What makes a Kiwi road trip? In New Zealand, they’re are often characterised by pit stops at country servos, a ribbon of tarmac framed by green pastures, majestic mountains, and coastlines. But there are also less enjoyable things that are guaranteed when you travel the highways and byways of NZ. Here are the 6 of them…

1. Life in the slow lane

It almost doesn’t matter where you are, or whether it’s the height of the chaotic summer season or icy grips of winter. Sooner or later on a Kiwi road trip, you’re going to find yourself stuck behind another vehicle. It could be sluggish camper, it could be a truck, or a smoky car. In the country, it’s probably a tractor. On the bright side, any inconvenience doesn’t usually last more than a few minutes.

2. What’s that smell?

Picture this: you’re driving through the monotonous farms of the Waikato and a awful stench floods inside your car. It smells like compost mixed with the stale air of a bar after crate day. What’s that smell? you wonder and screw up your nose. (It’s probably silage). You make the same face at Rotorua as you detect the sulphuric perfume that hangs over this city. Next, you’re crawling up the mountainside to Cardrona and get an alarming whiff of burning rubber.

More pleasantly, one of the joys of a Kiwi road trip are those evocative scents of New Zealand nature; the earthy smell of native bush and the sweet sea breeze.

3. Public Toilets

You know that sinking feeling when you realise you’re gonna need to make a toilet stop? Ah yes. Time to find a public loo. If you’re in the city, the challenge is to find a loo that is tidy. In the country, you can be hard-pressed to find a toilet block at all!

4. Lots of wildlife signs… but no wildlife

You’ll see road signs for lots of native animals like kiwi, penguins, and weka around New Zealand. But sometimes that’s often as close as you get to the real thing.

5. Curious loads

Fridges tied down with bailing twine, bits of wood sticking out of cars that resemble mutant echidnas, and fly-away tarpaulins… Kiwi ingenuity is a real thing, but perhaps also is Kiwi barbarity. Either way, you’re bound to sigh with relief as that vehicle with a dodgy load up ahead takes the exit off the 100km/h highway. Crisis averted! Cars bound together by duct tape and wishful thinking certainly make driving a tad more exciting.

6. Roadworks

New Zealand has its native forests; beech, fern, you name it. But, perhaps the most prolific of all are the plantations of orange traffic cones that intercept your every journey from A to B. I guess roadworks are just a part of the scenery these days?

Ready to plan your next road trip?

Here’s some helpful resources:

• To find cheap petrol, I recommend the Gaspy app
• Learn about the best cash-saving travel hacks in NZ
• Heading south? Don’t miss our quick travel guide from Picton to Invercargil
• Want a convenient way to travel? Learn about the pros of campervans here