1. The landscape makes you want to cry with joy.
Yes, that’s right. Cry with joy. I’ve never been to a place that is so awe-inspiring. I’m sure you’ve heard that New Zealand is a beautiful country, but that doesn’t really do it justice. I grew up skiing in the French Alps, so I’m used to dramatic scenery, but New Zealand is unlike anything I’ve seen before. The Canterbury Plains, for example, are as flat as a pancake with massive braided rivers scaring the landscape, and then from nowhere rise the Southern Alps with peaks up to 3000 metres.
It doesn’t just stop at ground level scenery either. New Zealand is just as stunning from above too.
In the North Island at Mt. Taranaki, from the air is a perfect circle of green around the Volcano. There are few perfect shapes in nature, and I know that this one has been helped by man, but it's as good as you might find.
You really need to see New Zealand to believe it, but hey, flights are coming down in price by the day, and working holiday visas are easy to obtain, so no excuses!
2. Travelling the country is a walk in the park.
Coming from the UK, I’m not really used to internally travelling as it can be a bit of a pain at home. Traffic is awful, hotels are expensive and flights are for the rich and business only! So, coming here to New Zealand and being able to drive on a traffic-free road is a treat. Last week I went to Mt. Hutt to ski for the day, and on our 90 minute journey from Christchurch, we barely saw another car. Driving through the alpine scenery all to ourselves. Our only delay was to let a herd of sheep cross the road.
Flights internally in NZ can be super affordable so it’s often the choice of many. I went to visit a few people in Auckland in May and our return flights were $50. That’s $25 each way! You can’t walk past a bargain like that!
So, when you come to New Zealand, you can truly experience the whole country in one go, and that’s one of my favourite things about it.
3. Nothing seems to be an issue here.
Now, I don’t know if it’s the great people I’ve surrounded myself with here or whether this is the way across the whole country, but nothing ever seems to be too much of an issue here. No one is too busy to help you out or give you a word of advice. It’s refreshing compared to the way it works in London.
When working on my new business venture, people have been all too happy to help. The amount of contacts I have just from word of mouth and friends of friends is crazy. I met a wonderful couple a few weeks back who I got speaking to about what I was doing. We had a meaningful chat but didn’t think much of it. A week later I get a call from them saying they’d love to see how they can help our cause. That’s such a positive and uplifting experience and it really makes you love the place you live.
So don’t forget the old saying, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. It’s always worth a try, especially here in New Zealand.
4. Sports and the outdoor life are just the norm.
I’m a big fan of sport and the outdoors in general. When it comes to New Zealand, most live by those same values. It’s just the normal way here. From the All Blacks being headline news to the TV weather report highlighting the ski conditions, it’s in their blood.
Living in Christchurch, we are so spoilt for choice. Come Winter time, it’s fully expected that most will get up to Mt. Hutt for at least a day. I went for the season pass because it was so cheap. If you’re not up on the ski field then you’ll probably be hiking on the Port Hills. In the Summer, you’ll be grabbing your surfboard and heading to the beach, or getting hold of a kayak and heading to one of Canterbury’s many inviting rivers.
I couldn’t think of a better city in the world for its choice of outdoor activities, and when you make the decision to do your working holiday in NZ, Christchurch has to be right up there on the list of where to live. Take a look into the working holiday support programs provided by WE Travel New Zealand to make your work away as simple as it can be.
5. Christchurch is going to be the most modern city in the world.
This one is a little Christchurch specific, but it still counts on the reasons why New Zealand is an amazing place.
Back in 2011, as many will know, the city was devastated by magnitude 6.3 earthquake. It wiped out over 1600 buildings in the central city. But, now in 2017, things are looking so much better. The city is really starting to improve especially in the CBD and new structures are being finished every week.
Instead of being a place of destruction, it has become a place full of excitement and buzz. It’s full of new restaurants to eat in, new malls to shop in and new streets to call home. As someone who’s business is the city itself, I keep as up to date as I can on proceedings with the rebuild. From my own predictions, I believe that come December 2019, the city will be alive and better than its former self. I’m really excited about the future and for me, that’s a massive attraction to New Zealand on the whole. It’s an ever-changing country and an ever-evolving civilisation.
I could probably go on a lot more about New Zealand, but I’ll now leave it up to you to make that step and come to see it for yourselves. If you need some inspiration, have a read of some of these articles to wet your appetite – click here for more.
Over and out!
