Lost in Vacation: New Zealand

It was only after having our shoes washed by the airport biosecurity department of Auckland that we realized that on the other side of the world there is a civilization even more western than ours.
Promenading through the streets of Auckland, the City of Sails, intensified this feeling. The streets were empty and clean, so clean that some people are used to walking barefoot in town - imagine that in Vienna! Empty because a good part of the inhabitants left to their favourite summer holiday spots around Auckland to celebrate New Years Eve. So we strolled past deserted 6-lane avenues without as much as an occasional bus on them, taking in air as fresh as a seabreeze. A cultural and physical shock after Bangkok (you could almost hear our lungs unfolding again).

Of course, there were still enough people in Auckland to produce a sizable crowd on New Years Eve. But after our Silvester experiences in Vienna, seeing people party without firecrackers and alcohol (on the streets) felt sterile and excitingly different at the same time.
Still, we had lots of fun! And at least we got a foretaste on New Zealands almost fascist safety restrictions. An example: Asking bouncers why there seem to be fences in front of every open street bar or restaurant, the answer was 'to avoid people bumping into each other when they leave the bar in order to prevent fights'...

Apart from the ubiquitious and nasty sandflies, the overcaring safety attitute is the only thing that prevents NZL from being the perfect holiday country. Special credits for this have to be given to the DOC (the department of conservation), which is in charge of nature conservation, eco-tourism and travellers safety. They are doing a great job! The only problem is: they are doing their job too good. The DOC and the biosecurity department are probably as influential in NZL as the FBI and the CIA in the USA. You will encounter DOC agents mowing lawns around the most remote hiking tracks, giving you advice how to best cross the 5 meter wide wooden bridge without being severly injured or handing out poo boxes if you can't make the average 500m to the next toilet booth.
You will get an inmpression on some of our next blog entries...