Tourist mocked online after seeking advice on driving from Sydney to Auckland
They say no question is a stupid question, but this poor traveller’s query about driving in Sydney really tests the limit.
A tourist seeking advice on driving from Sydney to New Zealand has received somewhat expected responses, with pleas they first consult a world map and potentially a travel agent.
On Thursday a TripAdvisor user posted under the heading: “Drive from Sydney to New Zealand in December … please reply”.
In the post they said they were from India and planning to travel to Sydney in December, the New Zealand Herald reports.
From there they wanted to drive to Auckland, down to Queenstown and fly back to India.
“Is it possible that I hire a car in Sydney and drive throughout [until] Queenstown and drop the car there[?]” they asked.
They also wanted to know if they would need different visas to drive between the two countries.
Understandably the post received a mix of confused and mocking replies.
The first comment pointed out the blatantly obvious.
“You cannot drive between Sydney and Auckland — you’ll get wet crossing the Tasman Sea.”
Another person suggested they at least look into the water car option for the 2223-kilometre open-sea crossing
“Hi. You’ll need one of these and a lot of luck.”
Some posters thought they might need to leave the travel arrangements to the experts.
“I suggest you consult a travel agent to arrange your flights, bookings and rental cars. You cannot drive the Tasman Sea between Australia and [New Zealand].”
Meanwhile, some people took pity on the rookie traveller.
“I think you might be getting confused with the North and South Islands. Some rental car companies will let you take a car over on the ferry between islands, and some will require two different contracts. Sydney to Auckland, as mentioned previously, you will need to fly between.”
Despite dozens of sarcastic, and also helpful, comments, the tourist still did not seem to understand the scale of their endeavour to drive across the Tasman Sea.
“Sydney-Auckland airfare is coming around 20K in December [and] we are 4 pax so 80K in total. Is flying cheaper or car will be cheaper?” they asked.
One supportive user made another plea they seek professional advice.
“Please don’t get me wrong, but since you still seem to think you can drive from Sydney to Auckland, I suggest you visit a travel agent and have them help you plan your trip.
“Or if you are set on doing this yourself, look at a map and read some travel guides.”
This article originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald and was reproduced with permission