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
The United States is very large, and every time you go somewhere it's different. This summer, I went to Yellowstone and chose an SUV, but I regretted it because the high center of gravity made it tilt heavily on the mountain roads... and all the roads were paved, so if you don't have a need for a lot of luggage, don't choose an SUV. Last year, I rented a BMW 4 Series to drive around the Grand Canyon area and it felt great. I stayed in Yellowstone for 5 days, 2 days at Old Faithful, 2 days at Canyon, and 1 day at Yellowstone Lake. The itinerary was not tight, so I just played around and drove all the roads in Yellowstone. Accommodation in Yellowstone is expensive, and the itinerary was not optimized, but the gas prices were cheaper than in the Bay Area. As for cash and credit cards, to be honest, I haven't used much cash in recent years. I only keep cash for tips. Throughout the trip, I only used cash once at a strange restaurant in Salt Lake City for one night, and also used cash to send postcards at the Yellowstone post office. Everything else was done with credit cards, including self-service gas and meals. It was surprising to find out at a gas station in Carson City that they explicitly did not accept VISA credit cards and had to use a MasterCard. I remembered trying credit cards at gas stations in Utah and San Diego last year, and this year's experience was really different, as many gas stations have upgraded ?
United States Q&A