All plant, no plastic

SOME signs are subtle, like the "NZ roads are different. Allow more time" ones that are plentiful in the Southland and West Coast regions, where overseas drivers are said to make up a large proportion of the traffic.

Others are more in-your-face, like the one that says: "No standing on tables" that can be found in front of benches at a lookout facing Lake Tekapo. The stunning lake is popular with tourists, whom I can only assume, have the tendency to mount tables for an elevated aerial view of the turquoise blue waters.

Welcome to New Zealand, (to me) a land of fascinating signs. Many of which (I think) are put up for visitors, who go there in droves to experience the country's numerous offerings: sheep, breathtaking landscapes, being an apocalyptic retreat, and its distinctive humour marked by self-deprecation, good-heartedness and razor-sharp satire. Just last month, I was there for a two-week holiday.