The Idea of North
March 18th, 2008 by Thomas Maresca
An Auckland native whom I met in the ski town of Ohakune described New Zealanders to me this way: “The farther south you go from Auckland, the friendlier people get. The farther north you go, the weirder they get.”
It was an ungenerous way of putting it, but substitute offbeat or quirky, or maybe just different, for “weird,” and I’d have to say he was on to something.
There’s definitely something about the Far North. Even though New Zealand is tiny, the north feels remote, isolated from the rest of a country that itself already feels isolated. Driving through, I always had the sense that almost anything might be around the next bend in the road, that I was bound to meet somebody . . . offbeat . . . at the next place I stopped. And often, I was right. Transplants from Japan and Germany who were dropping out of their overcrowded countries; hostel owners eager to share salacious gossip from towns that seemed way too small to have so much salaciousness. I really liked it.
In a strange way, the attitudes somehow reminded me of the frigid, northern parts of the U.S. and Canada, even though you’d think it should be the opposite—here in New Zealand, the north is lush, abundant, the most temperate part of the country. Maybe a certain type of person is just attracted to heading as far north as possible, as if following some internal compass.
Anyway, there’s a real feeling of edge-of-the-world remoteness at Cape Reinga, the northern tip of the North Island. From here, you can look out over an unbroken expanse of sea and sky, and see the waters of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet and churn together. This is where the Maori believe spirits of the dead leave this world for the underworld (Reinga means “underworld”, and the Maori called the cape Te Rerenga Wairua, the “leaping-place of the spirits.”) It’s an undeniably powerful experience.
A couple of practical points if you’re making the drive up to Cape Reinga yourself: One, you should fill up the car in Pukenui; there is a petrol station closer to the Cape in Waitaki Landing, but it doesn’t have a reliable supply of petrol.
Also: drive carefully! The last 21km of road to Cape Reinga is unsealed and very winding. My car was sliding all over the place, and I heard lots of stories of accidents. Driving extra-carefully is sound advice on the North Island in general; roads all over are narrow and winding and there are just so many distracting views.
Fruit and Loathing in Western Australia
March 5th, 2008 by Isak Ladegård
Forbidden fruit
In one of his well known stories, the great doctor of gonzo and bad craziness Hunter S. Thompson is on the road with the trunk stuffed by illegal cargo. The car which is blasting through the Nevada-desert is getting dangerously close to the state border and he has to get rid of the goods. However, it’s decided that the wide range of hard drugs he’s carrying is altogether worth too much money to be just thrown out of the window. The problem is solved by sniffing, eating and smoking all of it.
Closing up on the South-Australian border I find myself in a similar situation.
Dead kangaroos are laying bloody and destroyed alongside the dusty highway, the sun is going down, Joni Mitchell pours out of the car stereo and I’m eating fruit like a madman. The road from the West to Adelaide is long and my Ford Laser’s stuffed by food for 72 hours. Three days with cookies and donuts isn’t too tempting, so walking the healthy way I pack up big bags of apples, bananas, pears and carrots. In the next three days I can make up for all the greasy & easy meals. Then I pass a roadside-sign which tells me that a $2500 dollar fine is the price I’ll have to pay for my fruity truckload. It is illegal to carry fruit across the Australian state borders, and all of a sudden I have 12 apples, 10 bananas, 5 pears and maybe 15 carrots to get rid of in half a day, before the end of WA is reached.
Thanks to the Australian fruit police my road trip in this country mutates into an experiment. This is my hypothesis: Will I physically turn green? As in, what will happen when the body is force-fed with this veggie-overload? Will I turn green, or will I grow 10 inches closer to the roof, will my vision reach telescope level, will muscles build me up overnight in the same way Peter Parker turned Spidey?
Time will tell.
Hyundai Accent (rental car review)
February 28th, 2008 by Tim Uden
I had booked a Hyundai Getz for a week driving around Tasmania to update the Tasmanian hostel information on BUG. As usual I asked for a small manual hatchback as they are economical fun cars that I love to drive.
The problem is that rental car companies think they are doing you a favour when they upgrade you to something bigger and I ended up getting upgraded to a Hyundai Accent, which really pissed me off as I hate driving big cars. I know there are many cars that are a lot bigger than the Accent, but it feels like driving an ocean liner when compared with the small zippy hatchback that I had requested. Maybe AVIS should try harder and actually give people the cars they ask for. I guess it could have been a lot worse; they could have upgraded me to an automatic.
After getting settled into the bridge of my ocean liner I negotiated around Hobart’s waterfront and set sail for the Huon Valley. As usual for big cars, it was clumsy to drive and awkward in the city; but I found it surprisingly agile on the open road and it even handled quite well on Tasmania’s many narrow winding roads that make up a large portion of Tasmania’s road network.
Like other larger cars that I had driven. It had an uncomfortable driving position that feels like you are reclining near the back of the car. It is probably just something to get used to and I suppose that people used to big cars would find the opposite uncomfortable when they get behind the wheel of a small car.
It also had the annoying habit of setting off the alarm whenever I turned the key the wrong way when opening the car door. Maybe I have a problem with opening car doors but I’ve been driving for the past 20 years so I figured I should have worked it out by now. I was relieved to discover that it wasn’t a problem with my door opening abilities when, on my travels around Tasmania, I saw other people set off the alarm in their Hyundai rental cars too.
The car could have had a bit more oomph, but it wasn’t as gutless as I expected and it had enough power to zoom up some steep hills. It was one of the better big cars that I had driven but I still would have preferred the car that I had asked for.
On the Wallaby
February 23rd, 2008 by Tiffany Miller
There is something about a road trip through Australia that really stokes nostalgia and gives you that sense of journey which is often missing from package tours and public transport. Rolling hills, the wind in your hair, and a good song, and suddenly life is a highway.
I cannot stress enough how important I think it is to experience this. Far too many travellers jump on the buses and wind up in a different city every few days sampling the pubs and seeing no more wildlife than a dead ‘roo on the roadside every once in a while. Get your own wheels. Get on the wallaby (and find out what that means). Here are your options:
Car. Hire a car from any of the 5 billion rental agencies. Pretty straightforward. Or buy a car from one of the 5 billion sales ads posted on hostel notice boards and try not to get ripped off. Something to consider is buying from a dealer with a buy-back guarantee- that saves you the headache of trying to sell it to another wary traveller at the end.
Camper/Kombi van. Hire a camper. Check out the most popular (and so least likely to rip you off) companies around, like Wicked Campers (the ones with the psycho graffiti all over them), Hippy Campers (the ones with the flower power all over them), and Calypso Campervans ( the ones with nothing all over them- in case you want to be a little more low-key)…
You may want to head north on the buses, and then hire a camper for the trip back down south. I have met heaps of travellers who decided halfway up the coast that they should have done the self-drive thing.
Hostels often offer free pick up service, but for out-of-the-way places this can be a real hassle. You initially take the bus option because you think it will be easier, but it ends up being more of a pain in the long run. Although some Australian towns and cities are excrutiatingly sign-deficient, driving is for the most part straightforward (albeit on the other side of the road). And when you see the sign for Yungaburra, you can (and should) take it.
Just two rules: don’t drive like an idiot and wind up with a $250 fine. And don’t buy a car on its last legs/diff gears and wind up stranded in a mining town in the Outback. Believe me, it’s not pretty.
But everything else is.
Australian Driving Tips for Rightsiders
January 23rd, 2008 by Tiffany Miller
Besides our obvious handicap of driving on the right (and for some of us, being used to an automatic transmission.. ahem..), there are a few things to learn about Australian traffic rules before you start your “roady.”
First thing’s first: roundabouts. Many of us, unfortunately, have never driven through them. The most important thing to remember- go left! But before you glide into oncoming traffic, yield to any cars already in the roundabout. Then, keep to the left if you are going left or straight ahead. If there are two lanes, pull into the right (inside) lane and use your right indicator (blinker). Also, remember that your indicator is on the right. I can’t say how many times I have switched lanes using my windscreen (windshield) wipers. And always signal left when exiting.
This isn’t New York. Don’t use your horn unless your’e about to have a smash (accident).
Driving on the highways is pretty straightforward. Stay to the left; go right when overtaking. And save your car (and your heart) some damage by trailing a large truck or bus. Those koala signs are not just there for photo-ops. Hitting a kangaroo will do serious damage; swerving to miss it could do worse. Mornings and sunsets are the most dangerous times.
Then, find yourself a buddy or two. Not only will this help with petrol costs, it may save your life. Many points of interest are two or three hours apart. So get yourself a passenger (hostel walls are the perfect place to advertise), put on some driving tunes (no Radiohead, please) and fill up the coffee mug. The long stretches of highway, are full of dreamy coastline and hills of dramatic gum trees. It is lovely, but after a while it will put you to sleep. Many Aussie towns’ and cities’ road signs are scarce, so get a navigator and a good road map, and get off the beaten track.
Diahatsu Sirion (rental car review)
December 17th, 2007 by Tim Uden
I rented a Diahatsu Sirion from Avis at Wellington Airport for a week of driving around New Zealand’s North Island.
It has a high driving position and is a nice zippy car for city driving, but it has some flaws that affect its performance in some driving conditions.
Like the Diahatsu Terrios, which I normally drive at home, it accelerates slowly (or as Jeremy Clarkson would say, “with most cars you measure accleration with a stopwatch, but with this you need a calendar”), it is sluggish climbing steep hills and it is unstable on tight corners. They both have a 1.3 litre engine, so you would expect the larger Terrios to be a bit sluggish, but the smaller and lighter Sirion really should do fine with a 1.3 litre motor.
It is usually lots of fun driving a small manual hatchback on winding roads, but each time you take a corner the Sirion car feels like it will roll over so you have to really slow down on each corner (at least until you get a good feel for the car), but at least going uphill you don’t pick up enough speed to need to slow down.
Despite its drawbacks, I still like the Sirion. I wouldn’t buy one and if a competing rental company offered something nicer I would probably rent that instead, but I would still be happy driving one around.
Toyota Yaris (rental car review)
December 11th, 2007 by Tim Uden
I rented a Toyota Yaris from Hertz at Blenheim Airport for four days of driving around the Marlborough Sounds (at the top end of New Zealand’s South Island).
I had always found Toyota a bit boring. The Corolla is the world’s most popular car and the Camry (which is way too big to appeal to people who like small cars and too small to appeal to those that like big cars) is normally seen driven slowly in the fast lane by old geezers. But the past few years has seen Toyota updating its image with a more design-oriented range with cute and trendy cars like the Echo, Prius and the Yaris.
I really liked the Yaris. It is a really fun car to drive, it looks good and is surprisingly spacious (although the boot is a bit small). The model I had was a 5-door hatch with a digital dashboard display.
I took it all around the Marlborough Sounds, which included loads of narrow winding unsealed roads, and it handled like a dream and it had no problems when I put the foot down on the rare occasion that I came across a flat bit of road.
It is a great zippy little car that handles well, has a small turning circle and is easy to park in tight spaces. I would certainly look for one again next time I need to rent a car, and would consider buying one (although I still prefer the Citroen C1) next time I’m in the market for a new car.
Citroën C1 (rental car review)
October 22nd, 2007 by Tim Uden
I love French cars and after renting the Citroën C1, it is my new favourite. It is a small zippy city car that is also great on the open road.
I rented from Europcar on route de l’Anse Vata (across the road from the Super U Michel Ange supermarket) in Nouméa. The rental deal wan’t too bad for New Caledonia (4043F - AUD $53.57, EUR €33.88, GBP £23.64, USD $48.50 - a day), but unfortunately like most rental deals in New Caledonia it only includes 150km and the extra kilometres (24F - AUD 32c, EUR €0.20, GBP 14p, USD 29c - per km) are a killer. However New Caledonia has some very good long term rental deals that are worth considering if you’re here for a month or longer.
I initially decided on Europcar because I they had the cute Peugeot 107 that I had seen around town, and having a great experience with Peugeot in the past figured it would make a nice car for a day trip out into the countryside. But then I saw the Citroën C1 parked outside rental office I chose it over the Peugeot.
My opinion concerning French cars is that Renault are the more economical option (if a little boring), Peugeot have the best handling and performance and Citroën have the best design. Overall all French cars are nice, but I would probably chose between a Citroën or Peugeot if I were in the market for a new car.
The Citroën C1 looks small from the outside but it is quite spacious inside, like many European small cars; although the boot space is limited (but more than enough for my needs). It is easy to drive (an important consideration when you’re not used to driving on the right-hand side of the road), it has a smooth gearbox so changing gears feels very natural and all the controls are initive and easy to reach from the drivers’ seat.
A few unique design features include an all-glass rear hatch and a single large front windscreen wiper.
It also has an AUX socket right on the dash so you can plug in an MP3 player or GPS unit without messing around with those FM transmitter things. It seems like such a small thing - it would only add a dollar to the production cost - but it makes a big difference especially if you want to listen to your own music.
The only thing I would have liked is a tachometer, but perhaps this is an option on a more expensive model.
The car handles really well. Nice and zippy around Nouméa but it also runs well when you put the foot down on the tollway north of the city.
Would I rent a Citroën C1 again? Absolutely. I would even consider buying one.
Driving on the other side of the road
October 22nd, 2007 by Tim Uden
Most travellers experience some hesitation about driving on the opposite side of the road to what they are used to. American and European tourists are wary of renting a car in the UK and Aussies and Kiwis think twice before renting a car in the United States or Europe.
Although I normally drive on the left, I have spent a lot of time driving on the right - although that was over 10 years ago - and I hestiated a little before driving on the right after so many years of driving on the left.
It really isn’t too big a deal and it’s surprisingly easy to get used to. For starters you’re sitting on the opposite side of the car, which makes you naturally feel comfortable on the other side of the road; also it is fairly easy when there is other traffic to follow. The two things you really need to pay attention to are roundabouts (which flow in the opposite direction) and left-hand turns (or right-hand turns for Americans and Europeans driving on the left for the first time) particularly in small villages where there isn’t too much other traffic.
Half a day of driving on the opposite side of the road is enough to get used to it. That’s much easier than trying to get used to driving an automatic, fortunately most French cars are manual but the rental companies also offer automatics for those people that prefer them.
Why can’t I rent a manual in the US?
August 13th, 2007 by Tim Uden
I love driving a manual (what Americans would call a stick shift or a standard transmission).
Like most people living outside North America, I hate driving an automatic. The only people I know who drive automatics are all aged over 60 and I would be really surprised if more than 10% of people outside the US aged under 45 would ever choose to drive anything other than a manual.
I guess I like the control. I want to drive. I’m certainly not a hoon (I prefer small cars and usually keep within the speed limit), but I want to feel the car hug the road as I take the corners. I want to be at one with my car. I don’t want to be taken for a ride.
Automatics make it too easy. If I wanted everything easy I would take a taxi. I can’t remember the last time I took a taxi.
Besides it’s the way I learned to drive so it just feels natural. When I drive I instinctively change gears which drives me nuts when I’m behind the wheel of an automatic.
In America it’s all back to front. Americans actually perfer driving automatics. But then Americans like to drive big bland cars that are designed for comfort not performance. The number of cup holders is a bigger selling point than styling or fuel economy. Besides, a lot of Americans like to keep a hand free to hold onto their cheeseburger.
Americans say they need automatics because their roads are so congested. I really don’t see the point. American roads are a dream to drive on. The lanes are wide (to accommodate their enormous cars) with their Interstate motorways crisscrossing the country and getting you around their cities with far less congestion that you would find in places like Milan, Naples or Rome where manuals out-number automatics like tourists outnumber locals in Piazza San Marco.
This brings me to the point of this post. Why can’t I rent a manual in the US?
Sure a lot of Americans don’t know how to drive a manual. But apparently around 15% of Americans drive manuals so you would expect that at least 15% of rental cars would have manual transmissions, right? Nope, not a chance.
About a year ago I was considering a trip to the US and started looking for a rental car with a manual transmission. What I thought would be a simple phone call turned out into hours on the web and hundreds of emails and phone calls. The result was either rent a car in Mexico and drive it across the border (something the rental companies down there don’t let you do) or rent a car from the only rental company I could find in the US that has manuals.
Adventures on Wheels is the only rental company that would rent me a manual. Their website shows and all-automatic fleet but when I emailed them they said that they keep a few manuals for Europeans that request them, but I would need to contact them in advance to reserve one.
I could not find a single other rental company that would rent me a manual.
I got all sort of reasons from rental companies about why they don’t have manuals. Here are a few:
- Americans don’t know how to drive (now I’m not suggesting this for a minute but that’s what the rental company told me)
- Manuals have a lower resale value. Fair enough but why not charge more for them. It’s not rocket science. If 15% of people want something and less than .01% of rental agencies can supply it then you can charge more. It’s basic economics.
- People used to rent manuals to learn to drive so the cars came back all f**ked up. Well why don’t you rent to people who already drive them? I don’t know if American driver’s licences distiguish between manual and automatic but you could at least restrict manuals to customers who can prove that they are the legal registered owner of a manual or who have a licence issued in a country where most cars are manuals. At the very least rental companies should have a record showing that you have previously rented manuals from them outside the US.
Then there are the car sharing companies. They are like rental agencies but a little different.
They operate primarily for inner city residents who don’t own a car and may only need to use a car a couple of times a month. You can rent by the hour or by the day and rather than pick up from the office of a rental company you just find a car parked nearby, scan your membership card on the windscreen and drive away. The car has to be returned to the same parking space you got it from so its not really practical for long trips but the cost is inclusive of fuel and insurance and they don’t charge an excess to rent to people aged under 25 so for many travellers it is a good alternative to a traditional rental for a shorter trip. The whole concept seems like a cool idea and I wanted to give it a go if only I could find one with manuals.
I thought there may be some hope with the car sharing companies so I checked around. I figured that there was a better chance since the membership application for these car sharing agencies involve a rigourous check of your driving history. It wouldn’t be too difficult for them to check that you previously owned and drove a car with a manual transmission; they could then limit the computerised membership card to only allow experienced drivers access to cars with a manual transmission.
I checked the two big car-sharing agencies (Zipcar and Flexcar) and all the smaller ones I could find.
Zipcar seemed promising. It is one of the few rental outfits in the US that actually has nice, stylish small cars instead of the big bland cars that most other rental companies have. I’m talking about the Mini, the Toyota Yaris and the BMW 3 series. But all their North American cars are automatics! For crying out loud, the BMW calls itself the Ultimate Driving Machine. It’s a car for people that love driving so why on Earth would anyone want an automatic Beemer and miss out on the driving experience that goes along with such a great car? I mean, what’s the point?
They now operate in London (with a mostly manual fleet) so my hope is eventually enough of that their UK-based members will visit the US and demand a real car to drive.
Flexcar. No luck here. They’re similar to Zipcar but with a bland all-auto fleet.
If I am going to make the effort to join one of these car sharing companies (I have to pay a membership fee and then wait up to a week to become a member so it is no walk in the park), then it makes sense to join a larger one with national or international coverage. Flexcar and Zipcar fit the bill here, but with no manual cars it’s time to look at the smaller outfits.
Autoshare in Toronto, I-GO in Chicago, City Car Share in San Francisco and a bunch of others. All automatics.
Philly Car Share in Philadelphia sounds promising. As well being a bit cheaper than other car sharing companies, their Audi A4, Minis and Mazda Miatas are available in what they call “Manumatic”. Never driven one of these so I’m not sure if it is really like a real manual but I would certainly give it a go.
So what are my options?
If I just need a car for a couple of days and I’m close to the Mexican border I would try to find a flexible rental company in Mexico that will let me take a car to the US. If I’m in the northeast I would try one of the “manumatics” from Philly Car Share. Otherwise I would probably get something small and zippy from Zipcar and just put up with the fact that it is an automatic.
If I need something for a much longer trip - say a month or more - then I would just buy a damn car. Sometimes it is just too much hassle to try and rent what you want.