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Road trip in New Zealand

Gosia — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:24:18 +0000

A road trip in New Zealand is not a way of getting from one attraction to another, it is the attraction itself. That said, I have to say this straight up: New Zealand does not have amazing road infrastructure. And that genuinely surprised me, especially given how popular the country is with tourists. Because of the terrain, most roads are mountainous, narrow, single-lane serpentines. And paradoxically, that’s brilliant. Every route is an experience, and a road trip around New Zealand could easily be the main point of the journey rather than just a means of getting somewhere. Driving technically demanding roads surrounded by mountains, lakes and vast empty spaces delivers unforgettable impressions. That enjoyment, however, is sometimes taken away by the technical condition of the roads. Some look as if they’ve been stuck in a never-ending state of roadworks for years, while others are simply rough and uneven. Extra caution is needed on rainy days, as water-filled ruts can catch you out and make skidding dangerously easy. Still, to be fair, the quality of the roads needs to be viewed in context. New Zealand has only around 5.2 million inhabitants spread over 268,000 square kilometres. For comparison, Poland covers 312,000 square kilometres but has more than six times the population. As a result, a significant number of roads run through complete wilderness, and stretches of 100 kilometres without any sign of civilisation are nothing unusual. There’s a certain charm to that, even if the tarmac occasionally disappears beneath your wheels. Navigation and fuel The low population and limited urbanisation directly affect the number of petrol stations. In New Zealand you really have to keep an eye on your fuel level, as there are stretches where you won’t find a single petrol station for over 100 kilometres. Sometimes there are warning signs, but it’s far from guaranteed. I stuck to a simple rule: never let the tank drop below half. Petrol 91 usually cost me between NZD 2.50 and 2.70 per litre (2025). Before leaving, it’s worth installing the Gaspy app, which shows the cheapest petrol stations nearby. The most sensible option is to refuel in larger towns, where prices are noticeably lower. It’s also a good idea to download offline maps, because in New Zealand mobile signal can disappear faster than petrol. Road tolls At present (2026), there are only three toll roads in New Zealand: the Northern Gateway Toll Road north of Auckland, the Tauranga Eastern Link, and Takitimu Drive. Full information is available here. The tolls are low, usually around NZD 2.50 (2025). Payment is made online by entering the vehicle’s registration number, and forgetting to do so is not an option. You have five days from the date of travel to pay; otherwise, you’ll receive a fine. Toll roads are clearly marked, with large signs spelling out the payment obligation well in advance. Traffic rules New Zealand drives on the left, so sticking to the left-hand side is absolutely essential, and roundabouts are entered the “wrong” way compared to right-hand traffic – clockwise 😉. It’s important to follow the rules carefully. Even though the driver sits on the right-hand side of the car, speed limits are metric, not imperial. The maximum speed nationwide is 100 km/h, although some sections allow up to 110 km/h. In towns and cities, the standard limit is 50 km/h, with some areas reduced to 30 km/h. It’s also worth remembering that parking against the direction of traffic can result in a fine. From my observations, local drivers genuinely stick to the rules. I hardly saw any police on the roads, speed cameras and average-speed checks are rare, and they are usually clearly signposted. Car hire Hiring a car in New Zealand is straightforward. You’ll need your driving licence as well as an International Driving Permit. Before the trip, I came across information stating that the permit should be issued under the Geneva Convention, as New Zealand is a signatory. On the ground, rental companies also accepted licences issued under the Vienna Convention, but in hindsight I think it’s safer to get the Geneva one. I didn’t have any encounters with the police, so I didn’t check this in practice, but better safe than sorry. There are plenty of well-known rental companies on the market. I saw a lot of cars from Jucy on the roads, a brand I hadn’t known before – maybe not in huge numbers, but they were hard to miss. I chose a local company, Bargain Rental Cars, as I was travelling solo and focused on keeping costs down. On the North Island, I was given a 2008 Nissan Tiida. It had clearly seen better days and was definitely not a head-turner, but it drove, which was all I needed. On the South Island, things changed dramatically: for the price of a mini car, I got a 2022 Toyota Camry Hybrid. That car made my holiday. At first, I was happy about saving money on fuel thanks to the hybrid system. In reality, I just drove even more, because it was such a pleasure to drive. Altogether, I covered nearly 6,000 kilometres on New Zealand roads, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of the entire trip. Every route was an adventure in its own right, and I honestly feel like I could drive there endlessly, even without a specific destination marked on the map.

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Car cemetery

Gosia — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 12:41:40 +0000

Car cemetery had been on my list for some time however I didn’t expect fireworks when I got there. I suspected that this place would be largely looted. Meanwhile, I saw a hundred cars from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s in various degrees of disintegration. It’s sad to see all of them slowly rusting and falling into increasing disrepair. Some of them have been dismantled, but there’s still a lot to see. Such a collection must have been a huge treasure in the times of socialism. Many drivers dreamed of such cars back then. The choice is wide: Fiats, Skodas, Syrenas, Mercedes and Opels. Fiat 126p cars lined up neatly in a row looked almost like they were on display in a showroom. I tried to find more information about this mysterious place. Unfortunately, there’s practically no trace of it on the Internet. However, I was interested in the fact that the car cemetery is located close to one of the main routes to Warsaw, in a quite dense forest. It’s surrounded by the fragments of the concrete wall and security guard’s booth. Well, maybe I don’t want to know more… If you like this post more urbex spots you cna find here.

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Jordan – how to organise a trip?

Gosia — Sat, 24 Nov 2018 22:11:42 +0000

Purchase budget flight tickets is just the beginning of the iceberg. Browsing the Internet to find relevant tips is time consuming and sometimes really boring thing. That’s why I’ve decided to write this post to collect all the most important infomation related to travel to Jordan. Visa and Jordan pass Flights to Jordan can be really cheap, especially from Poland or Germany, while on the spot you have to buy a visa that costs quite a lot because 40 JOD which is about 50€. The best solution is to buy Jordan Pass, which costs from 70 to 80 JOD (around 87 -100€). Jordan Pass includes the cost of the visa (on condition that we stay in Jodan minimum 3 nights) and free admission to 40 attractions. Jordan pass prices vary depending on the amount of days we want to devote to visiting Petra. Detailed information is available here. Accommodation First night we spent in Amman at a hotel called meaningfully Aljazeera Hotel Apartments. Unfortunately high rating at booking.com does not reflect reality. Our “suite” has seen better days, we had to force the receptionist to turn warm water on, however even with this facility taking the shower was a really “memorable” experience. In the area of Petra we spent a night at Petra Family House run by local family. We had a huge apartment with kitchen at our disposal. In the morning, we’re served a delicious, traditional breakfast. The incredibly hospitable and open owner of this apartment – Rizek also offers trips to Petra and other areas in Jordan, as well as mules or donekyes rides. The third night we spent in the middle of the Wadi Rum Desert. It was one of the main attractions during our trip, right after Petra. In the desert, there are a lot of camps of this type, at booking.com you can find many offers in price starting from 10€ per person. In the price of accommodation, it is usually included transport to the campsite and traditional Bedouin supper and breakfast. In addition, you can buy a desert tour with a local guide. Car rental There’s a lot of chain rentals at Amman Airport. Check out the post how to rent a car seamlessly. The main roads in Jordan are of decent quality, while the minor roads resemble those in Poland some years ago. While driving in Jordan you should pay attention to pretty high speed bumps, which are often unmarked, also on fast traffic routes. After experience in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, driving culture in Jordan positively surprised me. In larger cities like Amman, I expected an aggressive ride without any possible safety rules. Meanwhile, Jordanian drivers satisfactorily complied to the rules and were satisfactorily predictable in their actions. However, after all, it is necessary to take into account the influence of latitude on road conditions and therefore the southern temperament of the drivers. Electricity and the Internet In Jordan we didn’t have any problems with internet access. Wifi was available both at the hotel where we spent first night and in a private suite. One exception was the accommodation in the desert. When travelling to Jordan, it is worth the supply universal adpater, as there are several sockets types. Outfit Jordan is a Muslim country, and therefore it’s advisable to wear modest clothes here. In most places, women should have covered legs, arms and cleavage. Unlike Jordan women, it is not necessary to cover the hair, as it is widely recognised here that only Muslim women should cover it. One place which requires to cover up completely is King Abdullah Mosque in Amman. It is also the only mosque that allows the tourists visits. In the area of Petra, shorts and T-shirts are allowed and in the area of the Dead Sea and Red Sea, you can even don a swimwear. However, it is important to remember that despite the large amount of tourists in these areas, bikini still attracts a lot of attention. Weather The autumn – winter period is perfect for exploring Jordan, because of the optimal temperature. During our visit in November, in Amman was slightly over 20 centigrade while in the southern Jordan about 30 degrees. Unfortunately, in this period, the south of Jordan, and especially the area of the famous Petra are susceptible to flash floods. Sudden torrential rains create a wave of water, quickly flowing through narrow canyons and ravage everything in its path. Just before our arrival, there was a great wave of floods in Petra’s area that killed 11 people. The next day, part of the roads ware blocked, and in addition tourist attactions were closed as a sign of mourning. For this reason, we weren’t able to see some places from our tight itinerary. On the other hand, I can say that we had a lot of luck that arriving just after this flood. When planning your day trip here, it’s advisable to watch the weather forecast. Prices: Jordan is a relatively cheap country. Accommodation cost us aroun 10€ per person per night. The exception was the accommodation in the desert in the Bedouin camp, which cost 40€ including a 3-hour trip across the desert. As we travelled as a group of 5 people and bacause in just 3 days we wanted to see as much as possible, we rented the car. The total cost of rental Toyota 4-Runner with full insurance was 40€ per person. A big surprise for drivers can be fuel prices in Jordan. Although this country is located in the Arab Peninsula rich in oil, a litre of fuel costs here 1€. During our trip, we drove around 1000 km and the cost of fuel was about 25€ per person. Meal prices depend on the place. Dinner in a bar shouldn’t cost more than 7€ per person, while in better restaurant prices start from 10€. Details you can find on this website. Find out the next post about sightseeing in Jordan 🙂 fot. Monika Dąbrowska

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Girl on a (dangerous) Trail – roads safety…

Gosia — Sun, 07 Jan 2018 10:55:50 +0000

Before I went to Georgia, I’d thought that I’d seen everything on the roads. There were roads in Mexico, especially those in Mexico City, provided me adrenaline comparable to bungee jumping. There were no rules, except for one – parking ban, which, as a matter of fact, didn’t improve my situation. It was hard, even today I still remember these dilemmas before going through pedestrian crossing, cutting 7-lane, busy road. To make matters worse, I felt constant uncertainty there, whether a driver, driving a 7th right lane, would begin to make a sudden turning left without warning. The entertainment comparable to watching a good psychological thriller was watching roundabouts during rush hours. I was impressed by drivers’ courage who were driving against the current and those driving with the current, that was really good performance. And how about with the police, the guarantor of the road safety… Everybody knows that Mexico City is overcrowded and not always safe. Hence, the logic of the police is to use the sound signals normally during patrols and turn them off to intervene, so that they do not scare the criminals. As long as it’s logical for the crime prevention, for the pedestrian it’s not. I have to admit, driving a car in Mexico is an art. First of all, it requires major psychological skills, behavioral reflex, the ability to read body movements and gestures, possess relevant interpersonal skills and finally the so called “road assertiveness” must be mastered there. The roads in Vietnam are a separate subject for the book, but I’ve described these issues in a modest post (you can find it here). It would seem that the situation here is better than in Mexico, because there’re mainly scooters on the roads. But believe me, even sitting on the edge of a plane before skydiving doesn’t give such adrenaline like a change of light for the red in the middle of a pedestrian crossing on the busy artery in Saigon. After all these adventures, I thought that the “driving culture” in Georgia won’t differ significantly from the European standard, but I was very wrong. While crossing the road in this country, on the basis of previous experience, it was no longer an impression for me, but traffic observation from the back seat of so called “marshrutka” was a truly spiritual experience. But maybe I’ll start from the beginning. Marshrutkas are popular means of communication in Georgia. Cars, transporting people often belong to private individuals, which unfortunately affects their technical condition. The basic principle in Georgia for the choice of the means of transport is to assess the quality of the windscreen window. If it’s broken, you should look for another means of transport. But the problem is when we get into the car, where it turns out that a cautious driver covered the windscreen. In this situation, all we have to do is pray with the driver. Let me put it this way, praying before driving is a ceremony in Georgia. Cars are equipped with all kinds of rosaries and pictures. WIthout a prayer, you can’t move. Of course this activity is repeated on the road mainly before and after overtaking… In addition, there’s another element in Georgia that I havn’t met in any of the previous countries. The popular means of transport are Japanese cars that are much cheaper. Of course, I must admit that Japanese production cars are valued for quality but they have one basic flaw – for the God’s sake, the steering wheel is on the right! At the first overtaking we lead our strenuous intentions towards the altar made by the driver, and belive me after the drive you can recite the entire apocalypse from your memory. However, it’s not the end, the situation is further complicated by the herds of cows, horses and goats, which, without any discomfort, just walk the road. To make matters worse, the areas in Georgia are imposing additional precautionary measures, as the gas pipes are right to buildings. And how does it look like in practice? Take a look 😉

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Renting a car

Gosia — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 19:59:32 +0000

A car on a holiday gives independence and possibility to visit a lot of places in a relatively short time. Nowadays, rental prices are so competitive that it’s better to leave our car at home. Is renting a car a very complicated thing? The answer is no, however you need to know several things to avoid possible problems. Documents: To hire a car abroad, you need: ID or passport, driving license (in some countries, additionally an international driving license is required) and credit card. There’re a lot of rental companies, but in our opinion is better to book a car from well – known companies like: Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, Europcar. During booking process you must read very carefully all rental and cancellation conditions. Usually, the rental cost doesn’t include additional options so in order to avoid extra charge you need to check: if there’re mileage/kilometer restrictions in the agreement and how much it costs, the price for returning a car in a different place, the price for a child safety seat, the price for the second driver, the price for taking a car after opening time, minimum driver’s age when addition charge is not applied (usually it’s 25), GPS GPS rental can be really expensive so when you don’t have one, you can buy a pre – paid card and use for example google navigation. Fuel policy Most of the rental companies use so called full tank policy, in short it means that customer receives fully tanked car and is obliged to return in with the same amount of fuel. Some companies offer another option: empty tank policy. In this case, customer pays for a full tank and return it empty. Fuel price is set by a rental company and usually is higher than on a petrol station and what’s more it’s not so easy to use it all. Assistants in rental companies work on commission basis. Every additional option, chosen by us is their profit. It’s the same with empty tank policy, so don’t believe them when they say that there’s no gas station nearby. On condition that you’re not on a dessert, a gas station should be at most 10 – 15 km from the rental company. Insurance You need to read insurance conditions very carefully. To minimalize the risk of really high cost for damage or theft, the agreement should include 2 types of insurance: CDW and TP. Insurance – CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) and TP (Theft Protection) guarantee that in case of accident or theft, the customer will be responsible for damages only to the specified in the agreement amount (it depends on the make of the car). You need to check what’s included in CDW because usually it doesn’t cover windows or flat tire. How to reduce our responsibility to minimum: – Additional insurance, offered by rental companies it’s the most expensive option. It reduce driver’s responsibility for a damage or theft. The cost depends on the car. It can cost from 10 to 30 € or even more. Important: when you resign from this additional insurance, car rental company will block an amount on your card, as a deposit in case any damages or theft. It can be really high, depending on car it can costs even several thousand euro. So check out if your credit card limit is sufficient. A few days after returning a car (on condition that it was returned undamaged) this blockade is removed. – Insurance offered by our credit card Some credit cards have so called zero-deductible collision coverage. So before hiring a car, it’s worth checking if our credit card offers this option. If so, ask for sending its conditions, as it can be limited to several countries and cars. When your credit card can cover damages, remember to use it to all transactions with rental car company. Picking up and returning a car Before you start driving, check your car carefully. Point out the rental company every damages which are not included in your rental documents (insist on marking every damage otherwise you can be charged for repairing it). Check also the condition of the car, breaks, lights, spare tire, the amount of fuel (sometimes it can be lower than it was told, then insist to top it up) and car documents. When you return a car, always remember about the copy of the rental documents, which state that you return a car undamaged (if there’s no such an information, ask a rental company to include it). When a company unlawfully charges you for damages, these documents can be really helpful. Additionally, you can take photos of a car after picking it up and before returning. It’s not the end… Check the transactions on your credit card. Rental companies block certain amount on a credit card as a deposit for the car. A few days after returning a car (on condition that it was returned undamaged) this blockade is removed. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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Switzerland – driving on the edge!

Gosia — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 19:01:50 +0000

Push yourself to the limits… Swiss roads can be described as the drivers’ wonderland. Apart from highly developed highway network, driving here isn’t monotonous. The travel is full of amazing landscapes, numerous tunnels (even 10 km length), sharp bends and black spots, which are marked with the signs informing about masses in nearby churches. Additionally, reasonable speed limits and the lack of police patrols make the drive very pleasant. In any case, speed controls seem to be unnecessary here because the list of penalties is a reading more thrilling than the best thriller. But it doesn’t mean that Swiss drivers observe road rules. From the driver point of view, who sits at the wheel of 1 – liter Ford Focus, driving on Swiss roads isn’t plain sailing. When you have to keep the pace in the cordon which consists of Ferrari, Bentley, Porshe, Tesla or Wiesmann, believe me the pressure is really high. Cars on the rails! Apart from facultative expenses for tickets, driving on the Swiss roads requires buying a vignette which is valid 1 year and costs 40 CHF. Fortunately, we didn’t have to buy it, as the hired car was equipped with it. Nevertheless, the balance must be sustained in the nature and our happiness didn’t last long. A little bit later we spent 30 CHF in 15 minutes!!! So if you have the extra money, go the road from picturesque valley Lauterbrunnen to Martigny, through the Lötschberg tunnel. Here you’ll have a unique possibility to travel by car inside the train! In practice it looks as follows… But it’s not the end of the road attractions in Switzerland. There’re some places in the middle of nowhere… One of these places is the town Bourg St. Pierre. In view of the fact that there’s only one road, full addresses of the buildings are unnecessary. In such conditions getting to the ho be a hotel seems to be a piece of cake but in a fact it took us over an hour. Of course, we didn’t waste this time 😉 During searching the hotel, we visited border crossing, where sleepy and a little bit annoyed customs officer snarled only “Italia” for our question about the road. Next attempt also resulted in failure because we fetched up just in front the sign informing about no passage till June, in the snow drift somewhere in the middle of the Alps. Finally we decided to key in GPS coordinates. After 3-km drive our GPS announced gleefully that we were on the spot. In a fact we were on another mountain peak with the company of the skulk of foxes on the path without any possibility to turn back. In the end we managed to get to the hotel but as you can see it’s not the destination but the journey that matters 😉 ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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