Staying safe and travelling respectfully in New Zealand

Most visitors arrive worried about the wrong things. There are no snakes, no dangerous land mammals and comparatively little crime. What catches people out is the environment: cold water, fast rivers, weather that changes in an hour, and roads that are narrower and slower than they look.

Emergency numbers

On the road

Driving here is different enough to trip up experienced drivers from overseas. New Zealand drives on the left. Highways are mostly single-lane each way, with no shoulder, and pass through towns. Distances that look short on a map take much longer than they should.

• Keep left, and give way to your right where signs don't say otherwise.
• Seatbelts are compulsory for everyone in the vehicle. Children need an approved restraint until their seventh birthday.
• Do not overtake on a solid yellow line, and do not tailgate on winding road — pull over and let people past.
• Many rural bridges are one lane. The larger sign with the smaller arrow means you give way.
• Rail crossings in rural areas are often unbarriered. Look both ways.
• Jet lag plus a rental car straight off a long-haul flight is a genuine hazard. Take a shuttle or transfer for day one.

The official visitor driving guidance lives at drivesafe.org.nz. And when a stretch of road worries you — the Crown Range, Arthur's Pass, the Milford road in winter — that is exactly the leg to hand to a professional driver.

Water and the outdoors

• Swim between the flags on patrolled beaches. Rips are the leading cause of drowning here, and many beautiful beaches are unpatrolled.
• Never cross a river you cannot see the bottom of, and never cross one in flood — wait, or turn back.
• Alpine weather changes fast in every season. Carry a warm layer, rain shell, food and a torch, even on a short walk.
• Check track conditions and alerts with the Department of Conservation before you set out. Tracks close for slips, flooding and maintenance.
• Tell someone your plan and your expected return time. Mobile coverage disappears in most of the backcountry.
• The sun here burns quickly — the UV index is high even on cool, overcast days.

Protecting the place: biosecurity and kauri

• Clean your boots, tent pegs and outdoor gear before arriving in New Zealand and between forest areas. Soil carries disease.
• In kauri forest, use every wash station, stay on the boardwalk and keep off tree roots. Kauri dieback has no cure.
• Check, clean and dry anything that has been in fresh water before entering another waterway — didymo and other pests move on wet gear.
• Never feed wildlife, and keep well back from seals, sea lions and penguins on the beach. Twenty metres is the usual guidance.

Camping and freedom camping

Freedom camping is legal in many places and prohibited in many others, and the rules are set council by council, with real fines for getting it wrong. Check the local council's map before you park up for the night, and use campsites and holiday parks where there is any doubt. Do not empty a toilet cassette anywhere except a dump station.

The Tiaki Promise

Tiaki means to care for people and place. The Tiaki Promise is a commitment visitors and locals alike are asked to make: to travel here as a guardian rather than a consumer. It comes down to three things.

• Care for land, sea and nature — tread lightly and leave no trace.
• Respect culture — travel with an open heart and mind.
• Travel safely — show care and consideration for everyone on the road and on the track.

It sounds soft. In practice it means taking your rubbish out, slowing down for the person behind you, asking before you photograph a marae, and not parking on someone's farm gate for the night. That's it.

If any part of your route feels beyond your confidence — winter passes, long distances, unfamiliar mountain roads, or a day when everyone in the group wants a drink at the winery — put a local driver in the front seat instead. That is what we do.