(Full disclosure – I am a New Zealander. I choose not to live there)

Geologically speaking, New Zealand is not a great place to survive. Most people live on the coast. One third of all New Zealanders live in Auckland, which is the only major city in the world to have two harbours – that is really coastal. To make things worse, Auckland is built on top of many volcanoes that are considered dormant. The most recent volcano is Rangitoto Island, at the entrance to Waitemata Harbour, which last erupted only 550 ago. The North Island has many volcanoes, not the least of which is the supervolcano Lake Taupo. Like Japan it is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and that means earthquakes as well as volcanoes, hence the country’s nickname The Shaky Isles.

The highest and safest land can be found in the South Island. Although calmer than the North Island, it still gets earthquakes, such as the recent 7.1 in Christchurch, and a 7.8 in Fiordland in 2009.

North Island

For those that choose to live in Auckland, the location of your suburb should determine your safe spot. Those in the south should look further south, and those in the north and west should look north. Major roads in Auckland can get very clogged, and it might prove impossible to travel through the central suburbs if the city is in panic mode.

Kaikohe

Too far for Aucklanders to get to in a hurry, Kaikohe is the “hub of the north”, with a population of just 4,000 people, but servicing 28,000. The soil is fertile. Kaikohe itself is not very far above sea level, but it is the most inland you can get north of Auckland (roughly 50kms from the sea). The highest peaks in the region are 600-700 metres above sea level, although any achievable safe spot will be much lower down. Expect to pay $NZ200K for 10 acres of bare land, or $NZ300K for a few acres with a house.

Just North of Auckland

This area is not ideal for surviving a tsunami, but you need to make do with what is available. At 100kms or less from the northern and western suburbs of Auckland, you should be able to get to (slightly) inland places like Wellsford and Ahuroa reasonably quickly. Closer to Auckland gets very expensive, the east coast is relatively expensive, and the west coast (South Kaipara Heads) suffers from single road syndrome. Like many places in New Zealand, there’s just one road in and out.

I chose Wellsford and Ahuroa on price alone; there are places for sale for not much more than what you’d pay way up in Kaikohe. North of Auckland your key criteria should be price and proximity. Plus, keep in mind that an exodus from Auckland will involve a clogging of SH1 – you are best being well away from the North Island’s main highway, and finding somewhere you can get to using lesser roads.

Just South of Auckland

Avoid the Coromandel Peninsula, no matter how much you may like it – the roads are too prone to failure. For a quick escape, look for a spot near Clevedon, a country area west of Manurewa. If nothing around there is affordable, work out an alternative route to bypass SH1, and look at the Paeroa / Te Aroha / Morrinsville / Te Kauwhata quadrangle.

Central North Island

Be wary of single road syndrome – the cheapest properties are understandably more remote, but typically with no alternate ways in or out. A single landslide or bridge outage could render your spot inaccessible. Major downers are the volcanoes of this region. There is nowhere I would recommend until you get as far south as Palmerston North.

Wellington

Don’t be in Wellington. There are only two roads out (both prone to being closed), it is on the coast, the weather sucks at the best of times and it sits on top of a major fault line. If you must be there for some reason, at least try and commute from somewhere further north, along State Highway 2, like Masterton. Anywhere along SH2 is a great survival spot, as long as you are actually there when the SHTF. Land is cheap and scenic. It isn’t very elevated, and the coast is quite near, but for a cost/worthiness ratio I rate it the best area of the North Island.

South Island

There is a lot to like about the South Island – it is cheaper than the North and there are no volcanoes. Outside of the cities it is sparsely populated, but that’s because there’s not many places suitable for living. Half of the island is taken up by the Southern Alps. A negative is that it is much colder than the North, but at least it is cheaper.

Top of the South Island

In terms of lifestyle and like-minded locals, this is a good place to be. Otherwise, I cannot recommend Blenheim, Nelson or the surrounding area. There isn’t much inland, and well, single road syndrome.

Christchurch

Darfield is close to Christchurch, on the train line, has multiple routes in and out, and is quite cheap. The views to the Southern Alps are brilliant. However, this was the epicentre of the 2010 7.1 quake.

Otago

This is the best South Island zone. Roxburgh, Alexandra & Cromwell all have cheap land and multiple access points, plus are close to Queenstown if that appeals to you. Further south the same characteristics apply to the triangle of Winton, Gore and Lumsden.

Summary

As with all SHTF planning, what you plan has to be achievable and affordable.

If you buy a safe spot, or even just plan on turning up and hoping you find somewhere you can be, make sure you can get there in any possible scenario.

How far will a tank of petrol get you?
How will you survive afterwards?
Can you be self-sufficient when supplies run out?
What are the locals like, and do you know anyone?
How private is your spot?

In NZ this is even more important, because there are no perfect places to be. And you might not be able to travel overseas if you get it wrong.