With temperatures here in New York approaching almost 70 degrees today, I think we can safely say that Al Gore might have been right. People in New Zealand are also experiencing some strange occurrences–even during the summer.

Several mammoth-size icebergs have started drifting ever closer to the NZ mainland causing shipping hazards–and a boom in tourist interest. Opportunistic agencies have setup helicopter flights that are taking spectators out to the bergs–and even landing on them! Have a look at this video below. These were spotted from my hometown of Dunedin! Simply confirms my opinion of New Zealand being one of the most unique countries in the world. Where else does this happen?

It’s almost like being there. Some creative individual has condensed the 40 minute drive from Te Anau to Queenstown into a four minute video. Set to some jammin’ music, the drive takes you through some gorgeous scenery. Ah, the memories. Check it out!

Kristin writes:

“Hello

I just read your blog page titled “moving to New Zealand” - about Halloween. Cracked me up that they have ant-trick or treating signs available at Kmart. We are moving to New Zealand from Seattle, and I am wondering, how will we carve pumpkins on Halloween if its in the Spring? I figure they won’t have pumpkins in October in NZ, no? Did you celebrate it in March or April? Or were you able to get pumpkins in October? At the local grocery store?”

We responded:

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s an interesting conversation going on over at TravellersPoint.com on the merits of hitchhiking vs. car rental vs. busing it in NZ. Here’s a snippet from the discussion about bus travel:
“I did this for most of my time in New Zealand, and I had no complaints. The buses go pretty much everywhere you’d want to go, daily, and between a travelpass for longer distances and a flexipass for shorter distances, was quite cheap. However, since you got such a good rate for the car, the added flexibility of being able to stop by the side of the road whenever you see something particularly beautiful definitely weighs up against the perhaps slightly higher cost.

The one real benefit of a bus is that you wouldn’t have to be driving through snow yourself, if you hit that (which isn’t guaranteed, but is definitely a possibility on the South Island).”

There’s also some talk on car rental for those of you out there interested. The hitchhiking aspect hasn’t been covered, but I can attest that it’s done quite regularly on the South Island and w/o any of the urban legends assosiated with hitching in the U.S. Hit the forum chat for more info!

New Zealand is still considered a protectorate of Great Britain by the United States — which is why you can experience the best of both worlds with dual-citizenship. The love between the UK and NZ however extends beyond political borders with Brits recently declaring New Zealand as the ‘coolest’ destinateion in the world. According to the NZ Herald,

“British consultancy Superbrands conducted an online survey of 1725 people for its Coolbrands monitor, rating New Zealand as the coolest place to travel.

New Zealand came out as the top destination, ahead of Morocco, Fiji, Prague, Australia, the Maldives, Amsterdam, Brighton, the Bahamas and Bermuda.The London News had New Zealand at the other end of the temperature scale — “The hottest place to be”, it called the country, saying it was reaping the benefits of a marketing campaign.”

This is not surprising. A few years ago, National Geographic Traveler named the South Island of NZ as one of the most amazing places on the planet. The entire South Island. For the rest of the Herald article, click here!

I have to give a shout-out to any fellow Dunedin dwellers, and the owner of VisitingNewZealand.com, Chris Paton, is part of that fellowship. Chris is a recent immigrant to the South Island of New Zealand from England and his blog is aiming to show off the various places he visits in his time there. A web developer, Chris is also a medical doctor and lecturer in Medical Informatics at Otago University. It looks like his site just got started, but the images are beautiful — and much like everything else in New Zealand, look unreal. He would probably agree with me in my assessment of New Zealand as a photographer’s dream come true. A two-year old could take magazine worthy shots. The landscape just makes it too easy.

Anyways, check out VisitingNewZealand — and be sure to hit the Sea Lions of Otago video. Those smelly monster were always a joy to behold on the beaches during an afternoon stroll.

One reader, Gabrielle, had this to say about the Visa process in her move from Canada to New Zealand:

“As of right now, the only thing I could share is the grueling visa process. I found that even though the NZ Immigration Website was loaded with information, I wasn’t able to find the answers I was actually looking for (hence the reason I wrote you). I ended up writing personal emails to the NZ Immigration Rep in Canada and she was able to help me more. I would definitely recommend doing that if you have specific questions as they always replied within a few working days. As far as the visas themselves… I looked at several options: Working Holiday Visa, Temporary Working Visa and the Partnership Visa. For people that are only planning on going to New Zealand for a year or less, I would definitely recommend the Working Holiday Visa. It is the least expensive to apply for by far (approx. $120 NZD) and it’s also the easiest. The application was only a few pages long - super easy to fill out - and we received approval in less that 24 hours!!! The other two visa’s are more appropriate for people wanting to stay in New Zealand longer than 12 months. I don’t know too much about the application process for them, but I do know it’s much lengthier and more intense… and I believe it costs several hundred more dollars to apply for.”

In our move from the U.S., we found that calling the NZ consulate was the absolute easiest way to find information on visas. Websites are great and all–but actually talking to someone that can guide you first-hand through the process is even better.

This is a great video produced by two guys during their stay in New Zealand. It looks like they had the opportunity to hit up Hobbiton on the North Island, snowboard the slopes of the South, visit Rotorua, and hike the trails. Very cool editing, music, and footage. Simply another great example of how the Internet is giving you first run access at some amazing insight into what NZ is all about. Click it.

According to a 2001 census, New Zealanders are keenest to move to Canterbury (in Christchurch) and the Bay of Plenty (in Tauranga). If we’re talking South Island, my personal vote would be Nelson (warm) or Wanaka (beautiful). From the article,

“New Zealanders have been moving out of Auckland Region than moving in, particularly people aged 30 years and over. Canterbury and Bay Of Plenty seem to be the regions where New Zealanders prefer to relocate to in New Zealand. Between 1996 and 2001, Canterbury and Bay of Plenty each gained more than 8,000 people from relocation within New Zealand. At the same time, Auckland lost about 2,500 people to other New Zealand regions.”

Personally, if you’re moving to New Zealand to escape the urban life, I wouldn’t consider Auckland your top choice. Sure, it’s not as large as most cities, but you’ll definitely feel the familiar stress of traffic, lights, and noise. Look around a little, take a risk on a location or setting you might not be used to. Believe me, it’s worth it.

Otago is both the name of my dog and the province I lived in while residing in Dunedin on the South Island. Since I left that city back in 2004, a lot has changed in the online world in terms of what is available and how it is presented. There are some gorgeous sites out there. My latest find is a site that zeros in on the rockin’ diversity of Otago and the towns that lie within its borders. Called Dreamofkiwi.com, the site bills itself as “Home of Otago’s most comprehensive online travel Directory, providing visitors to Otago New Zealand with access to hundreds of accommodation and activity options so you can plan your travel with confidence.” Not bad, right?

Clicking on the Dunedin option will bring up some excellent dining options—my personal favorite being the Speights Ale House Bar and Restaurant. For those of you looking for a little trivia, north island folk will tell you that SPEIGHTS stands for (Southern People Enjoy It, God Hates The Shit). Seriously, though–it’s a good beer. Click here to jump to the site!