New Zealand

Bollards in New Zealand have a red strip which wraps around the top of the bollard. This strip wraps the whole way around the back and part of the front. The front or back of the bollard often contains a thin yellow or white reflector.

NOTE: These bollards are unique to New Zealand.

New Zealand uses white licence plates with black text, which appears mostly white through the blur.

NOTE: Some vehicles have custom licence plates which make the sides of the licence plate appear blue or black.

The most common pole type found in New Zealand is made of concrete and has one long indent which runs most of the way up the pole. Most concrete poles have small silver possum guards. Circular wooden poles can also be found, but are less common. You can also see concrete holey poles in New Zealand.

Give-way signs in New Zealand have a white border and red text.

NOTE: Australia’s give-way signs use black text.

New Zealand intersections often use give-way triangles painted on the road.

NOTE: Australia does not use this design.

The majority of directional and warning signs in New Zealand are held up by white posts. Warning signs are diamond-shaped and painted yellow.

New Zealand often uses blue street signs with white text, particularly in rural areas. While street signs of other colours can be often seen, blue is by far the most common.

NOTE: Australia almost never has blue street signs.

New Zealand normally uses white outer road lines. Yellow dashed outer road lines can be seen in populated areas. Roads with no outer lines can be seen on smaller roads. Inner lines are either a single dashed white line or unbroken double yellow lines.

NOTE: Australia does not have yellow inside lines, apart from regions with snow.

New Zealand uses black-on-yellow chevrons with a thin black border. White on black chevrons are very rarely used.

NOTE: Australia’s chevrons have the same colours, but do not have the border.

New Zealand uses green directional signs. If the sign is on a state highway, the highway number will always be shown in a red crest.

NOTE: Brown signs indicate the direction to landmarks, which can be useful when pinpointing.

Bridge markers can be found on most paved roads in New Zealand. If the sign is on a state highway, the highway number will always be shown in a red crest on a white marker. The yellow marker indicates the name of the river or bridge.

NOTE: Some bridge markers indicate very small streams or culverdens which can be hard to find.

It is very common to see ferns growing in forested areas in New Zealand.

Two-digit state highway numbers follow a sequential pattern from North to South, making them easy to find. Single digit highways run through large parts of the country, but are easy to remember due to the small number of them.

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New Zealand phone numbers are seven digits with a two-digit area code in front of it. Numbers starting with 02 are mobile numbers.

The cities of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all have unique bus stop signs.

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Several New Zealand cities have distinctive rubbish bins. The distinguishing feature of the bins are the council logos on the front. The colour of the bin lid varies within cities.

NOTE: It is rare to find bins with green lids outside of Christchurch.

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Vineyards are particularly common in the Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay regions.

NOTE: Vineyards can be found throughout New Zealand, so be sure to check other clues as well.

Tall hedge and tree rows are particularly common in the Canterbury region. They are mostly found in the Canterbury plains, which comprises very flat, large fields.

Due to Canterbury’s flat landscape, mountains can often be seen in the distance to the west.

NOTE: Hedges that are even taller are common near Tauranga.

Some power poles in the Marlborough region have a long grey or brown possum guard. These can appear alongside the usual silver possum guards.

Holey poles are found most commonly in Southland, as well as the city of Auckland, although they can be found throughout the whole country.

The Southern Alps, a large, snowy mountain range, stretches throughout the majority of the South Island. Vegetation on the mountains becomes rarer the further south it is.

The flatter parts of the Southland and Otago regions can be recognised by their cold climate and sloping, alpine hills. The vegetation in this area is often quite stunted due to the climate.

The West Coast and part of the Tasman region on the South Island can be recognized by its temperate rainforests and rugged landscape. This can be seen through the hundreds of tall hills and mountains, as well as the dark, compact greenery which is due to the area’s high level of rainfall.

The Waikato and Northland regions are characterised by their drier climate and rolling hills. In particular, the Northland region is quite hilly.

NOTE: This type of landscape can be found in other parts of the North Island, but is more common in the mentioned regions.

Wooden fences with tightly packed fence posts are almost only found on the North Island.

Fences which include metal fence posts are almost exclusive to the South Island.

Generation 2 coverage and gravel roads are particularly common in the Northland region.

NOTE: These tips do not exclusively indicate Northland. Be sure to use other clues when making guesses.

Solid outer white lines without middle lines are most common in Gisborne, but can also be found in northern Hawke's Bay and Wellington. 

NOTE: The roads in Wellington are typically narrower.

This google car with a visible dark blue front of the car is exclusive to the North Island.

This car with a white and blue front is mostly found on the North Island. Though it can occasionally be found In Canterbury and Marlborough, on the South Island.

There are many town and city specific street signs in northern New Zealand, which can be seen in this graphic.

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There are many town and city specific street signs in southern New Zealand, which can be seen in this graphic.

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An easy way to recognize the city of Wellington is by how hilly it is.

Stewart Island only has coverage around the settlement of Oban. It is easily recognized due to the distinct bay, which is often filled with small boats. There is only Generation 3 camera coverage.

The area around Tongariro National Park is identifiable due to the low-lying volcanic vegetation in the area. Mount Ruapehu and Mount Tongariro are in the vicinity, and their tops are often covered by clouds.

Coverage on Mount Ruapehu is easily identifiable due to the dark volcanic landscape and distinct lack of vegetation.

NOTE: This type of coverage is limited to the roads around the Whakapapa Ski Village.

In 2011, Christchurch was hit by an earthquake. As a result, roads on coverage from 2012 often appear in quite bad shape. Water damage caused many driveways to be cut off from streets due to large puddles of water, dirt or mud.

Due to this reason, many residential houses in the city had to be removed, leading to several districts on newer coverage appearing like normal suburbs, but with almost no houses. This is noticeable when looking at where former driveways used to be.

Part of State Highway 85 in Otago has light snow coverage, specifically between the towns of Becks and Morisson.

The cities of Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt can be identified by the wide, green valley they are located in, which runs southwest to northeast.

Blenheim can be recognized by having a large range of hills to the north and the south of the city.

Very tall hedges are found in Bay of Plenty, mainly around Tauranga.

NOTE: Noticeably lower, but still tall, hedges are commonly found in Canterbury.

Mount Egmont (Māori name Taranaki) is easily distinguished due to its relatively smooth slopes and its pointed, often snowy peak. It can frequently be identified from afar, as the surrounding area is flat.

The area of the Southern Alps, north and south of Queenstown, contains many glacial lakes, which can be recognized by their teal colours and clear waters.

State Highway 80 in the Southern Alps is recognizable by its north-south orientation up a glacial valley. The west side of the road is lined with snow-capped mountains, while the east side of the road runs alongside the Tasman River and Lake Pukaki.