Regarding the recent flooding in the South Island, tourists with travel plans in the near future do not need to panic. The latest information we have is as follows: 1. The water levels in the high-water areas of Lake Wakatipu and Lake Wanaka in Queenstown have reached their peak, and the weather has cleared up. This week is expected to be mostly sunny, with no more rain predicted, so the flood risk has been alleviated. Businesses along the shores of Lake Wanaka have resumed operations. The famous Wanaka Tree will remain partially submerged for a while longer due to the still-high water levels. Queenstown is experiencing clear weather, and recent photos show that while the water levels are high, the risk of flooding has diminished. 2. The South Island highways, which were previously closed, have started to reopen. State Highway 72 has resumed traffic, although there is heavy congestion, so travelers should allow extra time if using this route. 3. There is still flooding at the Rangitata Bridge section of State Highway 1, but once the water recedes, traffic will be able to resume. There is also flooding at the intersection of State Highway 1 and State Highway 79. The Timaru District Council has stated on social media that there is no risk of the recently reopened bridges on State Highway 72 being closed again. 4. The goal is to reopen State Highway 6 on the West Coast before Christmas, but this is entirely dependent on the weather conditions. If the weather remains favorable, the road repair progress will be normal, but if there is another heavy rain, it will affect the repair schedule. Therefore, travelers planning to visit the West Coast of the South Island around Christmas and New Year's need to closely monitor the road repair progress. The New Zealand Transport Agency's update on December 10th at 4pm: SH6 - The past two days have been sunny, and road repair progress has been smooth. The agency has been working to clear the landslide section between Fox and Franz Josef towns, aiming to reopen the Hokitika - Makarora section before Christmas. The Whataroa - Harihari section, which has suffered the most damage, is still closed due to multiple landslides, and the agency is striving to reopen it before Christmas ?
New Zealand Q&A
I was following a local photographer from Reykjavik to Vik in Iceland, and she was driving at over 100 km/h the whole way. I asked her if there were any problems, and she said that there were no speed cameras in Iceland, only police officers hiding in the bushes on some busy roads! When we entered some towns, she was also driving at a speed of over 70 km/h past the speed cameras! At the time, I was also very worried! Later on, I found that there were two types of speed cameras. One type only measured the speed, and the other type had two flashing lights on top of it. I guessed that the first type did not take pictures! Everyone can refer to this! I was driving at a speed of 100-110 km/h the whole way, and there were still many cars that passed me! On the three-digit sections, driving at 30 km/h and avoiding large stones was not a problem! The regular ring road route has no place that only SUVs can pass! As long as you don't have a tire burst, any car can go! The above is just personal advice! Everyone should decide according to their own situation! If there are more people, it's better to rent a larger car. The average cost per person won't be much different ?
Iceland Q&A