Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Getting Off The Beaten Track



New Zealand is lucky in that it is a fairly small country in terms of land mass. It is often compared in size, (and many other ways), more or less, to the UK.

The difference of course is in the population of those two comparably sized countries.

Whereas the UK has a combined population of some 64 million people, New Zealand has around 4 million. So, that means that everyone in New Zealand has a lot more space, or does it?

They don't of course, because as in many other places, the residents of New Zealand tend to gather together in groups and build things. With Auckland accounting for 1.397 million souls, Wellington with 395 thousand and Christchurch very close with 375 thousand it can be seen that these three principal cities contribute more than half the total population.

Although the UK does have its beautiful and fairly remote places, the national park areas of Northumberland, Cornwall, Derbyshire and Yorkshire are all good examples of places where you can escape the hustle and bustle - at least until you get to the next pub or tea room; it isn't really a country that you would visit to "get away from it all".

New Zealand, on the other hand, is a place where you can truly escape the hustle and bustle. With most of the population tucked away in just ten or so large towns and cities, there are vast areas of New Zealand where you can explore and have it pretty much to yourself. You would, of course, want to avoid the really popular tourist areas because, although New Zealand has a small permanent population, each year there are around 2.5 million tourists arriving into the country, most of whom will, at the very least, take a peek at the beautiful locations that they have chosen to visit.

Whether you are a tourist, or a resident who would like to get off the beaten track every now and again, there can be no better way to achieve this than by packing everything you need, and even things you don't need, into a motor home and head off into the wilderness.

Motor homes have grown in popularity significantly over the last few years. They are the perfect solution for families with children although, having said that, they are also very popular with couples, especially those who have retired and want to spend time with each other.

New Zealand is also fortunate in that it has a large number of camp sites, many of which will accept motor homes and camper vans. Most have power, shower and toilet facilities but some do not so it's worth checking before you set off.

For some, perhaps quite a few, the attraction of a motor home lies in its ability to take you to places where the availability of power, toilets and showers is of little importance since you are able to take all of those things with you as they are built into your camper van.

Those who truly want to spend some quality time with mother nature will find a nice place to settle down for the night, with just the wildlife, beautiful scenery and each other for company and enjoy being off the beaten track.

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