16 — Sunday, January 13, 1991 - North Shore News TRAVEL Some dos and don’ts for New Zealand travel TODAY’S COLUMN is en- tirely the result of a letter from a reader. This lady from North Van- couver is on an extended visit to New Zealand and took the time to write me a four-page fetter — “A couple of notes that may be helpful to any readers planning to get away from the Canadian winter in New Zealand.’* 1 have edited very little because the points she makes are valuable. “I, The Duty Free Shop at Auckland International Airport is open to incoming passengers as well as outgoing ones. lt is reputed to have the best prices in the South Pacific, if not anywhere in the worid. The prices are about $11 NZ for a titre of li- quor. It’s an advantage not having to carry an extra package aboard the plane and it gives you something to do while you wait for your bags. Unfortunately, we had shopped at the L.A. Duty Free and will never do so again. The assistants were no assistance and seemed to delight when requested products were ‘‘out of stock.”” 2.NZ sun is very burning — not only because its latitude south is about equivalent to Southern Mexico to the north, but in par- ticular because it has an ozone layer hole over it. There are many high-protection skin products available, but any Teaders who use Noxzema to soothe sunburn or insect bites, or even to wash their face as I do, should be warned that this pro- duct is unknown here and I’ve not found any equivalent. 3. While, on. average, NZ prices are fairly similar to those in Canada (clothing high, meat, fruit and dairy products low), certain products are astronomically high. For example, bring your own mouthwash — a 500 mL bottle can cost as much as $9.80 NZ. (Note: I think I'd forgo the use of the product for the duration rather than lugging bottles.) 4. Don’t expect to lose any weight in NZ unless you are ‘‘do- ing for yourself.’ Hospitality is overwhelming and a simple invita- tion to a barbecue wil! involve you in steaks, sausages, chicken, seafood, salads, potatoes, moun- tains of bread and dessert. 5. BCAA members please note — whether driving in NZ or not, your membership entitles you to free, large-scale maps of regions. The reverse side has a very in- teresting printout of local history and present economic conditions. Excellent street maps for all major towns are also available. I hope everyone has as great a time here as we are.” [ really appreciate it when teaders take the time to pass on their travel discoveries. [t's especially valuable when concern- ing a country I’m unfamiliar with. It was unfortunate that when 1 visited Australia I simply couldn't take the extra time 10 go further south. How | wish | had — that flight to Australia is such a long one I doubt I'll repeat it, and it’s a further four hours to NZ. We tend to think of these two countries as next-door neighbors but they’re quite far apart. The people aren’, exactly ‘‘kiss- ing cousins’’ either. | discovered quite a lot of reseniment against New Zealanders by Australians, especially when jobs were involv- ed. I'd also be willing to bet that it Barbara McCreadie TRAVELWISE works in reverse. Perhaps it has something to do with the attitude Canadians have to Americans — we like them just fine, most of the time, but are slightly insulted when mistaken for one. Another note about NZ. I was shocked to read that this country has some of the highest robbery statistics in the world Break and enter crimes are very high, so if you’re planning a visit keep your eyes open, lock and double lock your doors and never leave anything vajuable in your hotel room when you leave. Carry your tickets, money and passport with you at all times. Of course, that’s excellent ad- vice no matter where you g0 — or even if you stay home! I can’t believe the people here at home who are robbed and part of the take is large amounts of cash, What are banks for? On the same line, I must ex- plain my ‘‘mailbox’’ policy. You will notice that I never use readers’ names in this coiumn. I would particularly like to publish the name of the reader who pro- vided the above letter but this person is still in NZ. Fd like to think that every one of my readers is honest and Howto be a Local Hero Ask.when you want to make your community a better place, bur don’t know where to start, ask your friends. Chances are, many of them are already Local Heroes, giving their time and money to causes that you can help ep ae too. Bea : Local Hero. upstanding, but wouldn’t it be a shame if some crook took advan- tage of a vacation and robbed the house? Many people write with ques- tions about forthcoming trips. I certainly don’t want to advertise their departures! I dislike the use of initials — “Mrs. G.K."’ is assinine, as is stuff like ‘‘Troubled on Lons- dale.” Another mailbox problem: | am asked several times a week for reprints of columns. Sorry, guys. I keep nothing. I don’t even keep a copy of the original — it’s handed over to the News and I go on to something new. Even if I did clip the stuff in the paper I don’t have a copier. My filing system is a family joke — it starts on the carpet and works its way up from there. My desk telephone is eight inches above the surface of the desk, on top of a pile of exciting stuff. It often has a cat on top. I can rarely pinpoint when a certain column appeared. If it were a specific destination my best guess involves hauling out my passport to find out when I visited a certain country and working from there. So, if you want a second look at anything, it involves going to the News and searching through their display of back issues. Some day I may get organized. 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