My solo trip to New Zealand from Wednesday, February 23 to Tuesday, March 7, 2023 has ended. So, I will summarize it below.
≪New Zealanders' national character and English≫
Although New Zealand is a country centered on British whites and indigenous Maori, it is a multi-ethnic country with many Indian, Indonesian, and Chinese immigrants. At airports and cities, everyone greeted me with a smile. I was really surprised to meet a kind scientist who received an unknown Japanese tourist hospitably and generously. A Chinese person said that he likes this country where there is no excessive competition like in his home country and everyone lives at ease. I saw so many Chinese tourists, who may originally have planned to go to Japan, seem to be flowing to New Zealand. I could hear Korean, but I rarely hear Japanese. There were English and Chinese descriptions in the hotel information, but Japanese was rarely seen.
They speak English fast and is different from American and British English, and people from different countries speak different kinds of English. An elderly woman who was waiting with me at the bus stop was an English teacher, and she said that the reason why foreigners find it difficult to get used to English is that each country has a slightly different accent. I realized that face-to-face conversations with native speakers in daily life overseas are problematic, so this is my issue for the future.
I had heard that prices were high in New Zealand. I realized that the prices were two to three times higher than in Japan.
≪Car and Driving≫
In about 10 days, I have driven 1800km from Christchurch ⇒ Dunedin ⇒ Queenstown ⇒ Twizel ⇒ Tekapo ⇒ Christchurch. It was good that there were no accidents and no violations. About 80% of the cars were Japanese cars. On national highways, the maximum speed is 100km/h whether it is a free expressway or a general road. However, in Japan, it is quite a thrill to pass each other at 100km/h on a road with a speed limit of 50-60km/h. If I mishandle the steering wheel while looking at smartphone or falling asleep, I will end up in a head-on collision and die instantly. Also, as in Japan, there was a driver approaching me from behind while driving, I frequently pulled over to the side of the road.
≪Fishing and sightseeing≫
On the way from Dunedin to Queenstown, I cast a lure in the river three times. At one point, I could catch several fishes such as dace. As I approached the mountains, the river was blue and beautiful, but I couldn't catch anything. In Queenstown, I cast lures at Lake Wakatipu in front of the hotel early in the morning and evening, but there was no response. I caught a brown trout about 40cm long after 4 hours fishing in Diamond Lake. After that, on the way to Kingston, I caught a 30cm cherry salmon at the inflow of Lake Wakatipu. After moving to Twizel, I caught kokanee salmon in a nearby stream. There were almost no anglers in sight, so it is not clear whether it is not the best time to fish, or whether the fisherman population is originally small.
Therefore, I didn't do anything that could be called sightseeing, and I didn't even go to Milford Sound as originally planned. However, the scenery on the way from Twizel to Mount Cook was vast, beautiful, and impressive. European style cities with much nature, like Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, were also beautiful and impressive.
≪Solo Travel in the SNS Era Summary≫
About 30 years ago, when I was traveling by car in Europe, I was staring at a map and often missed the way. Now I have my smartphone, iPad, and laptop in my car, and at least I don't get lost. Compared to when I traveled alone in the past, I can use Global WiFi to send emails anytime. If I want to talk to someone, I can communicate using LINE and look up anything on Google. So, I did not feel lonely. It was refreshing and exciting for me to be able to interact with New Zealand people.
Compared to when I traveled alone in Germany in my mid-30s, it was honestly physically tough. Along the way for two weeks, since I forgot trivial things and felt tired, I was disappointed with my brain function. At my current age, it seems that about a week is appropriate for traveling abroad alone. Still, I feel that this trip to New Zealand stimulated and revitalized my brain for a long time. It became an unforgettable journey. I am truly grateful to people in New Zealand. Next time, I will visit New Zealand again with my wife and grandchildren.
I love New Zealand! Thank you!!
Takahito Miyazawa March 22, 2023 At home.