Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tourist Information
Tourism New Zealand
The website for the official national tourism body,
Tourism New Zealand
(
www.newzealand.com
)
, is the best place for pretrip research. Emblazoned with the
hugely successful 100% Pure New Zealand branding, the site has information in several
languages, including German and Japanese, and also lists Tourism New Zealand contact
offices overseas (Australia, UK, USA etc).
Local Tourist Offices
Almost every Kiwi city or town seems to have a visitor information centre. The bigger
centres stand united within the outstanding
i-SITE
(
www.newzealand.com/travel/i-sites
)
network - around 80 info centres affiliated with Tourism New Zealand. i-SITEs have
trained staff, information on local activities and attractions, and free brochures and maps.
Staff can also book activities, transport and accommodation.
Bear in mind that some information centres only promote accommodation and tour op-
erators who are paying members of the local tourist association, and that sometimes staff
aren't supposed to recommend one activity or accommodation provider over another.
There's also a network of
Department of Conservation
(DOC;
www.doc.govt.nz
) visit-
or centres to help you plan activities and make bookings. DOC visitor centres - in national
parks, regional centres and major cities - usually also have displays on local lore, flora,
fauna and biodiversity.
Travellers with Disabilities
Kiwi accommodation generally caters fairly well for travellers with disabilities, with a signi-
ficant number of hostels, hotels, motels and B&Bs equipped with wheelchair-accessible
rooms. Many tourist attractions similarly provide wheelchair access, with wheelchairs of-
ten available.
Tour operators with accessible vehicles operate from most major centres. Key cities are
also serviced by 'kneeling' buses (buses that hydraulically stoop down to kerb level to al-
low easy access), and taxi companies offer wheelchair-accessible vans. Large car-hire
firms (Avis, Hertz etc) provide cars with hand controls at no extra charge (advance notice
required).
Activities
Want to tackle a wilderness pathway? Pick up a copy of
Accessible Walks
by Anna and
Andrew Jameson ($30 including postage), with first-hand descriptions of 100-plus South
Island walks. It's available online at
www.accessiblewalks.co.nz
.
