides
Accommodation

Bird Watching in New Zealand
Birds We Identified, and Locations

Opinion
Our opinions of the commercial accommodation and activities that we used.

Selected Internet Links
Additional links we think you might find interesting.

Aranga Beach, West Coast

"The First Timer's Tour" is not intended to be read in order, from beginning to end. It is our intention that you will wander about in it, much as we wandered about in New Zealand, discovering items of interest as much by serendipity as by design. The links to contents headings at the bottom of each page will help keep you from getting lost. Clicking on Middle Earth on any page will return you to this beginning/home page.

Mitre Peak, Milford Sound

Date of latest revision: December 17, 2002.

Suggestions for additions, improvements or corrections to this website are welcomed.

Please feel free to email us at boatandbillet@shaw.ca and mention "NZ Website" in the subject line of your e-mail.

You are also invited to submit links to travel or boating-related web sites to be placed in our Links pages. In exchange for posting a link, commercial sites will be required to place an active link to our sponsor, the The Boat Swap and Billet Exchange, within their links page.

Click on any of the following to skip to that section:
Middle Earth- Intro- Auckland- Auck/N- Auck/S- Ferries- South Is- Observations- Kiwi- References- Birds - Opinions- Links

This site is sponsored by The Boat Swap and Billet Exchange which is an international boat swap and boating holiday registry service.

All opinions expressed within the web site are our own. Our experiences were flavoured by the friendliness, energy and enthusiasm of the kiwis and other travelers that we met and commercial operators that we used (and yes, by the weather and sand flies). Others visiting the same destinations or using the same services may have a different experience or opinion. Displaying an associated link to pages outside the First Timers' Tour does not constitute endorsement of that site nor of its values.