Tourist safety a concern in New Zealand

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Most people would expect NZ to be a safe country. We come to expect small, rural based economies to be safe. But consider the statistics and you might think otherwise. Living in NZ I have as a matter of routine come to hear about injury to tourists, whether its sexual assault, murder or a bashing. The performance of tourist operator organisations strikes me as just as pitiful. There seems to be a litany of stories about:

1. Kayakers drowning

2. Planes crashing

3. Bungy jumpers dying

It made me reflect on this recent statistic. The story is that there are currently 15,000 arrest warrants outstanding in NZ. That struck me as a very high number. So high in fact that I wondered what was typical. I could not find statistics for Australia, but I did for Britain. In Britain, a country with 12x more people, there are just 30,000 outstanding arrest warrants. So the fact that NZ has 15,000 arrest warrants is a little concerning. 

The reason this is concerning is because it suggests that 0.36% of the population is 'at large' in NZ compared with just 0.06% in Britain. The implication is that there are more threatening people around you, who are:

1. More likely to be anxious

2. More likely to be hostile

3. More likely to seize your motor vehicle & and possibly apprehend you

4. More likely to  raise the stakes and threaten your physical well-being, as well as your psychological comfort, by escaping from capture.

In a nation, where tourist campervans predominate, one might expect these people to be particularly at threat. Tourists are also appealing targets for theft and crimes against person. Asian tourists who are often perceived as submissive, are an even greater target for such people. The flipside is that tourists will stay in certain 'safe' places, whilst others will expose themselves unknowingly. It is not reason not to go to NZ; but it is a reason for risk management. Moreover its a reason for the NZ government to do more to lower this statistic. Of course there are both short term and long term threats:

1. Short term - they need to start taking more proactive steps to apprehend these people

2. Long term - They need to increase the fairness of the justice system; our legislative framework, and they need to address the grievances of those people, so they are less likely to escalate grievances to crime.

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Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Campervan for sale for $4000 NZ, free delivery from CHCH to Auckland

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We are looking to sell a nice vehicle well-suited to campervanning. We used this vehicle for campervanning as well as mountain biking. Its a really good vehicle for these purposes because:

1. Short wheel base

2. Handles really well

3. Good size for camper and off-road

4. Not a conspicuous camper

5. Its a relatively new model (2001) - with low 145,000kms

6. Hanging points - you can easily fit the vehicle out - we will tell you where to go. 

This vehicle has around 145,000kms at present; its a manual 5-transmission, it goes really well mechanically. It has a lot of rust in the 'hood' over the drivers compartment. This is not a problem for obtaining the warranty of fitness because it is classed as an accessory which can be removed. WOF scheduled 8/22/2012. The car is almost due for new tyres, and that will be about $380-400, so we have discounted it as much. 

I am travelling to Asia in the next few days so I am looking to sell this Holden Combo. Its currently at Christchurch, however I intend to move some homeware to my house on the North Island. Ultimately we will likely fly out of Auckland Airport, however we have still to book flights. 

Anyone flying into Christchurch or Auckland looking for a campervan could not be happier than with this vehicle for several reasons. It is not as conspicuous as a camper - because it's a delivery van. Its a 1600cc engine, so low petrol consumption. Its short wheel base makes it suitable for off-road use. i.e. We take it off-road for MTB trails. The vehicle comes with a roof-rack as well.

We are looking for $4000 for the vehicle, or $4500 with new tyres (negotiable). If we cannot sell the vehicle we will look at selling it through Turners. We would however prefer to give a discount to a direct buyer than a commission to Turners. We can deliver the vehicle to a person at Queenstown or Auckland airport. Auckland is preferred, as we need to take our bikes to the North Island. Email us at shouganai1 at gmail.com.

or Call 027 916 0128 (NZ) camper van for sale

I'll deliver from Christchurch up to Auckland. Let me know.

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Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Returning campervans vs flying

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If you need to get between airports, many of us would probably fly or get an inter-city bus. Another option is to do a campervan return. There are certain cases when this works well:

1. Moving home - If you have more luggage than you'd be taking on a flight, then you can take that with you, i.e. Say because you are moving luggage to a storage facility on your way to the airport.

2. Different departure - Say you live in one majority city or town like Queenstown, but you have an international departure from Christchurch or Auckland.

3. Expensive domestic flights - Say you live in NZ where domestic flights can be just as expensive as your international flights.

4. No bus service - Say you left your bus booking too late, then campervan 'returns' can be a cheap way of getting to the airport. You also have the option of making a slight holiday out of the trip.

5. No car storage - I will be flying from Christchurch airport in June'12 and will probably looking to sell my car at that time. I will probably look at buying a new car when I return rather than keep one in storage for 3 months over winter. In this case, it makes sense to sell my car in Queenstown, a popular entry point, and to return a campervan.

This is of course just another option for those probably with a lot of luggage; or wanting to do some shopping, etc in another city. In most cases, you will probably just get that domestic flight. The trick is to know where to go to get your campervan 'return' and remembering. There is a litany of campervans needing redistribution at Queenstown airport. You drive past them on the way to New World shopping centre. Try Camper Returns.

You can get the vehicles for around $5/day, with a $100-300 fuel allowance depending on the distance and their urgency. There are time constraints, however you have the flexibility to pay extra for extra days.

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Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com