Introduction

Provided below is some key information you should know before visiting the South Island of New Zealand. If you are using this Guide for the first time, please take a few moments to read this chapter as well as the Instructions chapter before going on to the other chapters. Reading both of these chapters will give you the basics on how our Guides operate and will explain how to get the most out of the many features included.

Here is a list of the topics covered in the Introduction chapter, along with quick links to click on:

Welcome

Welcome to a unique world!

At a Glance

Basic facts about New Zealand's South Island.

Geography

Where is everything on the South Island?

History

Briefly learn about the South Island's history

Climate

What is the weather like?

Transportation

	Air
	Train
	Bus
	Renting a car
	Walking

How can I get around the South Island?

Currency

How are things purchased in New Zealand?

Food & Drink

What is there to eat and drink?

Their "English"

Learn some common terms used by New Zealanders

Miscellaneous

	Customs
	Dress
	Electricity

More things to know about regarding your visit.

Plants & Animals

Learn about the unique life forms on the South Island

Our Itinerary

See how we scheduled our trip.

Welcome

Welcome to our Virtual Tour Guide covering the unique world of New Zealand's South Island. The entire country of New Zealand is a very unique and beautiful place. The country is divided into two islands - north and south. While much of the commerce and population, along with New Zealand's largest city and capital, are on the north island, the south island is quickly emerging as a popular destination for tourists that seek breathtaking beauty coupled with thrilling activities.

This guide was designed for the visiting tourist from the United States of America. We've learned during our travels that every country has their own unique traditions. People in the USA are no different. Before people in the USA visit another country with different traditions and "ways of doing things", they should learn about them before starting their trip. In doing so, a trip through that country and the interaction with the people will be that much more effortless and enjoyable.

There is plenty to see in New Zealand's North Island. The country's biggest city, Auckland, offers an assortment of activities common in any city around the world. It has an abundance of museums with items to see that are unique only to New Zealand. The capital city of Wellington has a charm all of its own. The geothermal area, which is similar to USA's Yellowstone, located near the city of Rotorua, is an area that any visitor to New Zealand should see. And a visit to see the glowing worms inside the Waitomo Caves is a very unique experience.

In many people's opinion, the South Island has a lot more to offer in the form of beautiful landscape. This is the home of the Southern Alps; a rugged mountain range full of jagged peaks and large glaciers that cover a good portion of the island. It is also the home of Fiordland National Park, with its centerpiece being Milford Sound, which is a wonderland of fiords that were carved out by glaciers a long time ago.

But the problem that faces any traveler when visiting a place with so many attractions is simply the amount of precious time. Many travelers may only have a week for their vacation. When coupled with a long 12 to 16 hour long flight from the USA to New Zealand, the traveler is left with 4-5 days of fulltime activities. Not much time for such a large investment in travel distance. So when planning a trip to New Zealand, try to allocate about two weeks.

When you attempt to plan a visit to New Zealand for even two weeks, consider some more obstacles that need to be overcome. For one, to travel between the north and south islands, you will most likely go by plane. Traveling by ground and then ferry between the islands is time consuming. But if you have the time, it is much more enjoyable to travel by ground! So traveling between the islands, at least by plane, can potentially take out one of your vacation days. Second, each one of the islands is roughly 500 miles (800 km) in length. The roads on each island are mostly two lane and, because of the hilly terrain in most areas, not very straight. Therefore, traveling by road is not very fast.

The point we wish to make is that you may wish to consider planning your trip to just one of the islands. This way, you can concentrate your travel efforts on one region and have more time to enjoy what the South Island has to offer. Our Virtual Tour Guide is designed so that it can help you plan your trip to the South Island.

So sit back and enjoy doing some "armchair traveling" by clicking your mouse around the various chapters and pages of our guide. Hopefully you will get a good idea of what there is to see in each place. And this in turn will help you make better decisions on where to visit on the South Island. All of our experiences and the photos you see in this guide were photographed during our visit in October of 2005.

The South Island at a Glance

Geography

The South Island of New Zealand is a little bigger then the North Island. It is roughly 500 miles (800 km) long by 125 miles (200 km) wide. Total surface area is 103,738 square miles (268,680 sq km).

The northern shore is located only 14 miles (22 km) from the south shore of the North Island at its shortest point. The eastern shore is touched by the South Pacific Ocean. The western shore is touched by the Tasman Sea - the water mass that runs between New Zealand and Australia. The next landmass to the south of the southern shores is the continent of Antarctica.

The rugged Southern Alps cover most of the western side of the South Island. The northern third of the island is mostly mountainous. In the middle-eastern portion of the island lie the Canterbury Plains, a largely flat agricultural region. The same is true for the southeastern corner of the island. The southwestern corner of the island is where dozens of long fiords are located that reach far into the Southern Alps.

The entire western shore of the South Island is mainly inhabited. Driving south from the northern town of Hokitika, only a handful of small towns, with small populations, are encountered. This is truly a secluded area of New Zealand.

Cities

Geology

The highest point in New Zealand, located in the middle of the Southern Alps, is Mount Cook (aka Aoraki/Mt. Cook) at an elevation of 12,316 feet (3,754 m). Several large glaciers start near Mt. Cook's summit. These glaciers are the Tasman, Hooker and Murchison. More well-known glaciers, the Franz Josef and Fox, are located just north of Mt. Cook.

Similar to California in the USA, New Zealand is located on a plate boundary along the infamous Pacific Ring of Fire [Google search]. The plate boundary in California is well known as the San Andreas Fault - a large strike-slip fault. The grinding action that occurred between the two major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American, for the past millions of years, is responsible for creating California's abundant dramatic and scenic landscapes. It is this same grinding of two plates that created the abundant dramatic and scenic landscapes of New Zealand's South Island. So the geography of California and New Zealand have a lot in common. The features are very new and were created by Mother Nature recently according to a geological timescale. Incidentally, the North Island has more volcanic activity which is the result of a plate boundary where one plate is sub-ducting, or going under, another plate. This ironically is the same situation creating the volcanoes north of California in the states of Oregon and Washington. Oddly, New Zealand's geological makeup is extremely different as compared to its close neighbor to the west, Australia, where the creation of its landmass and geography is probably the oldest of all the world's seven continents.

History

In relation to other countries, New Zealand has a somewhat short history of human occupation. First, it was populated by Polynesians from the South Pacific and then later by Europeans. Today, similar to Australia, the Europeans, mainly of British decent, coexist with the original native people (the Polynesians) known as the Maori [Google search].

The Maori

Except for Antarctica, New Zealand was the last landmass to be explored and occupied by humans. The first people to arrive on the islands of New Zealand are known today as the Maori. There is actually quite a controversy on the origin of Maori - some say they are a lost tribe from Israel while others say they are Hindu - the fact is that their linguistic and ancestral background is Polynesian.

These people started arriving on New Zealand soil around AD 800. They started arriving in waves just before 1300. By the time Captain Cook began visiting New Zealand in the 1770s, the Maori had extensively settled both the North and South islands.

Because of the Polynesian background, the Maori culture is somewhat similar to what is seen in Hawaii. The basis of Maori life was competitiveness and tribalism. They viewed the natural elements of the earth, the sky, the wind, the sea, etc., as Gods. Their many beliefs, such as spiritual authority, sorcery and life force, regulated all aspects of life. Warfare was an important part of the Maori culture as it allowed the stronger tribe to obtain more territory which had more food and natural resources. Maori warriors were quite fierce. Losers of tribal wars lost their land and were typically turned into slaves.

For the Maori, New Zealand was full of natural resources. Their ancestors were used to the small islands in the Pacific Ocean which had limited animals for food and trees for building supplies, including boats. The settling of this new land gave them access to bigger trees (for building boats) and bigger game.

In the area near Roturoa on the North Island, Maori culture is very noticeable. There are several tourist oriented companies that offer luaus similar to Hawaiian luaus. We are not aware of such luaus on the South Island, but they may exist.

A unique aspect of Maoris is the placement of tattoos on their faces. The designs of their tattoos is one of the common symbols of modern-day New Zealand. So much so, it is the design you will see on the tail of an Air New Zealand passenger airplane.

Tasman Sights New Zealand

The first European person to set their eyes on New Zealand was Abel Tasman of the Dutch East India Company in 1642. Tasman, a sailor from the Netherlands (Holland), originally named his discovery Staten Landt, the Dutch name for South America. After it was determined that New Zealand was not part of a landmass that ran all the way to South America, it was named after the Netherlands' southern most province, Zeeland. Tasman's own name was later used to name many features in the area including the Tasman Sea, Abel Tasman National Park, the Tasman Glacier and even that island off the south of Australia, Tasmania.

Tasman's first and only visit to New Zealand was short. It also included a violent encounter with the Maori people. While Tasman's party was being examined by Maori warriors, a small boat was used to travel between Tasman's two ships The Maori attacked the boat by ramming it with their canoe. Fighting broke out and loss of life on both sides took place. Tasman made the decision to not land ashore and left New Zealand.

Captain James Cook

After Tasman's visit, no European would visit New Zealand for another 127 years. The Maori's exclusive run of New Zealand became threatened in 1769 when famed British explorer, navigator and cartographer Captain James Cook, decided to take a closer look at Tasman's discovery during a mission to observe the planet Venus from the Southern Hemisphere.

After crossing the Pacific Ocean from South America, Cook reached the east coast of New Zealand and discovered smoke raising in the distance, indicating possible inhabitants. The first landing ended in violence as several Maori attacked the crew guarding the landing craft.

Luckily, Cook picked up a Tahitian chief along the way and it was discovered that the chief could somewhat communicate with the Maori. They sailed to another location and had a more friendly encounter with another Maori tribe and was now able to communicate better. Both people traded pleasantries and gifts and the tribes people gave Cook's crew a tour of their settlement which greatly impressed Cook.

Cook spent several weeks landing at other areas in New Zealand and also completely circumnavigated the landmass. His creation of charts and maps of New Zealand were so accurate that they were used for the next 150 years.

On return visits to New Zealand, Cook developed friendships with several Maori tribes. These friendships continued for 10 years as he visited New Zealand during his three famous voyages around the Pacific Ocean before being killed by hostilities in Hawaii.

Arrival of Settlers

After Cook's visits, New Zealand was mainly ignored for the rest of the 1700s as Australia took more priority as the British began establishing convict camps after the American Revolution. Since the British couldn't send their convicts to the USA anymore, they turned to Australia and later New Zealand for depositing convicts. The first part of the 1800s, mainly during the Napoleonic Wars, saw renewed interest in the seas around New Zealand. Demand increased for sealskins for clothing and whale oil and were known to be plentiful off New Zealand waters.

Just like in other parts of the world, the first settlers to establish outposts on New Zealand brought with them many evils for the Maori. This included diseases, liquor, prostitutes and, one of the biggest killers, guns. Given the circumstances, relations between the Maori and Europeans were peaceful. Trade between the two groups began to thrive. Maori began working for and getting paid by the settlers for doing various jobs.

In 1817, laws established in New South Whales, Australia, were extended into New Zealand. This coincided with the arrival of evangelists to introduce Christianity to the native Maori of New Zealand. By 1820, Christian missionaries started becoming successful in educating the Maori about carpentry, farming, technology of the time and, of course, the ways of the Church. The Maori actually began to see Christianity as an attractive faith as compared to their own.

In the 1830s, settlers began acquiring private ownership of land. Up to this point, the Maori people had no concept of land ownership as they typically lived on land acquired by inheriting it or through winning a war with another tribe. By the 1860s, available "free" land was colliding with land held by Maori tribes. Many conflicts began. Surprisingly, some of these conflicts over land ownership are still begin legally contested to this day.

The settlements of Dunedin and Christchurch were founded in 1848 and 1850 respectably because of the excellent pasturelands of the Canterbury Plains. Settlers increasingly imported more sheep which established New Zealand's primary agricultural export for many years. Soon, sheep farming was done on a grand scale on both the North and South islands.

Government rule came to New Zealand in the 1850s as Britain granted New Zealand self-government. Unlike previous settlements of the British Empire, New Zealand's came in a more orderly manner as compared to Australia and Canada.

But soon after the new government was formed, frictions over the ownership of land reached a boiling point. The New Zealand Wars, also referred to as the Land Wars, began in the 1860s and ended in 1872 between the Maori and the settlers. Fighting on the British side usually included regular troops. The Maori, now with an ample supply of European firepower, were a powerful fighting force. Combat between both sides were bloody and deadly and often without a winner. In the end, fighting ended and moved to the courtrooms which, as mentioned previously, is still being fought today.

During this same time period, gold was discovered on the South Island, in the region around Queenstown, around 1860. This increased the inflow of settlers as any gold rush did in the rest of the world. The government of New Zealand, which was originally established in Auckland, was moved to its present location at Wellington in 1865, which was more centralized geographically. In 1882, a refrigerated ship was used for the first time to transport lamb and sheep meat to England. This paved the way for a heavy demand for New Zealand lamb meat, with the British as its primary market.

In 1883, New Zealand beat every other country on Earth to something that would soon be common place in the 20th Century: they allowed women to vote in national elections. New Zealand takes great national pride in this fact.

The late 1880s also saw New Zealand almost collapse into bankruptcy. This depression, which was a precursor to a similar depression experienced in the USA during the 1890s, was caused initially by a drop in wool and grain prices, greatly limiting New Zealand's export value. In 1888, some 9,000 people moved from New Zealand to Australia, which was experiencing a much better economy.

Into the 20th Century

Supporting the British Crown, New Zealand sent troops to Europe for both World Wars. This certainly reinforced ties with the British people. Of the 100,000 New Zealanders sent to fight WWI, 17,000 perished. This was a significant number with a country of one million at the time. Of the 200,000 New Zealanders sent to fight WW2, mostly to support the Pacific campaign under MacArthur, 10,000 perished.

Like the rest of the World, the Great Depression of the 1930s affected New Zealand extensively. A significant percentage of the population was unemployed. Several large bloody riots ensued. Then, similar to the USA, a new government was elected in 1935 and the economy slowly but surely strengthened. Even a social security system was established, just like the USA.

In 1951, the ANZUS, Australia-New Zealand-United States, security treaty was formed. This was created as it became clear that the British were concentrating their efforts for defense in Europe during the Cold War years. In 1987, New Zealand decided to ban any type of nuclear technology. This included not allowing nuclear fueled warships, including those with the USA flag on it, to enter New Zealand waters. This caused the governments of New Zealand and the USA to distance themselves. This further caused New Zealand to begin building more relations with Pacific Rim countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.

New Zealand was also losing its ties to its founding country, Britain. In 1973, the European Economic Community (EEC) was established. Britain became part of the EEC. This created new trade measures and reform to countries in western Europe. It also created greater restrictions for the countries inside the EEC to trade with countries on the outside, including New Zealand. The trade that was thriving between New Zealand and Britain (and other European countries) quickly disappeared. This subsequently caused serious inflation and recession in the 1970s.

As mentioned earlier, New Zealand was more and more building economic relations with Pacific Rim countries. By 1983, New Zealand's closest economic neighbor, Australia, also affected by the EEC, created a trade free pact of their own. Soon trade over the Tasman Sea became common place.

Into the 21st Century

With New Zealand being the first country and landmass west of the international date line, New Zealanders were the first people in the world to welcome in the new millennium. This caused a new round of self-respect for the inhabitants of this unique country.

New Zealanders began to see a growing niche around this time as they marketed their country to world travelers more and more. People throughout the world began to see New Zealand's unique landscape as a vacation destination. Tourism soon became one of the New Zealand's top industries. Many travel companies have since sprung up promoting various vacationing opportunities around New Zealand. The South Island prided and marketed itself with activities for "extreme", or very physically active, vacationers.

Grape cultivation increased on both islands of New Zealand and wine production became a boom to New Zealand. Sauvignon Blanc, mainly from the Marlborough grape growing region on the South Island, became world renown. Other types of wines have also scored high marks at wine competitions across the world.

Climate

The first thing to remember about the climate in New Zealand is that they are located in the Southern Hemisphere. That means that whatever season it is in the USA, it is opposite in New Zealand. Their winter occurs during our summer. They celebrate Christmas time during the height of their summer. If you wish to visit New Zealand during the spring, you will need to plan your visit around October or November. June and July are the coldest months.

The further south you go in New Zealand, the colder it gets. The opposite is true going north. Furthermore, the South Island has the alpine mountains, the Southern Alps, which makes for even colder weather. And if that's not enough, winds that originated in Antarctica frequently pound the South Island.

Temperature Ranges

Christchurch: 33-52° F (2-11° C) in winter; 50-73° F (10-22° C) in summer (central South Island)

Queenstown: 30-50° F (-1-10° C) in winter; 50-73° F (10-22° C) in summer (in the Southern Alps)

Dunedin: 39-53° F (4-12° C) in winter; 48-66° F (9-19° C) in summer (near the southern tip)

Since the 45º parallel bisects the South Island, it is a safe bet that the weather is similar to regions where the northern 45º parallel crosses, such as the State of Washington and Maine.

Optimal Time to Visit

New Zealand's summer and autumn seasons from December to May are said to be the best times to visit. The Christmas holidays, which start mid-December and last into January, should be avoided as this is the time many New Zealanders go on their vacation. So you will be competing with the natives over popular sites in their own land.

Their fall, from March until May, offers the most stable weather (normally no storms). However, if you are planning on visiting the alpine regions, there will be a lack of snow on the mountain tops. Our visit was in October and November. So the snow was still fresh on many of the mountains. However, we risked getting caught in a few storms, which we did. But there was also a lot of good weather during our stay on the South Island.

Overall, New Zealand weather is can change quickly, so no matter what season you plan to visit, be prepared for any type of weather.

Transportation

Traveling around New Zealand is no different then in the USA. Just remember, that unlike the USA, the South Island is much less populated, therefore the frequency of available transportation isn't as much.

Air

Getting to the South Island from the USA is normally done by a flight that involves changing planes in Auckland on the North Island. If you do change planes in Auckland, be aware that the International terminal (where you will be arriving or departing) is about a half mile from the Domestic terminal (where you will be arriving or departing from the South Island). There is a free shuttle bus that transports you between the terminals.

In the past, Air New Zealand has offered direct flights from the USA mainland directly to Christchurch. These flights seem to be seasonal or market driven, as they are not always available. So if you are planning on just visiting the South Island, you may wish to research when these flights are available.

Internationally, several large airlines serve New Zealand. Such airlines include United and Cathy Pacific. The airlines with the most flights to New Zealand however is Air New Zealand and Australia's Qantas. For the South Island Qantas offers flights serving Christchurch and Queenstown that go to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane; but no cities outside of Australia. Qantas usually offers a direct flight between Auckland and Los Angeles.

The biggest airline in New Zealand of course is Air New Zealand. Not only do they offer a lot of International flights, they also offer many local flights between New Zealand towns and regions. From the USA, most Air New Zealand flights originate out of Los Angeles, with a few from San Francisco. As of 2009, Air New Zealand is part of the Star Alliance of airlines, which offers connections to many other International airlines.

If you fly domestically inside New Zealand, then you will most likely fly Air New Zealand. The major airports they serve on the South Island are Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin. Smaller airlines, that are a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, serve many of the smaller towns on the South Island.

Train

Two major passenger rail lines serve the South Island. They are both operated by Tranz Scenic [Google search]. One, the TranzCoastal, travels the east coast between Christchurch and Picton. The other, the TranzAlpine travels between Christchurch and Greymouth. Both lines have daily service, one going in each direction every day.

The TranzCoastal is a great link for travelers that wish to use the train on the North Island to get to Wellington, then take the ferry across to Picton on the South Island. Right near the ferry terminal is where the train station for TranzCoastal is located. The journey on the TranzCoastal can start here which will take you to the same station that is serviced by the TranzAlpine in Christchurch and will take half a day's time.

For more information about the TranzAlpine line, see the chapter on TranzAlpine.

Bus

Various bus companies operate all over the South Island making transportation between small towns and points of interest easy. It is also fairly inexpensive. Many bus companies conveniently pick up and drop off at the hotel you are staying at or at a point close by the hotel.

We used a bus to get from the Greymouth train station, when we got off the TranzAlpine, to the town of Franz Josef. The bus made a few stops along the way, one lasting about 30 minutes, giving us time to walk around the small town we were in. Our trip between Franz Josef and Queenstown, which took most of the day, was also very enjoyable as it made several stops for us to enjoy the scenery.

Bus travel should definitely be arranged before you leave on your trip in the USA. Consult your travel agent or the Internet for the numerous possibilities available to travel by bus.

Renting a Car

Except for walking or cycling, your last resort in transportation is renting a car. This is referred to as "hiring" a car in New Zealand terms.

If you are planning on renting a car in New Zealand, before leaving the USA, be sure to acquire an international driver's license. If you are a member with the American Automobile Club, check with their office on how to get such a license and if there are any further requirements for New Zealand. If you are going to rent your car from a large USA rental car company such as Hertz or Avis, be sure to check with them on what is required for drivers from the USA and be sure to tell them what State your driver's license is from.

Realize that driving a car in New Zealand means driving a car on the opposite side of the highway. This is not what we are all used to back home in the USA. Everything in the car, including the driver's seat, is on the opposite side of the car. One of the biggest hazards for drivers that normally drive on the right side of the road rather than the left, is which direction you look for oncoming traffic when approaching an intersection. Don't trust your reflexes! Be sure to look in both directions before proceeding.

Walking

Tramping, known as hiking or walking in New Zealand, is a popular sport and one of the most basic ways to get around. But for a traveler from the USA, walking in New Zealand can be life threatening.

One of the biggest reasons that travelers from the USA are killed in New Zealand and Australia is from being hit by a vehicle when crossing a street. Americans are used to looking to the left when checking for traffic before crossing a street. The problem is that traffic in New Zealand comes from the right. So before walking across streets in New Zealand, be sure to look to the right first. When in doubt, just be sure to look in both directions!

Currency

The unit of currency in New Zealand is simply the New Zealand dollar. The symbol is NZ$. The money works exactly like the US dollar. The smallest denomination traded is a 10 cent piece. There is no equivalent of our penny in New Zealand.

Currency exchange facilities are located in the Auckland and Christchurch airports, as well as around key cities such as Christchurch and Queenstown on the main island. ATM machines are also located in most towns. Before leaving the USA, be sure to check with your bank if your ATM or credit card will work in New Zealand. Sometimes, a special PIN is required. Be sure to call your credit card company to inform them that you will be using your card in New Zealand and any other country you visit along the way. If you don't, the credit card company will most likely render your credit card useless fearing fraudulent use.

Plants & Animals

Food & Drink

There is nothing too unique or exotic about the food you will encounter in New Zealand. It is very similar to the cuisine encountered in Australia. There should be no surprise that many dishes have many roots from Britain. However, over the past 50 years, there has been a lot of influence from Mediterranean and Pacific Rim countries.

Maori Cuisine

Other historical influences that you may encounter are from the native Maori. Many of the foods that the Maori took with them from their Polynesian homelands in the South Pacific, such as bananas and coconuts, didn't grow well in New Zealand. So they resorted to plants that grew in New Zealand. So the Maori ate unconventional things like fernroot and insects. One large bird on the islands, known as the moa, was unfortunately hunted for food to extinction before the time that Abel Tasman arrived.

When the European settlers began arriving in the 1700s, they brought with them foods that originally grew in climates similar to New Zealand's. So from that point forward, Maori cuisine included these types of plants. It also included that popular of New Zealand meats, sheep and lamb.

In the areas that we visited in the South Island, which were mainly areas popular to tourists, we didn't see any eateries that advertised Maori cuisine. However, that might be a different story in non-touristy areas. As mentioned earlier, a Maori luau might be one of the best ways to try their cuisine.

New Zealand "Modern" Cuisine

Most of the eateries that you will encounter in New Zealand are really no different than those in the USA. You will see familiar USA franchises such as McDonalds and Burger King. There will also be "fusion" type restaurants that blend cuisine from a variety of regions. Some of these influences that Americans are not familiar with include Indonesian and Indian (from India). Others will be more common such as Chinese and we were very surprised to find Mexican food on some menus.

Many hotels that you will stay at will include a breakfast which is served buffet style. Since much of the American breakfast cuisine originated from Britain, you will see a lot of the same dishes. However, one dish that is commonly served for breakfast in buffets that stands out as being a bit odd is spaghetti.

In tourist towns such as Queenstown, and even small towns such as Franz Josef, you will have no problem finding great food to eat. Be sure to ask around, especially at the front desk of the hotel you are staying at or the person directing any tour you may go on.

Fish & Chips

Where food on the North Island seems to have more Asian influence, food on the South Island remains to have a lot of British influence. This is especially true in Christchurch. Eateries that specialize in fish & chips are quite common. It is also commonly included on the menus of cafes. Just like in England, fish & chips can be found in roadside or walk-up stands.

Coffee

Coffee, as we expect it to be in the USA, does not exist in New Zealand. Instead, cafes and restaurants normally have lattes, cappuccinos and espressos made in the similar fashions found in the rest of the world. One twist when ordering lattes or cappuccinos, with the cream on the top, the preparer often draws the symbol of New Zealand: the fern leaf.

So when ordering coffee in any New Zealand cafe, you will encounter some terms that are not used elsewhere except for Australia.

Cafes and restaurants normally also have lattes, cappuccinos and espressos made in the similar fashions found in the rest of the world. We learned that if we ordered either a flat white or a latte, that it was the closest to a good old American coffee.

Beer

New Zealand has a full array of beer breweries. A search on the Internet will quickly produce a list of the various breweries. By looking at various brewery lists, it seems that there are more breweries located in small towns throughout the South Island then on the North Island located in bigger urban areas such as Auckland.

When we were on the South Island, we tried no more than five different brands of beer, nearly not enough to try all the different brews. We quickly favored a beer brewed in Greymouth, the terminus of the TranzAlpine train trip, named Monteith's. Similar to other beer companies, Monteith's offered about five different types of brews. We tried almost all of the different flavors and we like them all. One of our favorites was a seasonal brew. We found Monteith's to be available in most restaurants and liqueur stores on the South Island.

Wine

New Zealand is quickly making a name for itself in the world as a winemaking region to be reckoned with. Their Sauvignon Blanc wines have won rave reviews from wine connoisseurs and experts from all over. Other wines such as Pinot Noir scored high with the experts.

Various regions on both islands are perfect for grape cultivation, especially certain varietals such as Sauvignon Blanc. But on the South Island, the Marlborough region can lay claim to spearheading wine production in the late 1970s. Today, this small region, located near the towns of Blenheim and Renwick in the Wairau Valley, accounts for 62% of the total vineyard coverage in the entire country. That's a lot of grapevines in a valley roughly 20 miles (32 km) long!

While we traveled between Cromwell and Queenstown, we saw lots of new vineyards and wineries. Walking the streets of Queenstown also revealed different shops that specialized in selling wines of their region in the southern part of the island.

Since we knew that Sauvignon Blanc was the wine that New Zealand was well known for, we made it a point to try bottles from various wineries. We also were familiar with the taste of Sauvignon Blanc from the USA and other regions. All of the bottles of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that we tried had similar characteristics. They all had a crisp and tart flavor with an "earthy" tone to it like no other non-New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs we've tried in the past.

What to know about "New Zealand English"

Although English is the language spoken in New Zealand, there will be words that you may run across that will puzzle most American visitors. Many of these words will be recognized as transformed words originating from England or Australia. Others are homegrown words from New Zealand.

New Zealanders also have their own unique accent which is fairly similar to the Australians, only more mild. The accent is very easy to understand when compared to other English-based accents.

Here are some words (by no means a complete list), that may sound English to you, but have a different meaning in New Zealand:

Miscellaneous

Here are some miscellaneous things you should know before your visit to New Zealand.

Customs

Just like entering any other foreign country, you will pass through customs and passport control. New Zealand will stamp your passport when you enter the country and stamp it again when you leave. This is the same with almost every other country in the world when American citizen visits.

New Zealand has very strong laws involving biological issues (plants, fruits, vegetables and animals). This will be apparent when you are asked to fill out forms on the airplane before arriving. Because New Zealand has many exotic plants and animals, something brought in from the outside can very easily affect them and possibly wipe out the entire population.

Dress

The dress in New Zealand is mostly casual. It would be a safe bet to pack such clothing for your trip as there are very few formal places to visit. Furthermore, a visit to New Zealand sometimes requires physical activities, so be sure to bring active wear and comfortable shoes for walking and possibly hiking.

Since the 45º parallel bisects the South Island, it is a safe bet that the weather is similar to regions where the northern 45º parallel crosses, such as the State of Washington and Maine.

Double check the temperatures of where you will be visiting. During our visit, we were spending a significant portion of our trip in the alps, which are typically in cooler then normal, so warmer clothes were necessary.

Electricity

New Zealand electricity is 230V/50Hz and uses the Australian plug. Be sure to purchase an adapter before you leave the USA, as they will most likely be much more expensive in New Zealand. An adapter is used by plugging your appliance (i.e. shaver, laptop computer, camera battery charger, etc.) into the adapter and then the adapter plugs into the electrical outlet.