New Zealand tourism....

.... Is a Gold Mine, in fact. This truly is a playground for travelers, endless possibilities, and endless adventures. Why this place isn't completely flooded with tourists all the time is a mystery to me.

I should note some comparisons made to US tourism/culture, and NZ tourism. There is much to contrast, actually....

Kelli and Kelli, two AMericans decide to rent scooters. What is required? A short drive around a field to prove we aren't completely incomptent. What is not required? Driver's license, test, vision test, etc. So we cruised an island for 12 hours, sharing the road with cars and trucks. Our only instruction? Have fun!

Since the scooters were so fun, and we mastered left-side driving so fast, we decided the country would be be explored by rental car, as there is no "Deutsche Bahn" in NZ. Again, no background checks, although they did ask to see our US driver's licenses. Our only instruction as we drove off in our Toyota Vitz (affectionaly known as 'Vikki' now) was "no smoking, otherwise, it is good. No worries!"

Sand duning: one of the most popular spots in NZ said our handy Lonely Planet guide. As we cruised up to the top of NZ, we expected signs pointing to the sand dunes. Nothing except a petrol station marked "last petrol before the Cape," in other words, if you make it to the top, you better have enough petrol to get you back down!

Lucky Vikki gets excellent gas mileage (we aren't sure how many km to the litre she really gets) and we soon found ourselves staring at the face of many sand dunes in the middle of a dense forest. Where is the ticket booth? The warnings of iminent death if rules are not followed? The waiver? The directions!? and of course, the sand boards?!

Insert Sandwoman, the holder of the sand boards, located on a farm just 7km off the beaten path of the sand dunes. She lent us the boards, took our name, and sent us on our merry way with a reminder "Bring those back like good girls!"

Back to the dunes we went. Unsure of how these work, we spent 30 mins trying various positions to get us down the sand dune. We weren't moving. We tried running starts. Nothing. It was then we realized we really had to climb these sand dunes (imagine a snow hill, at a 15 degree angle). After sweating our way to the top, we tumbled down the mountain, in our boards. At the bottom there was sand in our hair, our shoes, our fingernails, everywhere. But the biggest thrill of the trip!!

So here are more reasons I love NZ, and in it's way, it's innocence. The people here have a sense of trust in the human race, and truly want us all as visitors to enjoy their country.

As long as, of course, you do not try to sneak chicken croissnats into the country....