It must be summer in New Zealand because a couple of Welsh holidaymakers are the latest tourists to appear in another New Zealand camper-van robbery story; there have been so many of them over the years.
“Michael Wright and Amy Murphy‘s latest bit of misfortune struck when thieves broke into their van at New Plymouth’s Back Beach while they were out surfing.
Passports, bank cards, ipods, drivers licences, cameras and cash were stolen. “It was just a complete shock,” Miss Murphy said yesterday. “Now we haven’t got a penny to our names.”
The Cardiff pair found their van ransacked after they had spent an hour and a half in the late afternoon surf. “Everything was all over the place. They had been in everywhere and all through our backpacks,” Miss Murphy said.
She was surprised nobody had spotted the thieves…” source
The previous similar story we commented on was the two US soldiers Eli and Tonia Gerhard that were robbed in Kaikoura last week. The young couple were taking a well earned break from the conflict and crime of Afghanistan. They must have thought that New Zealand would have been the last place on earth where they would have been robbed blind.
A few weeks before that British couple Jake Graham and Jess Kelly were also robbed in New Plymouth when their campervan was broken into and they lost almost everything they owned. Read more here
But there have been so many of these types of robberies in New Zealand haven’t there, you’d think that word would have got out by now?
Perhaps not.
Always it’s the same type of belongings that are stolen (cameras, money, passports, ipods, computers) tourists are obviously rich pickings in New Zealand, a country of vast inequalities and a grinding poverty in some sectors of the community that could go unnoticed by the casual observer, or be passed over for being “quaint.”
Tourist authorities really should be asking themselves are they doing enough to warn visitors not to leave their belongings in unattended vehicles. The problem is that there is such a widespread misconception that New Zealand is a safe, tourist friendly safe place to holiday that some people are unwittingly leaving themselves open to theft, sometimes accompanied by assault and battery. As in the case of the French tourists who pulled-over to sleep one evening. Read more here.
Would it take a lot to fit hidden safes or security boxes in these vehicles? or for tourists to have access to short term safety deposit boxes, rather like mailboxes at post offices? A few more signs in car parks warning about thieves would probably be a good idea too.
Other stories you may be interested in:-
Suffolk couple put emigration plans on hold after experiencing NZ’s crime:
“Today’s Herald is reporting on British couple Dean and Tabitha Forbes who lost most of their possessions whilst on a pre-emigration trip to Auckland, New Zealand…”
“”An English family who came to New Zealand to make a fresh start were left with only the clothes on their backs when their motel was burgled two days after they arrived.
Dawn and Conrad Tutin and their children Stephanie, 14, and Kiel, 12, arrived from Nottingham a week ago to begin a new life in Auckland, where Mr Tutin will work for Fisher & Paykel…””
More British tourists robbed, no gold for New Plymouth:
“Earlier today we wrote about honeymooning couple Simon and Sabine Greenslade whose campervan was robbed of outside of Auckland Zoo, losing most of their holiday and honeymooning photographs amongst other possessions.
We’ve also heard about another young British couple, Jake Graham and Jess Kelly,whose campervan was also broken into and who lost almost everything they owned in New Plymouth yesterday afternoon…”
Honeymoon couple lose precious photos, no ‘gold medal’ in Auckland
US rowing team member robbed, world rowing championships 2010 in Queenstown
Czech Tourist, Jan Fakotor, Stabbed In Motueka
English tourist mugged in Gisborne
Chilean tourist punched, robbed in Nelson
A group of students that were beaten and robbed whilst on a treasure hunt at the Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa, Northland
A series of random, unprovoked attacks in Queenstown
Previous robbery of British tourists at Kerosene Creek
Tourists robbed at Kerosene Creek
Three French tourists beaten and robbed in their campervan in Mangamuka, Northland – police have yet to resolve this crime
A family of Swiss tourists that were assaulted and racially abused in Kaitaia, Northland
Anke Kuballa and Marc Busch from Germany who were robbed in Whangarei, Northland
Two German tourists attacked in Paihia, Northland
Two American tourists were robbed at Shipwreck Bay in Northland whilst sandboarding
Asian woman, (probably Japanese) age 22, raped in her room by 2 teenagers in a home invasion in Opotiki, Northland
Three Chinese tourists attacked and robbed at Te paki, 90 Mile Beach, Northland, by two men they’d stopped to help
French tourist Anthony Cressend, beaten and robbed at campsite in Ahipara, Northland
Two Australian tourists robbed at knifepoint for their holiday money in Te Puke, SE of Tauranga.
Japanese tourist age 23 (female) kidnapped, robbed and assaulted in Rotorua by four men
French tourist (male) raped at gunpoint near Opotiki,
American peace corp twins Adam and Alex Rahmlow, 21 were robbed of all their possessions by a man they tried to help in Amberley, Christchurch.
Dutch couple raped and robbed on a campsite in Tuatapere, NW of Invercargill, whilst on their honeymoon. (Dutch govt. issued a travel warning about NZ)
Two Koreans were attacked and robbed of their possession which included a laptop computer by a man claiming to be a gang member in Blenheim.
British tourist worker sexually assaulted near Hururu Falls, Northland when she was dragged off a walking track.
Canadian tourist Jeremie Kawerninski, kidnapped, assaulted and robbed in Lower Hutt, Wellington
Dutch couple robbed and sexually attacked Haruru Falls, Northland whilst on honeymoon.
Two British women robbed and raped in their campervan at Tokomaru Bay, north of Gisborne.
Japanese tourist subjected to a prolonged and brutal sex attack in a communal area of a backpacker’s hostel in Turangi, Taupo.
Scottish woman Karen Aim brutally murdered by a youth in Taupo.
German woman Birgit Brauer murdered near New Plymouth.
Korean man Jae Hyeon Kim decapitated with a spade by white supremacist.
Japanese tourist robbed at gunpoint in Oamaru.
Irish cycle tourist Paul Mack bashed, robbed and urinated on throughout his NZ tour.
6 English and Danish tourists attacked and stabbed in Cashel Mall, Christchurch for having “foreign accents.”
Irish man Robby O’Brien beaten up in Westport.
Russian couple Denis Khotchenko and Lera Nesterova beaten and robbed in Milford, Auckland
English woman knifed and sexually assaulted in a toilet block at an A1 motor camp in Kaikoura
American campers Patrick Dykstra and Kelsey McGinley beaten and robbed at Whangarei Falls, Northland.
Australian tourist sexually assaulted on a street in broad daylight in Nelson.
Australian tourist subjected to a sex attack by Maia Crawford Rongonui whilst walking home to a backpackers in Christchurch.
Canadian tourist left with a fractured skull outside Silver Fern backpackers in Taupo.
Dutch tourist beaten and robbed at Lake Rotorua.
British man Paul Speakman and his young son beaten and robbed in a campervan at Athenree Gorge, Katikati.
Chinese woman attacked for speaking Chinese on a train approaching Petone.
Scottish visitor Stuart Martin who was left in a coma and with a boot print on his face after a street bashing in Taradale, Christchurch.
E2NZ.org 
I was appalled at this news piece which called the tragedy “a sacrifice”, like throwing virgins into a volcano or something, what an insane thing to do with children! What could they be thinking? .http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10825662
The classic stereotype of the Welsh, which is terrible and I do not subscribe to it, especially being part Welsh myself, is that they are thieves, cheats and sheep shaggers. Indeed, “to welsh” is a verb meaning to dishonour a fair bet. Stereotypes are not funny, but to see Welshmen coming over here and being out-welshed…says something about Kiwis!
All the New Zealand headlines about “foreign scams” (Nigerian, Indian, etc.) targeting “naive, innocent Kiwis”. They are like 5 year old thieving magpies. Catch them with their hands in the lolly bag and they’ll deny it wide-eyed. They wanted lollies and the bag was open and sitting there unguarded, need they say more? It’s not stealing. Blame the victim.
One thing that has shocked me is that crime is usually limited to the underworld in most places. Or chavs. People you can recognise either at sight or after a few moments of interaction. Here, you routinely see obviously stolen or hot items ending up in your perfectly decent neighbour’s hands, people who might not steal themselves, but don’t question that someone could be selling them a stolen item, at that amazing price. Such is the indifference to it.
“It fell off a truck” means “it was stolen because someone wasn’t watching the object”. And it is not a bad thing to be engaged in, in New Zealand. There is no stigma. They don’t let it bother them. They do not even wonder, though they must know or suspect when something they buy has “fallen off a truck”. If they can’t be traced to the object, then that is all they care about, even if they are, relatively speaking, upstanding citizens. Responsibility and guilt are not acknowledged here. They are good at cutting their thoughts off in such a way that they do not feel bad about themselves in the least for anything they do. “There is always an excuse”.
One of the residential assistants at University was given the title of “person to see for things that fell off the back of the truck”.
From what I’m aware, he was formerly in the NZ Army as well.
Given that the stated requirements for the position of residential assistant are: 1)an excellent academic record (dropped out of university at the end of a semester after being an R.A.) and 2)unblemished character (selling things gotten through shady means),
one must question the decisions made by residential managers to take on such students as residential assistants. But of course, when you do so, you are informed curtly, “You do not qualify as you do not meet “the standard” “, which is both rigid (and applied EXTREMELY STRINGENTLY when you apply – all A’s for all subjects necessary!), but flexible (subject failures allowed, drunkenness and foul temper allowed — for when either their “friends” or “friends of friends” apply).