Calling NZ Oppos

"Chuckybas" (Chuckybas) 09/04/2016 at 00:35 • Filed to: None

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Taking the family on a trip at the end of September. I’ll need to do a lot of driving, but I’m from Michigan in North America. We get plenty of snow. How bad are the roads up the west coast of the South Island (Franz Josef/Greymouth? The temps look cold enough to maybe have snow? I’m coming into this pretty blind. Any and all help is appreciated. Obligatory Holden picture for your time.

ToyDeathbot > Chuckybas 09/04/2016 at 05:14

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It’ll probably be either raining/snowing, and if it isn’t you’ll need to be very very careful of black ice.

Most roads around New Zealand are full of blind corners so you have to be very careful. I think that’s one of the major factors that our high tourist crash rates. Not a lot of tourists are familiar with the mountainous rural environment.

Other than that, I can bet that you’re going to have a lot of fun!

Cé hé sin > ToyDeathbot 09/04/2016 at 05:28

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Another reason is many tourists come from places where they drive on the wrong side of the road.

ToyDeathbot > Cé hé sin 09/04/2016 at 05:35

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Yeah, that’s a big one, but most people adapt pretty well after driving a bit. All our rental cars have a sticker on the dash to remind people to keep to the left.

Nauraushaun > Chuckybas 09/04/2016 at 08:03

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On the topic of snow, it will be the end of Spring when you get there. AFAIK NZ isn’t a particularly cold place (save the mountains I suppose). If it’s anything like Australia, there shouldn’t be a lot of snow outside of Winter.

But I haven’t been. I’d like to go. I think they get a lot of weird cars over there since there are no domestic manufacturers and you can import whatever you like. There’s also a company that rents NA/NB MX-5s, and in the grand scheme they’re really just a little old Mazda, so prices are cheap as chips!

sdwarf36 > ToyDeathbot 09/04/2016 at 09:35

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When I was driving over there, whenever I came to an intersection, I kept telling myself “WIDE RIGHT-TIGHT LEFT.” it worked-I only screwed up once.

And don’t get offended if the locals drive right on your butt. They are the nicest people on the planet-but they tailgate like you are driving thru Boston.

ToyDeathbot > sdwarf36 09/04/2016 at 10:18

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haha, tail-gating is such a problem here. Usually it’s better to just pull over, but I don’t see a lot of people doing that (other that trucks, trailers and campervans). If there isn’t much of a shoulder, just pull over at the nearest side road or scenic lookout. Those are all over the place and they have great views.