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New Zealand >
About > Dangers
While New Zealand
does not have any snakes, lions & tigers, there
are a number of things to watch out for.
Road
Accidents
For the visitor to New Zealand, the biggest
danger is to revert to driving on the right hand side
of the road, increasingly, more are being seriously
injured or killed in motor accidents. Cars,
Travel tips
The Sun
For those who love to get a tan, the New
Zealand sun can burn very quickly. Due to the
reduction of the ozone layer over the southern
regions, the dangerous UV radiation is not filtered
out as in northern hemisphere countries. Burn times
are advertised on the national news broadcasts
(weather section on television) and there are moves to provide UV
meters at pools and beaches. Typical summer burn
times are from eight to fifteen minutes. The danger
in burning is the likelihood of developing skin
cancer - melanomas.
Crime
The crime rate per head of population (4
million) is now on a par with other developed
countries. There is also an increasingly significant
number of offences actually caused by tourists.
Law
In the
forest
There are those pesky insects like
mosquitoes and sandflies which bite and can leave
localised inflammation and an itch, keeping covered and using a good
repellent will minimize this risk. There are often patches of
stinging nettle around picnic spots. There is sometimes a danger of
becoming lost, falling or having a mishap in a river crossing. if
you do not have the practical skills to survive in the wilderness, a
guide is recommended. Most injuries and deaths occur in the
mountains while walking, climbing, skiing and snowboarding.
Ocean & Shore
The biggest danger is swimming away
from the patrolled areas and being swept out to sea,
or being swept off rocks while fishing. Of course
there are very rare shark attacks & sightings of the infamous white
pointer shark is rare. There are areas where
sharks are plentiful and if entering the waters in
less populated areas, it pays to check with local
people about possible risks. There are also a few
stingers like bluebottles which appear irregularly.
Seals while not aggressive may charge if you get between them
and the shore or accidentally get to close. The golden rule is to be
aware and not get to close.
Around the house
Bees, wasps, red back spiders, white tail spiders, black widow
spiders can occasionally bite or sting, but this usually happens
when you disturb them.
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