Confused about driving directions
 

I was thrilled to finally find www.wises.co.nz which offers driving directions between my destinations. I like to print these pages in advance of a trip for backup in case my paper maps do not offer enough detail. The Wises turn by turn directions are confusing to me. Could some explain what this means?

"Turn Right (turn 2 clockwise)..." Sometimes it states turn 1 or turn 3--is that referring to choices within a roundabout? Please help. Thanks

Before we set off on our trip we also thought that getting directions from wises would be useful. Unfortuantely they are not. You're absolute best bet is to visit an i-site visitor center once you arrive and grab up some city maps. Also if you are renting a car or campervan they will provide you with maps. The roads in NZ are very easy to navigate, even in the city and especially in the South Island. The wises directions are way more confusing then they are helpful. However should you chose to use them, the directions may or may not be talking about a roundabout. Turn right (2 clockwise) typically means that the street will be on your right at the 2 o'clock position (like on a clock). Example a 3 clockwise turn right would be a 90 degree turn to your right whereas a 2 clockwise may be 45 degree. Luckily we did not use these directions because most of the time they took us out of the way. Stick with the maps. New Zealand is a small place. Basically the only way to get lost is if you abandon the paved road.

Thanks for the explanation. You're right--those directions are too complicated. Our big concern is finding our hotel at night in Dunedin and our hotel in the center of Christchurch. Hopefully the center of town will be well marked. It's probably not accurate ot presume our driving in NZ will be like our experience in Rome--with cars speeding around and no time to think.

We also assumed that from our experiences in Europe that driving in New Zealand would be similar. We couldn't have been more wrong. The only way in which New Zealand is similar to Europe is the side of the road they drive on. The so called busy "traffic" times are nothing compared to that in Europe or the US. Although Dunedin and Christchurch are larger cities, they are small in comparison and very easy to navigate. Also as I mentioned before the traffic volumes are minimal. You'll be fine.

"The only way in which New Zealand is similar to Europe is the side of the road they drive on." Please explain. ((R))

I'll restate. I should say that New Zealand is similar to the UK in that both nations drive on the left hand side of the road