Well, someone had to ask.

Looking (and dreaming of) traveling in NZ, it seems to me there are mostly two lane roads and small towns in a lot of the areas I intend to visit.

How available are restrooms in NZ?

Are there ones along the road like major US highways?

Do eateries allow other than diners to avail themselves of the facilities?

Is this a drink nothing (and I don't mean alcohol)while driving for a long stretch kind of territory?

I know in the cities it will be fine. Right?

I mean no offense to NZ or the folks there.

However, I want to know before I visit.

Thanks for any advice or info.

Hard question to answer unless we know how often you need to pee, a bit like asking "can I get to the end of a road" if we don't know how long it is. I think that it is always uncalled for if asking to use a facility in an establishment if you are not a patron there - as there is always the cost of toilet paper, cleaning and water in some instances, so stay with using the facilities of those places you have been a paying customer and really it would not be fair on the existing customers, or owners if they had to contend with people coming and going and using the bathroom, from off the street. Having said that, NZ is not a big place.

There are public toilets in all towns, although not always easy to find. All shopping malls have public toilets. Most gas stations have toilets for clients. You may have to buy a pie or something to use them. Most restaurants etc have toilets for their patrons, and I am sure if you were busting you would not be turned away, but you could always buy a sandwich.
Failing this there are lots of bushes beside the road, although not on motorways.

I've visited NZ about 8 times and I'm always amazed at how traveler friendly it is.

There are public restrooms in virtually every town, regardless of size. Most of these facilities are maintained by the town's residents and they seem to take great pride in offering a clean place for travelers to do their business.

As you enter a town, just look for and follow the signs with the man/woman symbol. Another option is to watch out for the information/tourist office/kiosk which is marked with a big I. Just follow the signs to the I and you'll also find facilities.

If you're in an area without a town, you'll often find facilites at picnic areas, trail heads, and scenic overlooks.

Don't worry, you don't have to dehydrate yourself while traveling in NZ.

On our last visit (me, wife, two daughters, drove 2 weeks in both islands) I don't recall ever striking a problem. You'll be fine.

Note that in NZ and Australia the term "toilet" to describe the facilities Americans call by the euphemism "rest room".

I'm working on that one Neil, but 'toilet' just won't roll off this yank's tongue.

OK Mel, now that you live here and "toilet" will not run off your tongue try using the word " dunny " which is used by many Australians. If you don't like that then try "bog". I am sure that after trying the latter two you will be able to say at least W.C. If you ask for a restroom you may just be directed to only a resting room and not a W.C :0)

... and further to Neil & Lizzy's ... it's not a "Bathroom" either. Unless, of course, you want to have a bath/shower/wash.

Toilet. Lavatory. Ladies' or Gents'.

Thanks, everyone.

Now, I will rest and "restroom" assurred.

I am not afraid of the word "toilet".

However, where I come from, asking for toilets is something only commonly done at the DIY store, if one needs to get a new one for their home.

Thanks again.

Just a word of advice, though - in my experience "dunny" is mainly used as follows:
* by schoolboys
* by people in rural areas
* to describe an old-fashioned outdoor toilet.

Any visitor who uses this and many other other examples of Australian slang may run the risk of sounding patronising or even, God forbid, a try-hard (i.e. too desperate for acceptance).

And slang can be a subtle thing, easy to misuse if you're unfamiliar with it. More than once I've heard an American say "G'day, mates", for example, unaware that the plural just doesn't work in this way. That is, you can have mates, but you don't address them collectively as "mates" - just as an American can have buddies but wouldn't (I think) walk into his usual wartering hole bar and hail them with "Hi, buddies!"

It's best to stick with what you're comfortable with - and if "toilet" is too indelicate for Americans, the majority of Kiwis and Australians will understand "rest room", even if it sounds a bit funny to them.

And for te record "bog" is quite beyond the pale in polite mixed company.

Well, darn you Neil you have blown my set up. However you forgot to mention that the needy Hommes could always ask to " point Percy at the Porcelain" and at least most people of your age would understand the meaning of that.

I've noticed that the term 'Restroom' has been getting slowly introduced into shopping malls in Sydney, on their maps etc, but I wouldn't use it as did just doesn't sound right, not like where's the sh!tter?

Geordie

I've noticed a lot of cheap restaurants use "rest rooms" - my theory is that it's because they buy cheap self-adhesive stickers as signs, made in China for the US market. It's always struck me as a very coy euphemism. But then, maybe all the accepted terms are. Even "toilet" and "lavatory" don't describe the main functions of the facility - I'm not sure of the origins of "toilet", but from memory "lavatory" stems from the Latin verb "to wash".

When I was (not very successfully) taking Italian lessons I was advised (by my Italian-Australian teacher) that you could safely use either "toilette" or "gabinetto" ("cabinet&quot. Thinking to try out my new-found skills, I asked an aged Italian waiter in Lygon Street, Melbourne "Scusa, Signore, dov'é il gabinetto?" The old man promptly gave me a stern lecture on the inadvisability of using the word in polite company. I was suitably chastened but thought later that it could have been an age thing.

How do ya'll Aussies feel about the 'loo'? I use that word all the time at home, but have never used it in public, figuring that an American looking for the loo will just bring on the rolling eyes.

Geordie - you sound like my husband - and you reminded me of Tatum O'Neil looking for the s@@thouse in Paper Moon.

And Lizzy, I'm not quite that gullible.

Chocolate - whatever word you choose to use, you'll not have much trouble finding one in NZ.

The first time I cam across the word Restroom was at Faneuil Mall in Boston in the early 80's. I was sat having a coffee and saw the sign and people working in with shopping bags etc and I said to my friend, these Americans think of everything, even if you're a bit tired from shopping you can have a lie down. It never occurred to me they were toilets.

I don't know where toilet originates but its recognisable in quite a few languages like English, French, Dutch and German.

Geordie

"Loo" is perfectly acceptable word to use, Melnq, and by now as a new resident of Perth you'd be getting acquainted with some of the quaint names over there. Innaloo, suburb of Perth, always makes me smile.

I wouldn't ever ask for the "dunny" (though I was introduced to the word quite early), and "bog" is ever so northern English and a bit esoteric.

I'd go for "is there a loo here" as Pat says, if toilet is hard to get out!!

Must say that I hear what you are saying. I fancy myself an expert on loos and where to find them all over the world, cos although once I never thought about it, now I have to!!

Cheers and have a wonderful visit.

Thanks for a great laugh!

I can hardly wait, we leave on Jan 9th for 2 weeks in New Zealand and 4 weeks in Australia.

Thanks to all the wonderful information on this board I think we have a great trip planned.

I must say, I have aLways hesitated a bit when asking for a "toilet", I do better with WC! Maybe after 6 weeks "the loo" will roll out of my mouth without any difficulty!

What about the euphemism of my victorian grandmother (and I don't mean she was from Victoria): the "necessary"

It's interesting. While the US generally has good public facilities along the interstates, I've found that the US cities I've been to fall behind on public facilities compared to the places I've been to in Europe and in Australia. In the US it seems like you have to find a department store, or restaurant if you need a place to go. (how's that for euphemisms...facilities etc?)

A whole different discussion could take place around the interstate rest areas in different states in the US. Believe me, there's big difference, and clearly some public officials in their states got more funding than others! But I digress.