Epilogue

New Zealand is far, very far from The Netherlands, 23 hours minimum flying time, keeping most people from doing it I think. But it is very rewarding. It is scenic the most diverse and best country I have ever visited, Norway and Canada coming close. There are even more attractive (spectacular) activities possible. Making this the best possible holiday? You have to decide.

One aspect I did not like was the not so friendly welcoming in the north of the North Island. It became much better down from Gisborne and the South Island gave me a much better impression, but it did not come close to the friendliness on the north-east of the US (Maine and Vermont and New Hampshire) and Canada. To my opinion that is of course.

It is not very expensive to travel. Well that is compared to Europe and US and Canada, there are many countries much cheaper too of course. Getting there is the more expensive part and taking activities add to that, but the many B&B's and motels, lodges, hotels, backpacker possibilities give everyone a suitable option. Let it be said it was Winter time, so the Summer is (much) more expensive. Using the iSite offices it very well worth it as they can find (and they are extremely helpful) the best deals. It could men you can end up somewhere else then expected, but in my case it was worth it. Only the first hotel in Auckland was not very good, and even the most pricey one, not pre-arranged by iSite though.

Driving on the left is no real problem at all as the steering wheel is on the other side, so you adjust very fast. There are still many accidents though wit foreign drivers, they tend to forget sometimes when they start driving again and no other cars are visible. Driving takes a lot of time as there are only a few real motorways. The scenery makes up for that. There are also not many roads so you have to carefully select a route as taking a wrong one can mean you're driving several hundreds of Km extra.

The food and wines are from OK to very good. Again for every budget something to choose from. Wine is not cheep though and some are even extremely expensive, quality is overall very good though. And giving you the option of "bringing your own" to some restaurants makes it more pleasing.

What did I like most? Especially the diversity of the landscape, the vastness of it all.
What did I dislike most? Not much, although as written it could and should have been more friendly in some places.
Which city was best? Difficult to say, but Napier, Wellington and Queenstown all have their own pro's, liked them all.
What activity was best? The helicopter ride was a once in lifetime experience, Jetboating was a very nice one too.
Which wine was best? I only could taste a few but the ones from Esk Valley Winery in Napier I liked the most. Next time I should go to Malborough though ...
Best overall day? The day with the helicopter landing on top of the Glacier and the last day in and to Akaroa.

So what is the score? I am giving it an 8 out of 10.
Can it be even better? I think so. That would be New Zealand in Autumn or Summer and Canada still tops my list.
Will I go again? Most probably yes in the future as I have missed out on some experiences like White Island and Milford Sound, not to mention many others.

OK, speak to you later ..... will take some time to indulge all of it really ...........