The Lake Taupo District is a wonderful region to visit but sometimes it is knowing those little details about life in a certain country or area that makes all the difference when you’re travelling. Below you will find a list of every day things you should know about travelling in New Zealand:
Hospitals & Emergencies
The emergency number for police, fire and ambulance is 111
If during your visit to Taupo you are in need of medical advice, refer to your local directory. There will be a section for hospitals and one for doctors. Bear in mind that if visiting as a non-New Zealander, all medical care must be paid for at the time of visit unless covered by travel insurance or the result of an accident on the road.
Local Directory and Yellow Pages
Many New Zealand local directories contain maps of the region you are visiting, including detailed street maps. Often, in small New Zealand towns, you will find the White and Yellow pages combined in to one book.
Check your local directory for: maps, community information, support organisations, doctors, hospitals, churches and government departments. At Chantilly's Motor Lodge, we have have a directory at reception along with separate area information brochures.
For contact details Visit www.whitepages.co.nz or www.yellowpages.co.nz.
Driving in New Zealand
Keep left: In New Zealand cars drive on the left hand side of the road. Be careful when approaching our many roundabouts that you indicate with care to show the exit you wish to take. Treat roundabout exits as left hand turns and always give way to the right.
On motorways, New Zealand rules allow cars to overtake on the inside left lane, although drivers are advised to overtake on the right where possible. Take care to use your mirrors at all times and indicate when attempting to change lanes.
Many of New Zealand’s signs will indicate direction by the town you will next reach, rather than letting you know whether this is in a southerly/northerly etc direction. When navigating be aware of what towns and cities you will next be approaching on the way to your destination.
Most New Zealand roads are well lit, well signposted and provide excellent opportunities to pass slow vehicles. Our speed limit on the open road is 100 kilometres per hour, inner city streets’ speed limit is 50kmph, unless otherwise indicated.
Take care with a unique driving rule in New Zealand: the left hand rule. When turning left in to any street, always give way to traffic travelling straight through, and to traffic turning right in to the street you wish to take.
Public Transport
Most towns in New Zealand have an efficient bus system to help you get around their busy centres. Bus drivers stop at designated stops, usually indicated by a bus stop sign. Many bus services rely on travellers signalling with a raised hand to stop the bus.
Ordinarily taxis operate from taxi ramps or call out services, rather than being hailed from the road side, although some will stop for this too.
Parking
As in all towns, parking in inner city or central business district areas can be limited. Despite this, most small towns in the Taupo area supply some free parking for short periods.
Longer parking periods have coin operated parking metres with maximum time limits, Pay and Display options (you pay money in to a central machine and parks are checked regularly by parking wardens), or parking houses, which charge an hourly rate. Take note of any signs alongside the parking spaces you choose to occupy.
Shop hours
Most small shops in New Zealand operate standard opening hours, from around 9am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. Almost all shops open on Saturday, some with limited trading hours and many open Sundays. Shopping malls and centres often have late night shopping on designated nights, usually a Thursday or Friday. Lake Taupo District offers a number of supermarkets with late closing every night and numerous 24 hour gas stations selling supermarket style goods.
Banks
Most banks are open traditional trading hours, 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday with some branches extending hours outside of this and a few operating on Saturday mornings. Usually, banks are closed in the weekend. However, Automatic Teller Machines (ATM’s) are plentiful, outside the banks themselves, within shopping centres and in all main shopping areas. Check the emblems on your bank card or credit card against those advertised on the machine, this will tell you whether your card is accepted at a specific ATM.
Religion
New Zealand has a diverse range of churches available for worshippers of every Christian denomination. Mosques and temples can also be found. Just check the local directory for details.
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